





- 















:+<■ 
















.0^ 
^ 4° ..' 






aV-* 







■>.0< w 

4?' 



(TV 

t- <*• '3?W*^* ., * 



: V** :-i 


















^\ 









<u 






^ "^ a° *^7^:- > 






*0 
























V3> <*&■ 


















^ b 



.V-* 1 












■ 



,4 vf> 

A<> ^ 'TVT* A <^ A & 

.0* .■•'. ^O a> .- 

IT o 









o > 















o 



5 .0 „- 






o 






/ 















^. 
























> 















' , 1 









' o 






vv 

<V A° 












r +,. 



•*u 


















r» v 













































°o 


















> 












4<sh 



^■s: 



^. a 



3 Z 



/ S , 



^.z£ 



^-r 



iisK-s- 



-*-*«•» 



* ; >.' 



vMk j± JEulrUl 



l^\Kd,M 



-ogga-U- 



AJA 



<^Ms|»- 










•n^ 




KlilllUII I 






il RECORD J 




m rm itxi iti 1 1 1 « 1 1 






LP 

is 



—OF 



Shell)} 7 and Moultrie Counties, Illinois. 



CONTAINING 






Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens 



OF THE COUNTIES, 



Together with Biographies of all the 

ioveriiors of the State, and of the iresidents 

Of= THE UNITED STHTES. 



CHICAGO. 

BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING CO 

1891. 







pi^Ep/}<?E. 




^>S^» -+-5H- s£5<— 



SlIE greatest of English historians, Macaulay, and one of the most brilliant writers < »f 
the present century, has said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the 
lives of its people."' In conformity with this idea (lie Portrait and Biographical 
Record of this county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and 
taking therefrom dry statistieal matter that can be appreciated by but few, our 
corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their 
enterprise and industry, brought the county to rank second to none among those 
comprising this great ami noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life 
Struggles. No more interesting or instinctive matter could be presented to an intelli- 
gent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the 
imitation of coining generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by 
industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited 
ID advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an 
J^\3% influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who 
p$M$A have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have 
%¥JiF\& become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and 
'^, records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very 

many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content 
to have it said of them as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "they have done what 
they could." It tells how that many in the pride and strength of young manhood left the plow and the 
anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's 
call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace 
once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not 
be lost upon, those who follow after. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact 
that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise he 
inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work ami every opportunity possible 
given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, and the publishers (latter them- 
selves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to the biograph- 
ical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given. 

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will lie missed in this volume. For this the 
publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused to give the 
information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of 
the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested 
one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, though repeated calls were made 
at their residence or place of business. 

October, 1881. Biographical Publishing Co. 





-?!>■ 



TRA/Ts 



■■^^^■'■'■'"'■L •': i- ^^-sf^! 5 




125* 



^» 



9 



SAND • 




W 



^A^^xsa^^ J j^y 



","- 



BIOGRAPHIES ^ 



''*x.. «>.«>*'' 



OF THE 



GOVERNORS of ILLINOIS, 



AND OF THE 



i 4 r '' P- 



•ji 7 "' 1 ^r ^ * 



j 






MM 



i ^% .^- | 



OF THE 








SKJ 








^§r* 



Uf s>\ Q 



Df. 



r ^' 



9 




.+,* 








. 




FIRST PRESIDENT. 




.^-a. 




i=-9-^<-... 



"IN. **] 

i j 1 : i 1 : i 1 : >' : >< : v .;-,< ; ,<:.,< ; ,<.; .■ : ■,< .- ,' : ,' :■,:■:, •.■,•.'■•.',■.',•. v..y:-u:v-vvvvy: .'...vy'.v'...'t 






^Feb. 



HE Father of our Country was 
born in Westmorland Co., \ a., 
22, 1732. His parents 
were Augustine and Mary 
(Ball) Washington. The family 
to which he belonged has not 
been satisfactorily traced in 
England. His great-grand- 
father, John Washington, em- 
igrated to Virginia about 1657, 
and became a prosperous 
planter. He had two sons, 
Lawrence and John. The 
former married Mildred Warner 
and had three children, John, 
Augustine and Mildred. Augus- 
tine, the father of George, first 
married Jane Butler, who bore 
him four children, two of whom, 
Lawrence and Augustine, reached 
maturity. Of six children by his 
second marriage, George was the 
eldest, the others being Betty, 
Samuel, John Augustine, Charles 
and Mildred. 
Augustine Washington, the father of George, died 
in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his 
eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on 
the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, 
and to George he left the parental residence. George 
received only such education as the neighborhood 
schools afforded, save for a short time after he left 
school, when he received private instruction in 
mathematics. His spelling was rather defective 



Remarkable stories are told of his great physica: 
strength and development at an early age. He was 
an acknowledged leader among his companions, and 
was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- 
ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. 

When George was 14 years old he had a desire to go to 
sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him. 
but through the opposition of his mother the idea was 
abandoned. Two years later he was appointed 
surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In 
this business he spent three years in a rough frontier 
life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very 
essential to him. In 175 t, though only iy years of 
age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of 
major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for 
active service against the French and Indians. Soon 
after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother 
Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They 
soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence 
died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter 
who did not long survive him. On her demise the 
estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. 

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- 
ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was 
reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- 
tary districts, of which the northern was assignee to 
Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this 
a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- 
cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- 
ceed to the French post near Lake Erie 111 North- 
western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed 
was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, 
and the journey was to be made without militarv 
escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near 
losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished 
a full .\nd useful report of his expedition. A regiment 
of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- 
mand of Col. Joshua fry, and Major Washington was 
commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was 
then begun against the French and Indians, in which 
Washington took a most important part. In the 
memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- 
dock's defeat, Washington w:;s almost the only officer 
oi distinction who escaped from the calamities of the 
day with life and honor. The other aids of Biaddock 
acre disabled early in the action, and Washington 
alone was left in that capacity on the held. In a letter 
to his brother he says : "1 had four bullets through 
my coat, and two horses shut under me, yet I escaped 
unhurt, though death was levelin \ my companions 
on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was 
not born to be killed by a bullet, for lie had taken 
direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit 
him. 

After having been live years in the military -erviee, 
and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he 
look advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the 
expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 
10 resign his commission. Soon after he entered the 
Legislature, where, although nut a leader, he took an 
,u live and important part. January 17, 1759, he 
married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy 
widow of |ohn Parke Custis. 

When the British Parliament had closed the port 
■ I Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces 
that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." 
It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- 
gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- 
delphia, Sept. 5, [774, to secure their common liberties, 
peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- 
ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the 
1 longress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of 
E 1 gland were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- 
cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the 
first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- 
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and 
insible office was conferred upon Washington, 
who was still .1 memberof the Congress. He accepted 
it on June ra, but upon the express condition that he 
receive no salary. I ie would keep an exact account 
of expenses and expect Congress 10 pay them and 
nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to 
'i i' ■ the military acts of Washington, to whom the 
fortunes and liberties of tin- people of this country 
were so long confided. The war was conducted by 
him under ever) possible disadvantage, and while his 
often met with reverses, yet he overcame everj 
! Hid after seven years of heroic devotion 
i.itc hk-NS -kill he gained liberty for the greatest 
nation of earth. On Dec, 23, 1783, Washington, in 
a patting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his 



commission as commander-in-chief of the army to 
to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He 
ictired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed 
his occupation as a fanner and planter, shunning all 
connection with public life. 

I 1 February, 1 7 S9, Washington was unanimously 
elected President. In his presidential career he was 
subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a i.ew 
government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part 
of other governments; trials from want of harmony 
between the different sections of our own country; 
trials from the impoverished condition ol the country, 
owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the 
beginnings of part) strife. He was no partisan. His 
clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and 
while perhaps this alone kept our government from 
sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to 
attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and 
very annoying. 

At the expiration of his first term he was unani- 
mously re-elected. At the end of this term many 
were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely 
refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 
1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- 
dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there 
his few remaining years free from the annoyances of 
public life. Later in the year, however, his repose 
seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France 
At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to 
take command of the armies. He chose his sul - 
ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- 
ters in the field, which he superintended from his 
home. In accepting the command he made the 
reservation that he was not to be in the field until 
it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations 
his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took 
a seveie cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling 
in Irs throat, produced inflammation, and terminated 
fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- 
teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its 
final resting place, and interred in the family vault at 
Mount Vernon. 

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to 
speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- 
miration. The more we see of the operations of 
our government, and the more deeply we feel the 
difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, 
the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- 
ent and character, which have been able to challenge 
the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- 
tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits 
of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will 
be as lasting as the existence of man. 

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erecf 
and well proportioned. His muscular strength was 
great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. 
lie commanded respect without any appearance o< 
haughtiness, and ever serious withoi" l^inti dull. 







i dn J dam 



SECOND PRESIDENT. 



tfca .'fl'jE.- 



^^*V 




Wfr— 



_^+&a3iiM\ 






■ 



^r 






Jfil 



; ) 






g^^SiMl W,.,t. ? t. >t. -t.t. A:ls»fc&fe&&fe A.* A .t.-.t,.t..t.t.t .t.t.ti. U.UiM.f,.t..t i.t.». .+. .A.AAjU^'j^ 




I ( >HN ADAMS, the second 
®, President and the first Vice- 
' President of the United States, 
was born in Braintree (now 
Quincy ),Mass., and about ten 
miles from Boston, Oct. ig, 
1735. His great-grandfather, Henry 
Adams, emigrated from England 
about 1640, with a family of eight 
p\U sons, and settled at Braintree. The 
parents of John were John and 
Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His 
father was a farmer of limited 
means, to which he added the bus- 
iness of shoemaking. He gave his 
eldest son, John, a classical educa- 
tion at Harvard College. John 
graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the 
school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 
'school of affliction," from which he endeavored to 
gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the 
study of law. For this purpose he placed himself 
under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He 
had thought seriously of the clerical profession 
but seems to have been turned from this by what he 
termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- 
jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' 
of the operations of which he had been a witness in 
his native town. He was well fitted for the legal 
profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being 
ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- 
tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 
1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, 
and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his 
marriage, (17^5), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- 
tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial 
steps toward holdir. B a town meeting, and the resolu- 



tions he offered on the subject became very populai 
throughout the Province, and were adopted word for 
word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos 
ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous 
and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and 
A'as chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- 
lislature) in 1770. 

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates 
from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, 
which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt 
by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- 
vocated the movement for independence against til ■ 
majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved 
and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies 
should assume the duties of self-government. He 
was a prominent member of the committee of ave 
appointed June n, to prepare a declaration of inde- 
pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but 
on Adams devolved the task of battling it through 
Congress in a three days debate. 

On the day after the Declaration of Independence 
was passed, while his soul was yet warm with thj 
glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife 
which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated 
by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the 
greatest question was decided that ever was debated 
in America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil 
be decided among men. A resolution was passed 
without one dissenting colony, ' that these United 
States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- 
pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of 
July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history 
of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated 
by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary 
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of 
deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty 
God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows- 



24 



JOHX ADAMS. 



games, sports, guns, hells, bonfires, and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this 
tune forward for ever. You will think me transported 
with enthusiasm, hut I am not. i am well aware of 
the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to 
maintain this declaration, and support and defend 
these States; yet, through all the gloom, 1 can seethe 
rays of light and glory. 1 can see that the end is 
worth more than all the means; and that posterity 
will triumph, although you and 1 may rue, which I 
hope we shall not." 

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a 
delegate to France and to co-operate with Bemjamin 
Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in 
the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms ^nd money 
from the French Government. This was a severe trial 
to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, 
compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- 
posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- 
ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 
1779. In September of the same year he was again 
< nosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- 
ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce 
with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet 
might be found willing to listen to such proposels. He 
sailed for France in November, from there he went to 
Holland, where he negotiated important loans and 
formed important commercial treaties. 

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed 
Jan. 2i, 17S3. The re-action from the excitement, 
toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed 
threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- 
tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he 
wis advised to go to England to drink the waters of 
Bath. While in England, still drooping anddes pond- 
ing, he received dispati hes from his own government 
urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to 
negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was 
delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through 
storm, on sra, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. 

February 24., 1785 Congress appointed Mr. Adams 
envoy to the Court of St. lames. Here he met face 
to face the King of England, who had so long re- 
garded him as a traitor. As England did not 
condescend to appoint a minister to the United 
States, ami .is Mr. Adams fell that he was acconi 
plishing but little, he sought permission to return to 
nis own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. 

When Washington was first chosen President, John 
Vlains, rendered illustiious by his signal services at 
home and abroad, was chosen Vi< e President. Again 
it the second election of Washington as President, 
Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- 
ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was 
elei ted President,though not without much opposition. 
Serving in this office to ir \ ears, he was succeeded by 
Mr. Jefferson, hisopponent in politics. 

>Vhile Mr, Adams was Vice President the great 



French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, 
and it was upon this point which lie was at issue with 
the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. 
Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people- 
in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their 
|K>wer of self-government, and he utterly abhored the 
class of atheist philosophers who lie claimed caused it. 
On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly 
enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- 
iginated the alienation between these distinguished 
men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- 
ised, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies 
were with England and Jefferson led the other in 
sympathy with France. 

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more 
moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the 
old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling 
had died away, and he had begun to receive that just 
appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till 
after death. No one could look upon his venerable 
form, and think of what he had done and suffered, 
and how he had given up all the prime and strength 
of his life to the public good, without the deepest 
emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar 
good fortune to witness the complete success of the 
institution which he had been so active in creating and 
supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled 
to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest 
station in the gift of the people. 

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half 
century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the 
signers of that immortal instrument left upon the 
earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is 
well known, on that day two of these finished their 
earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as 
to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. 
Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning 
of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from 
his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the 
customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- 
dependence forever." When the day was ushered 
in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, 
he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew 
what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- 
ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." 
In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and 
glorious day." The last words he uttered were, 
"Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- 
signed his spirit into the hands of his God. 

The personal appearance and manners of Mr. 
Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, 
as his portrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres- 
sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and hif, 
manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous 
He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor 
the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked 
the manners and address of Tefferson. 





^?77l- 



THIRD PRESIDENT. 



27 





HO.MAS JEFFERSON was 
bum April 2, 1743, at Shad- 
IpNvell, Albermarle county, Va. 
His parents were Peter and 
Jane (Randolph) Jefferson, 
the former a native of Wales, 
and the latter born in Lon- 
don. To them were burn six 
daughters and two sons, of 
whom Thomas was the elder. 
When 14 years of age his 
father died. He received a 
most liberal education, hav- 
ing been kept diligently at si I 

from the time he was five years ol 
age. In 1-60 he entered William 
end Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat 
of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion 
a. id splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then \-j 
years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping line 
horses, and much caressed by gay society, _\ et he 
•.vas earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- 
able in his morals. It is strange, however, under 
such influences, that he was not ruined. In the sec- 
ond year of his college course, moved by some un- 
explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, 
society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had 
previously given much time. Heoften devoted fifteen 
hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex- 
ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out 
ot the city and back again. He thus attained verj 
high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- 
phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and 
Greek authors he read with facility. A mure finished 
scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls : and 



there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a 
more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. 

Immediately tqion leaving college he began the 
study of law. For the short time he continued in the 
practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- 
guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a 
lawyer. But the times called for greater action. 
The policy of England had awakened the spirit of 
resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged 
views which Jefferson had ever entertained, sunn led 
him into active political life. In 1769 he was 1 I 
a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses In 
1772 he married Mis. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- 
ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow 

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, there 
was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which 
commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and 
beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new 
home; and here he reared a mansion of modest ye* 
elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon 
became the most distinguished resort in our land. 

In 1775 he was sent to the C( lonial Congress 
where, though a silent member, his abilities as a 
writer and a reasoner soun become known, and he 
was placed upon a number of important committees, 
and was chairman of the one appointed fur the draw- 
ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed 
u> draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested 
a leu verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- 
gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made 
in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 
4, 1776 What must have been the feelings of that 



28 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — 
who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- 
laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of 
America, was also to publish her to the world; free, 
uoverign and independent. It is one of the most re- 
aurkable papers ever written ; and did no other effort 
i f the mind of its author exist, that alone would be 
sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. 

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to 
Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time 
the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to 
Moniicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five 
minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- 
ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- 
sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never 
very good, was much injured by this excitement, and 
in the summer of 1782 she died. 

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. 
Two yeirs later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- 
tentiary to France. Returning to the United States 
in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State 
in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned 
Jan. r, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- 
dent, and four years later was elected President over 
Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 
1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, 
and George Clinton, Vice President. 

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- 
ion was disturbed by an event which threatened the 
1 i.iquility and peace of the Union; this was the con- 
piracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election 
to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled 
ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a 
military expedition into the Spanish territories on our 
southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there 
a new republic. This has been generally supposed 
was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been 
generally known what his real plans were, there is no 
doubt that they were of a far more dangerous 
character. 

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for 
which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined 
to retire from political life. For a period of nearly 
)rty years, he had been continually before the pub- 
.ic, and all that time had been employed in offices of 
the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- 
voted the best part of his life to the service of his 
country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his 
declining years required, and upon the organization of 
the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- 
well forever to public life, and retired to Monticelio. 

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole 
families came in their coaches with their hoises, — 
fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and 
nurses, — and remained three and even six months. 
Life at Monticelio, for years, resembled that at a 
fashionable watering-place. 

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- 



sary of the Declaration of American Independence, 
great preparations were made in every part of thu 
Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and 
the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity 
of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer 
and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- 
tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- 
ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and 
had been continually increasing, compelled him to 
decline the invitation. 

On the second of July, the disease under which 
he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced 
state that his medical attendants, entertained nc 
hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly- 
sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next 
day, which was Monday, he asked of those around 
him, the day of the month, and on being told it was 
the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha 
he might be permitted to breathe tie airof the fiftieth 
anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose 
dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, 
burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- 
ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble 
life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - 
the day which his own name and his own act had 
rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and 
festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, 
as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, 
was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. 

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- 
dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear 
him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. 
Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of 
freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- 
ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and 
animated their desponding countrymen; for half a 
century they had labored together for the good of 
the country; and now hand in hand they depart. 
In their lives they had been united in the same great 
cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not 
divided. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather 
above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes 
were light, his hair originally red, in after life became 
white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- 
head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and 
thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as 
well as personal courage ; and :.:s command of tem- 
per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends 
never recollected to have seen him in a passion. 
His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- 
affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that 
all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- 
sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; ami 
his language was remarkably pure and correct, lb- 
was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is 
discernable the care with whii h he formed his style- 
upon ihe best model - of anHquity. 



1 




J 



(ZyO<-^ 



, ^ 



i*,a_M^.-( /?"S. 



FOURTH PRESIDENT. 




WW& npDisoi). 



#*!^5>-^ 





AMES MADISON, "Father 
of the Constitution, ' and fourth 
f President of the United States, 
was born March 16, 1757, and 
died at his home in Virginia, 
June 28, 1836. The name of 
James Madison is inseparably con- 
nected with most of the important 
events in that heroic period of our 
country during which the founda- 
tions of this great republic were 
laid. He was the last of the founders 
of the Constitution of the United 
States to be called to his eternal 
reward. 

The Madison family were among 
the early emigrants to the New World, 
landing upon the shores of the Chesa- 
peake but 15 years after the settle- 
ment of Jamestown. The father of 
James Madison was an opulent 
planter, residing upon a very tine es- 
tate called "Montpelier," ( trangeCo., 
Va. The mansion was situated in 
the midst of scenery highly pictur- 
esque and romantic, on the west side 
of South-west Mountain, at the toot of 
It was but 25 miles from the home of 
Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and 
political attachment existed between these illustrious 
men, from tlteir early vouth until death. 

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted 
mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age ol 
iS he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. 
Here he applied himself to study with the most im- 



Blue Ridge. 



prudent zeal; allowing himself, lor months, but three 
hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so 
seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor 
of constitution, lie graduated in 1771. with a feeble 
body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a 
mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning 
which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsr 
quent career. 

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of 
law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. 
This educational course, the spirit of the times in 
which lie lived, and the society with which he asso- 
ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong 
love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work ol 
a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of 
mind, and his frail health leading him to think that 
his life was not to be long, he diiected especial atten- 
tion to theological studies. Kndowed with a muni 
singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with 
almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed 
all the arguments for and against revealed religion, 
until his faith became so established as never to 
be shaken. 

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he 
was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to 
frame the constitution of the State. The next yea! 
(1777). he was .1 candidate for the General Assembly. 
He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and 
consequent!) h>st his election; but those who had 
witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the 
modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, 
and lie was appointed to the Kxecutlve Council. 

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas fefferson were 
Governorsol Virginia while Mr. Madison remained 
member of the Council ; and their appreciation of Ilia 



32 



JAMES MADISON. 



intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not 
a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 
1780, he was elected a member of the Continental 
Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in 
our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of 
the most conspicuous positions among them. 

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- 
gress, one of its most active and influential members. 
In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was 
elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. 

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the 
utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- 
tional government, with no power to form treaties 
which would be binding, or to enforce law. There 
was not any State more prominent than Virginia in 
the declaration, that an efficient national government 
must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison 
carried a resolution through the General Assembly of 
Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- 
sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss 
this subject. Five States only were represented. The 
convention, however, issued another call, drawn up 
by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their 
delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft 
a Constitution for the United States, to take the place 
of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 
the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island 
^vas represented. George Washington was chosen 
president of the convention; and the present Consti- 
tution of the United States was then and there formed. 
There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- 
live in framing this immortal document than the mind 
and the pen of James Madison. 

The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was 
to be presented to the several States for acceptance. 
But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected 
we should be left but a conglomeration of independent 
States, with but Utile power at home and little respect 
abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- 
tion to draw up an address to the people of the United 
States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, 
and urging its adoption. There was great opposition 
to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and 
went into effect in 1789. 

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the 
avowed leader of the Republican party. While in 
New York attending 'Congress, he met Mrs Todd, a 
young willow of remarkable power of fascination, 
whom he married. She was in person and character 
queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied 
so prominent a position in the very peculiar society 
which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. 
M idison. 

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under 
Jefferson, and at the close of his administiation 
was chosen President. At this time the encroach- 
ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. 



British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and 
our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison 
was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring 
in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the 
meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood 
boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought 
to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. 
A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the 
crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- 
ance he selects any number whom he may please to 
designate as British subjects ; orders them down the 
ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- 
deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the 
battles of England. This right of search and im- 
pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce 
the British cabinet to relinquish. 

On the 18th of June, 1812, President Madison gave 
his approval to an act of Congress declaring war 
against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter 
hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country 
in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th 
of March, ig 13, was re-elected by a large majority, 
and entered upon his second term of office. This is 
not the place to describe the various adventures of 
this war on the land and on the water. Our infan. 
navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- 
pling with the most formidable power which ever 
swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest 
by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 
[813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole 
coast of the United States under blockade. 

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me 
ditalor. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- 
ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks 
of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- 
peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- 
burg, upon Washington. 

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown 
into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict 
at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the 
metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. 
The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White 
House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to 
await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers 
in a council of war He met our troops utterly routed, 
and he could not go back without danger of being 
captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential 
Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in 
Washington were in flames. 

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on 
Feb. 13, 1 8 1 5, the treaty of peace was signed atGhent. 

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of 
office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair 
to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- 
tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- 
mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the 
age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi 
son died July 12, 1849. 




m 



7 



^c-Z_ 



FIFTH PRESIDENT. 



35 





PIIJES ll)01)ItOE. 





AMES MONROE, the fifth 
^residentof The United States, 
'was born in Westmoreland Co., 
Va., April 28, 1758. His early 
life was passed at the place of 
nativity. His ancestors had for 
many years resided in the prov- 
ince in which he was born. When, 
at 17 years of age, in the process 
^ of completing his education at 
William and Mary College, the Co- 
lonial Congress assembled at Phila- 
delphia to deliberate upon the un- 
just and manifold oppressions of 
(Ireat Britian, declared the separa- 
tion of the Colonies, and promul- 
gated the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly 
probable that he would have been one of the signers 
of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left 
school and enlisted among the patriots. 

He joined the army when everything looked hope- 
less and gloomy. The number ot deserters increased 
from day to day. The invading armies came pouring 
in ; and the tories not only favored the cause of the 
mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, 
who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- 
tending with an enemy whom they had been taught 
to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James 
Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through 
difficulty and danger, the United States owe their 
political emancipation. The young cadet joined the 
ranks, and espoused the cause of his injured country, 
with a firm determination to live or die with her strife 



for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel- 
ancholy retreat from Harleam Heights and Whit 
Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fit 
before its foes through New Jersey. In four montl 
after the Declaration of Independence, the patric 
had been beaten in seven battles. At the battle ol 
Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the act of eharg 
ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the lef 
shoulder. 

As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was pro 
moted a captain of infantry; and, having recovered 
from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, howevei. 
receded from the line of promotion, by becoming a; 
officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the can 
paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brand* 
wine, Germantown and Monmouth, he continuec 
aid-de-camp; but becoming desirous to regain 1 
position in the army, he exerted himself to collec ' 
regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme fail, 
owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Upoi. 
this failure he entered the office of Mr. lefferson, at 
that peiiod Governor, and pursued, with considerable 
ardor, the study of common law. He did not, howevei. 
entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; 
but on the invasions of the enemy, served as a volun 
teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. 

In 1782, lie was elected from King George county, 
a member of the I eglislature of Virginia, and by that 
body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive 
Council. He was thus honored with the confidence 
ol his fellow ( itizens at 23 years of age ; and having 
at this early period displayed some of that ability 
and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwards 
employed with unremitting energy for the public good, 



36 



JAMES MONROE. 



he was in the succeeding year chosen a member of 
the Congress of the United States. 
IJeeplyas Mr. Monroe felt the imperfections of theold 
Confederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, 
thinking, with many others of 'he Republican party, 
'.hat it gave too much power to the Central Government, 
•tnd not enough to the individual States. Still he re- 
tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm 
supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition 
secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member 
cf the United States Senate; which office he held for 
four years. Every month the line of distinction be- 
tween the two great parties which divided the nation, 
the Federal and the Republican, was growing more 
distinct. The two prominent ideas which now sep- 
arated them were, that the Republican party was in 
sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a 
strict construction of the Constitution as to give the 
( entral Government as little power, and the State 
Governments as much power, as the Constitution would 
warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, 
and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- 
stitution, which would give as much power to the 
Central Government as that document could possibly 
authorize. 

The leading Federalists and Republicans were 
alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the 
good of the nation. Two more honest men or more 
pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and 
James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In 
building up this majestic nation, which is destined 
to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- 
bination of their antagonism was needed to create the 
light equilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- 
nounced as almost a demon. 

Washington was then President. England had es- 
poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- 
ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn 
into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. 
Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- 
tween these contending powers. France had helped 
us in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms 
nf Kurope were now combined to prevent the French 
from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse 
than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more 
magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at 
whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in 
their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous 
and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- 
ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in 
nanimity. 

Washington, who could appreciate such a character, 
developed his 1 aim, serene, almost divine greatness, 
by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- 
nouncing the |>olicy of the Government, as the minister 
of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. 
Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention 
1 ranee with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. 



Shortly after his return to this countrv, Mr. Mon- 
roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the 
office for three yeats. He was again sent to France to 
co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining 
the vast territory then known as the Province of 
Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- 
tained from Spain. Tneir united efforts were suc- 
cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen 
millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and 
district of Louisiana were added to the United States. 
This was probably the largest transfer of real estate 
which was ever made in all the history of the world 

From Frame Mi. Monroe went to England to ob- 
tain from that country some recognition of our 
rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those 
odious impressments of our seamen. but Eng- 
land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- 
land on the same mission, but could receive no 
redress. He returned to his home and was again 
chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned 
to accept the position of Secretary of Stale under 
Madison. While in this office war with England was 
declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during 
these trying times, the duties of the War Departmen! 
were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- 
bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient 
business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of 
peace he resigned the Department of War. but con- 
tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- 
piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the ele< 
tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had 
been chosen President with but little opposition, and 
upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four year- 
later he was elected for a second term. 

Among the important measures of his Presidency 
were the cession of Florida to the United States; the 
Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.' 

This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe 
doctrine," was enunciated by him in [823. At that 
time the United States had recognized the independ- 
ence of the South American states, and did not wish 
to have European powers longer attempting to sub 
due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine 
is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt 
on the part of European powers to extend their sys- 
tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous 
to our peace and safety." and "that we could no', 
view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing 
or controlling American governments or provinces in 
any other light than as a manifestation by European 
powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
State--." This doctrine immediatelj affected the course 
of foreign governments, and has become the approved 
sentiment of the United States. 

At the end of his second term Mr Monroe reined 
to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830. 
when he went to New York to live with his son-in- 
law, In tli ii city he died, on the ith of July, 1S31 



I 




$m^ 



M 






3, 3, M 



nsr^j 



S.'XTIl PHESIDXNT. 









OHN QUINCY ADAMS, the 
sixth President of the United 
'States, was born in the rural 
home of his honored father, 
Joint Adams, in Quincy, Mass., 
on the r ith cf July, 1767. His 
mother, a woman of exalted 
worth, watched over his childhood 
during the almost constant ab- 
sence of his father. When but 
eight years of age, he stood with 
his mother on an eminence, listen- 
ing to the booming of the great bat- 
tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on 
upon the smoke and flames billow- 
ing up from the conflagration of 
Charlestown. 

When but eleven years old he 
took a tearful adieu of his mother, 
to sail with his fatner for Europe, 
through a fleet ot hostile British cruisers. The bright, 
animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where 
his father was associated with Franklin and Lee as 
minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted 
the notice of these distinguished men, and he received 
from them flattering marks of attention. 

Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this 
con .try, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again 
John Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he 
applied himself with great diligence, for six months, 
to Jtudy; then accom pained his father to Holland, 
where he entered, first a school in Amsterdam, then 
the University at Leyden. About a year from this 
time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen 
yea" of age, he was selected by Mr. Dana, our min- 
ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. 

In this school of incessant labor and of enobling 
rulture he spent fourteen months, and then returned 
to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and 
Bremen. This long journey he took alone, in the 
winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed 
MS studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence, 



in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father , 
Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance 
with the most distinguished men on the Coivineiit 
examining architectural remains, galleries of painting- 
and all renowned works of art. At Paris he agaii 
became associated with the most illustrious men ol 
all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal 
themes which can engross the human mind. Aft 
a short visit to England he returned to Pans, ano 
consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, 
when he returned to America. To a brilliant yoin j. 
man of eighteen, who had seen much of the world 
and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, r 
residence with his father in London, under such cii 
cumstances, must have been extremely attractive 
but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- 
ferred to return to America to complete his education 
in an American college. He wished then to stud) 
law, that with an honorable profession, he might b^ 
able to obtain an independent support. 

Upon leaving Harvard College, at the ageof twent; 
he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- 
ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- 
pointed by Washington, resident minister at the 
Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reached 
London in October, where he was immediately admit- 
ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and 1'inckney 
assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty witt 
Gieat Britian. After thus spending a fortnight i. 
London, he proceeded to the Hague. 

In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portugal as 
minister plenipotentiary. On his way to Poitugal. 
upon arriving in London, he met with despatches 
directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting 
him to remain in London until he should receive his 
instructions. While waiting he was married to a: 
American lady to whom lie had been previous!) en- 
gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughtei 
of Mr. Joshua fohnson, American consul In London; 
;i lady endownd with that beauty and tho i icconv 
plishment which eminently fitted hei to move in t%e 
elevated sphere foi which she w^»^»*'iced 



10 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; 
where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- 
filled all the purposes of his mission, he solicited his 
recall. 

Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to 
I he Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then 
was elected Senator of the United States for six years, 
from the 4th of March, 1804. His reputation, his 
ability and his experience, placed him immediately 
among the most prominent and influential members 
of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- 
ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- 
ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- 
sulting our flag. There was no man in America more 
familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon 
these points, and no one more resolved to present 
a firm resistance. 

In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- 
idential chair, and he immediately nominated John 
Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- 
ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked 
at Boston, in August, 1809. 

While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- 
dent. He devoted his attention to the language and 
history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the 
European system of weights, measures, and coins; to 
the climate and astronomical observations ; while he 
Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and 
Latin classics. Ill all the universities of Europe, ,1 
more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. 
All through life the Bible constituted an important 
part of his studies. It was his rule to read five 
chapters every day. 

On the 4th of March, 1S17, Mr. Monroe took the 
Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. 
VI mis Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- 
erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he 
sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the 
1 8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his 
home in Quincy. During the eight years of Mi. Mon- 
roe's administration, Mr. Adams continued Secretary 
of State. 

Some time before Lhe close of Mr. Monroe's second 
term of office, new candidates began to be presented 
for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams 1 nought 
forward his name. Tt was an exciting campaign. 
Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and 
sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- 
ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; 
William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- 
seven. As there was no choice by the people, the 
question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. 
Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and 
he was elected. 

The friends of all the disappointed candidates now 
•unbilled in a venomous and persistent assault upon 
Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in 
*k e l>a*t history ofoureountn than the abuse whii li 



was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this 
high-minded, upright; patriotic man. There never was 
an administration more pure in principles, more con- 
scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- 
try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per- 
haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- 
lously and outrageously assailed. 

Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- 
stemious and temperate in his habits; always rising 
early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in 
Quincy, he has been known to walk, before breakfast, 
seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said 
that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his 
own fire and applying himself to work in his library 
often long before dawn. 

On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retirtd 
from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew 
Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- 
dent. The slavery question now began to assume 
portentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to 
Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- 
abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- 
main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was 
elected representative to Congress. For seventeen 
years, until his death, he occupied the post as repre- 
sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to 
do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of 
"the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in 
the House, he announced that he should hold him- 
self bound to no party. Probably there never was a 
member more devoted to his duties. He was usnall) 
the first in his place in the morning, and the last to 
leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could 
be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The 
battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against 
the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime 
in its moral daring and heroism. For persisting in 
presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he 
was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, 
with expulsion from the House, with assassination 
but no threats could intimidate him, and his final 
triumph was complete. 

It has been said of President Adams, that when his 
body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of 
fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little- 
child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before 
he slept, the prayer which his mother taught him in 
his infant years. 

On the zistof February, 1848, he rose on the floor 
of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the 
speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- 
sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. 
For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to 
the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- 
ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and 
said " This A the endof earth .-"then after a moment's 
pause he added, "/<?/// content." These were the 
[asl words of the grand "Old Man F.loquent." 



SE VENTH PRESIDENT. 



*3 











AND«KW ^ACKfff*. 





NDREW JACKSON, the 
seventh President of the 
United States, was born in 
Waxhaw settlement, N. C, 
March 15, 1767, a few days 
after his father's death. His 
parents were poor emigrants 
from Ireland, and took up 
their abode in Waxhaw set- 
tlement, where they lived in 
deepest poverty. 
Andrew, or Andy, as he was 
universally called, grew up a very 
rough, rude, turbulent boy. His 
features were coarse, his form un- 
gainly; and there was but very 
little in his character, made visible, which was at- 
tractive. 

When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- 
teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 
1781, he and his brother Robert were captured and 
imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 
ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am 
a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of 
the dauntless boy. 

The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate 
nlow at the head of the helpless young prisoner. 
Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- 
ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the 
head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert 
with the same demand. He also refused, and re- 
ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite 
disabled him, and which probably soon after caused 
his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and 
were finally stricken with the small-pox. Their 
mother was successful w> fibtaining their exchange, 



and took her sick boys home. After a long illn:si 
Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother <uon 
left him entirely friendless. 

Andrew supported himself in various ways, s ich as 
working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and 
clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he 
entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, 
gave more attention to the wild amusements of the 
times than to his studies. In 1788, he was appoints 1 
solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of 
which Tennessee was then a part. This involved 
many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of 
every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, 
and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish 
with the Sharp Knife. 

In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who 
supposed herself divorced from her former husband. 
Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, 
to find that the conditions of the divorce had just been 
definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage 
ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- 
rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. 
Jackson into disfavor. 

During these years he worked hard at his profes 
sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, 
one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- 
ially disgraceful. 

In January, 1 7 96, the Territory of Tennessee then 
containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the 
people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- 
stitution, live were sent from each of the eleven 
counties. Andrew Jackson was one of the delegates. 
The new State was entitled to but one member in 
the Natio.ial House of Representatives. Andrew Jack- 
son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he 
rode to Philedelphia, where CongTess then held its 



44 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



sessions, — a distance of about eight hundred miles. 

Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- 
cratic party, lelferson was his idol. He admired 
Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. 
Jackson took his seal, Gen. Washington, whose 
second term of office was then expiring, delivered his 
last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a 
complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson 
did not approve of t he address, and was one of the 
twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to 
say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been 
" wise, firm and patriotic ." 

Mr. Jackson was elected to the United States 
Senate in 1707, hut soon resigned and returned home. 
Soon after lie was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court 
of his Slate, which position he held for six years. 

When the war of r8r2 with Great Britian com- 
menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. 
Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was 
in unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who 
ould do credit to a commission if one were con- 
ned upon him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson 
.ffeted his services and those of twenty-five hundred 
volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops 
were assembled at Nashville. 

As the British were hourly expected to make an at- 
•aik'.pm New Orleans, where Gen Wilkinson was 
in command, he was ordered to descend the river 
with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The 
expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev 
eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, 
:he men were ordered back to their homes. But the 
energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire 
devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him 
golden opinions ; and he became the most popular 
man in the State. It was in this expedition that his 
toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." 

Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. 
Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman 
made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in 
which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, 
he received two severe pistol wounds. While he was 
lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the 
Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from 
Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- 
tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- 
cisive action became nec< isary. Gen. Jackson, with 
his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in 
a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- 
tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an 
army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. 

The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on 
one of the bends of the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- 
ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Port Strother. 
With an army of two thousand men, Gen. Jackson 
traversed the pathless wilderness in a march ol eleven 
days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or 
Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. 1814. The bend 



of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of 
tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow 
neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- 
work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, 
with an ample suplyot arms were assembled. 

The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- 
perate Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When 
bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- 
deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- 
ing until dark, the battle raged. Fhe carnage was 
awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the 
river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as 
they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- 
rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam 
the river and escaped. 'Phis ended the war. The 
power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold 
plunge into the wilderness, with its terriffic slaughter. 
so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants 
of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. 

Phis closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- 
centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the 
illics of the Indians No man of less resolute will 
than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian 
campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he 
was appointed major-general. 

Pate in August, with an army of two thousand 
men, on a rushing march, Gen. Jackson came to 
Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed 
a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, 
and from both ship and shore commenced a furious 
assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length 
one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. 

Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little 
army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, 
And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, 
was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won 
for Gen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his 
troops, which numbered about four thousand men. 
won a signal victory over the British army of about 
nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the 
loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. 

The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- 
tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, 
he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, 
successful in the election of T82S, and was re-elected 
for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he 
assumed the reins of the government, he met with 
the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of 
his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has 
perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of 
her death he never recovered. 

His administration was one of the most memorable 
in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, 
condemned by the other. No man had more bitter 
enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his 
two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where 
lie died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- 
son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. 




7 



/ 7 ^Urr ^^/JU<^Lc^ 



EIGHTH PRESIDENT. 



^<x^ % mj^^ 




<& 



II^rtTlI] V^l] BUFfEI). 





-/@)®<®V^y SJf g 




ARTIN VAN BUREN, the 
;>hth President of the 
United States, was born at 
Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 
1782. He died at the same 
place, July 24, [862. His 
body rests in the cemetery 
at Kinderhook. Above it is 
a plain granite shaft fifteen feet 
high, bearing a simple inscription 
about halt way up on one face. 
The lot is unfenced, unbordered 
or unbounded by shrub or flower. 

There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren 
af romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged 
in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in 
political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many 
signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those 
incidents which give /.est to biography. His an- 
cestors, as his name indicates, were of 1 Hitch origin, 
and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland 
to the banks of the Hudson. His lather was a farmer, 
residing in the old town of Kinderhook. His mother, 
also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- 
ligence and exemplary piety. 

.fe was decidedly a precocious boy, developing un- 
usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the 
age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies 
in his native village, and commenced the study of 
law As he had not a collegiate education, seven 
years of study in a law-office were required of him 
before he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with 
.c lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he par- 
sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After 
spending si\ yens in an office iii Ms native village, 



he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his 
studies for the seventh year. 

In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years ol 
age, commenced the practice of law in his native Mi- 
lage. The great conflict between the Federal aid 
Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van 
Buren was from the beginning a politician. He li id, 
perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the 
many discussions which had been carried on in his 
father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with 
Jefferson, and earnestly and eloquently espoused the 
cause of State Rights; though at that time the led- 
eral party held the supremacy both in his town 
and State. 

His success and increasing ruputation led him 
after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th. 
county seat of his county. Here he spent seven yeai 
constantly gaining strength by contending in the, 
courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned 
the bar of his State. 

Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. 
Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for 
beauty and accomplishments. After twelve short 
years she sank into the grave, the victim of consump- 
tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep ovet 
her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was 
an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record 
of those years is barren in items of public interest. 
In i8r 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to 
the State Senate, and gave his strenuous support to 
Mr. Madison's adminstration. In iS 15, he was ap- 
pointed Attorney-General, and the next year moved 
to Albany, the capital of the State. 

While he was acknowledged as one of the most 
p. ominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 



4? 



MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



the moral courage to avow that true democracy did 
not require that " universal suffrage" which admits 
the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of 
governing the State. In true consistency with his 
democratic principles, he contended that, while the 
path leading to the privilege of voting should be open 
to every man without distinction, no one should be 
invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were 
in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue 
and some property interests in the welfare of the 
State. 

In 182 i he was elected a member of the United 
States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat 
in the convention to revise the constitution of his 
native State. His course in this convention secured 
the approval of men of all parties. No one could 
doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the 
interests of all classes in the community. In the 
Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a 
conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. 

In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the 
Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to 
die Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- 
rermined opposer of the Administration, adopting the 
'State Rights " view in opposition to what was 
deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. 

Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof 
the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his 
seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United 
States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. 
Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it 
Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether 
entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- 
garded througnout the United States as one of the 
most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. 
It was siqqjosed that no one knew so well as he how 
:o touch the secret springs of action; how to pull all 
the wires to put his machinery in motion; and how to 
organize a political army which would, secretly and 
stealthily accomplish the most gigantic results. By 
these powers it is said that he outwitted Mr. Adams, 
Mi. (/lay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which 
tew thought then could be accomplished. 

When Andrew Jackson was elected President he 
appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This 
|>osilion he resigned in 1831, and was immediately 
appointed Minister to England, where he went the 
same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, 
refused to ratify the nomination, and he teturned 



home, apparently untroubled; was nominated Vice 
President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election 
of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and 
frowns for none, he took his place at the head of thai 
Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination 
as ambassador. 

His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of 
President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- 
ite; and this, probably more than any other cause 
secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu 
tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. 
Jackson as President of the United States. He was 
elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the 
retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the 
canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van 
Buren to the President '\as as much the act of Gen. 
Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred 
upon him the power to appoint a successor." 

His administration was filled with exciting events. 
The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- 
volve this country in war with England, the agitation 
of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- 
cial panic which spread over the country, all were 
trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- 
tributed to the management of the Democratic party, 
and brought the President into such disfavor that he 
failed of re-election. 

With the exception of being nominated for the 
Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, 
Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until 
his death. 

He had ever been .1 prudent man, of frugal habits, 
and living within his income, had now fortunately a 
competence for his declining years. His unblemished 
character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned 
patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he 
had occupied in the government of our country, se- 
cured to him not only the homage of his party, but 
the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 
4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from 
the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, 
he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics 
of the country. From this time until his death, on 
the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty ; ears, he 
resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of 
culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old 
age, probably far more happiness than lie had before 
experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life 




' 



/fS.fcfr&VL^C* 



NINTH PRESIDENT. 



5< 




WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 







■v 



I 



ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- 
K f , SON, the ninth President of 
the United States, was horn 
at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. 
His father, Benjamin Harri- 
son, was in comparatively op- 
ulent circumstances, and was 
one of the most distinguished 
men of his day. He was an 
intimate friend of George 
Washington, w as early elected 
a member of the Continental 
Congress, and was conspicuous 
among the patriots of Virginia in 
resisting the encroachments of the 
British crown. In the celebrated 
Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- 
rison and John Hancock were 
both candidates for the office of 
speaker. 

Mr Harrison was subsequently 
chosen Governor of Virginia, and 
was twice re-elected. His son, 
j William Henry, of course enjoyed 

in childhood all the advantages which wealth and 
intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- 
ing received a thorough common-school education, he 
entered Hampden Sidney College, where he graduated 
with honor soor. r.fter the death of his father. He 
clien repaired to Philadelphia tostudy medicine under 
the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of 
i'obert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. 

{Jpon the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- 
withstanding the »emonstrances of his friends, he 
abandoned his medical studies and entered the army, 
.laving obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- 



a 



dent Washington. He was then but 19 years old. 
From that time he passed gradually upward in rank 
until he became aid to General Wayne, after whose 
death he resigned his commission. He was then ap- 
pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This 
Territory was then entitled to but one member in 
Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that 
position. 

In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory 
was divided by Congress into two portions. The 
eastern portion, comprising the region now embraced 
in the State of Ohio, was called " The Territory 
north-west of the Ohio." The western portion, which 
included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and 
Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil 
liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap 
pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana 
Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of 
Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as 
extensive a realm as any sovereign upon the globe. He 
was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- 
vested with powers nearly dictatorial over the now 
rapidly increasing white population. The ability and 
fidelity with which he discharged these responsible 
duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four 
times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, 
twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- 
dent Madison. 

When he began his adminstration there were but 
three white settlements in that almost boundless region, 
now crowded with cities and resounding with all the 
tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements 
was on the Ohio, nearly opposite Louisville; one at 
Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the thiid a French 
settlement. 

The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrises 
reigned was filled with many tribes of Indians Abo" 



5 2 



WILLI AM HENRY HARRISON. 



the year 1806, two extraordinary men, twin brothers, 
of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of 
these was called Tecumseh, or "The Crouching 
1'. uither;" the other, Ollivvacheca, or "The Prophet.'' 
Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man 
of great sagacity, tar-reaching foresight and indomit- 
able perseverance in any enterprise in which he might 
engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, 
and had long regarded with dread and with hatred 
the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- 
grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was 
2norator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored 
Indian as the gale tossed the tree -tops beneath which 
they dwelt. 

But the Prophet was not merely an orator: he was, 
i 1 the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested 
with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a 
magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter 
the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went 
from tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent 
by the Great Spirit 

Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate 
the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- 
canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. 
1 )( tober 28, 1812, his army began its march. When 
near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made 
their appearance and inquired why Gov. Harri-011 was 
approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a 
short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- 
ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. 

But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with 
the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- 
tations Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- 
campment, he took every precaution against surprise 
His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept 
upon their arms. 

The troops threw themselves upon the ground for 
rest; but every man had his accoutrements on, his 
loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The 
wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in 
the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- 
tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It 
was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In 
the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- 
ble, and j':st then, with a savage yell, rushed, witli all 
the desperation which superstition and passion most 
highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the 
little army. The savages had been amply provided 
witli guns and ammunition by the English. Their 
war-whoop was accompanied by a shower of bullets. 

The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the 
light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- 
mis yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubting a 
speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's 
troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them 
until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous 
charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- 
fore them, and completely routing the foe. 



Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked 
to the utmost. The British descending from the Can - 
adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but 
with their savage allies, rushing like wolves from the 
forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- 
ing, plu idering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier 
was plunged into a state of consternation which even 
the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. 
The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the 
forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- 
tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made 
the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. 
Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison 
was appointed by President Madison commander-in- 
chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake 
D.'troit, and to protect the frontiers. 

It would be difficult to place a man in a situation 
demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but 
General Harrison was found equal to the position, 
and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re 
sponsibilities. 

He won the love of his soldiers by always sharing 
with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while 
pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a 
valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket 
lashed over his saddle Thirty-five British officers, 
his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. 
The only fare he could give them was beef roasted 
before the fire, without bread or salt. 

In 1816, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of 
the National House of Representatives, to represent 
the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an 
active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with 
force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested 
the attention of all the members. 

In 1S19, Harrison was elected to the Senate of 
Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors 
of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. "The 
same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. 

In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought him 
forward as a candidate for the Presidency against 
Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of 
Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nominated by his 
party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated 
by the Whigs, with John Tyler forthe Vice Presidency. 
The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave 
all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but 
his triumph was signal. 

The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webstei 
at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most 
brilliant with which any President had ever been 
surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- 
istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country 
more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and 
joyous prospects, Gen. Harrison was seized by a 
pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- 
ness, died on the 4th of April; just one month after 
his inauguration as President of the United States. 







\y 




2VTL 




TENTH PRESIDENT. 



IS 





OHN TYLER, the tenth 
?ij. Presidentof the United States. 
He was horn in Charles-city 
Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He 
was the favored child of af- 
fluence and high social po- 
sition. At the early age of 
twelve, John entered William 
and Mary College and grad- 
uated with much honor when 
but seventeen years old. After 
graduating, he devoted him- 
self with great assiduity to the 
study of law, partly with his 
')/ father and partly with Edmund 
Randolph, one of the most distin- 
guished lawyers of Virginia. 

At nineteen years of age, ne 
commenced the practice of law. 
His success was rapid and aston- 
ishing. It is said that three 
months had not elapsed ere there 
was scarcely a case on the dock- 
et of the court in which he was 
hot retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he 
was almost unanimously e'ected to a seat in the State 
1 .egislature. He connected himself with the Demo- 
Tutic party, and warmly advocated the measures of 
le'ferson and Madison. For five successive years he 
was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the 
unanimous vote or his county. 

When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and 
ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national 
bank, internal improvements by the General ^ovcti- 



rnent, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict con- 
struction of the Constitution, and the most careful 
vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress 
were so arduous that before the close of his second 
term hi found it necessary to resign and retire to his 
estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, 
however, soon after consented to take his seat in the 
State Legislature, where his influence was powerful 
in promoting public works of great utility. With a 
reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chostn 
by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his 
native State. His administration was signally a suc- 
cessful one. His popularity secured his re-election. 

John Ra.idolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed 
man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the 
United States. A portion of the Democratic party 
was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, 
and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, 
considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient 
popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of 
Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. 

In accordance with his professions, upon taking his 
seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- 
tion. He opposed the tariff; he spoke against and 
voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- 
uously opposed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- 
ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- 
eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. 
Calhoun's view of nullification ; he declared that Gen. 
Jackson, by his opposition to the nullifiers, had 
abandoned the principles of the Democratic party. 
Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a record 
in perfect accordance with the principles which he 
had always avowed. 

Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of 
his profession. There was a :pl:t in the Democratic 



56 



JOHN TYLER. 



/.ni\. His friends still regarded him as a true Jef- 
fersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered compli- 
ments upon him. He had now attained the age of 
forty-six. His ( areer had been very brilliant. In con- 
sequence of his devotion to public business, his pri- 
vate affairs had fallen into some disorder; and it was 
not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice 
of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- 
tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, 
for the better education of his children ; and he again 
took his seat in the Legislature of Vitginia. 

By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national 
convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 
'839. The majority of votes were given to Gen. Har- 
rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment ot 
the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- 
ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the 
convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- 
ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- 
thy with the Whig party in theNoith: but the Vice 
President has but very little power in the Govern- 
ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- 
side-over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- 
pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a 
Democratic Vice President were chosen. 

In [841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- 
dent of the United' States. In one short month from 
that time, President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler 
thus :und himself, to his own surprise and that ot 
the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential 
chair. This was a new test of the stability of our 
institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our 
country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler 
was at home in Williamsburg when he received the 
unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- 
son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of 
.*.; ril was inaugurated to the high and responsible 
office. He was placed in a position of exceeding 
delicacy and difficulty. All his longlife he had been 
opposed tc the main principles of the party which had 
brought him into power. He had ever been a con- 
sistent, hone t man, with an unblemished record. 
Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should 
he retain them, and thus suiround himself with coun- 
sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, 
on the other hand, should he turn against the party 
which had elei ted him and select a cabinet in har- 
mony with himself, and which would oppose all those 
views which the Whigsdeemed essential to the pub- 
lic welfare? 'This wis his fearful dilemma. He in- 
vited the cabinet which President Harrison had 
-elected to retain their seats. He reccomm.'nded a 
day of fasting and prayer, that (iod would guide and 
bless us. 

The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the 
incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. 
'The President, after ten days delay, returned it witll 
his veto. Me '-suggested, however, that he ivould 



approve of a bill drawn up upon such a plan as he 

proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and 
privately submitted to him. He gave it his approval. 
It was passed without alteration, and he sent it ba< k 
with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture. 
1c is said that Mr. 'Tyler was provoked to this meas- 
ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. 
ltotts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely 
touched the pride of the President. 

'The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- 
dent into their arms. 'The party which elected him 
denounced him bitterly. All the members of his 
cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. 'The Whigs 
of Congress, both the Senate and the House, held a 
meeting and issued an address to the people ot the 
United States, proclaiming that all political alliance 
between the Whigs and President 'Tyler were at 
an end. 

Still the President attempted to conciliate. He 
appointed a new cabinet of distinguished Whigs and 
Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party 
men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, 
forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus 
the four years of Mr. 'Tyler's unfortunate administra- 
tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. 'The 
land was filled with murmurs and vituperation. Whigs 
and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, 
however, he brought himself into sympathy with his 
old friends, the Democrats, until at the close of his term, 
he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. 
Polk, the Democratic candidate for his successor. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the 
harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and 
probably to his own unspeakable relief. His first wife, 
Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; 
and in June, 1S44, President Tylei was again married, 
at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of 
many personal and intellectual accomplishments. 

The remainder of his days Mr. Tyler passed mainly 
in retirement at his beautiful home, — Slierwood For- 
est, Charles-city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in 
his manners, richly furnished with information from 
books and experience in the world, and possessing 
brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was 
the scene of unusual attractions. With sufficient 
means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he 
might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few 
friends who gathered around him, were it not for the 
storms of civil war which his own principles and 
policy had helped to introduce. 

When the great Rebellion rose, which the State-. 
rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- 
houn had inaugurated, President Tyler renounced his 
allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- 
erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; 
and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by 
force of arms, the Government over which he had 
once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. 





'■'•»■ 



^c 



ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. 



59 




was born in Mecklenburg Co., 
N. C, Nov. 2, 1795. Mi-- par- 
ents were Samuel and Jane 
(Knox) Polk, the former a son 
of Col. Thomas Polk, who located 
at the above place, as one of the 
first pioneers, in 1735. 

In the year 1006, with his wile 
and children, and soon after fol- 
lowed by most of the members of 
the Polk famly, Samuel Polk emi- 
grated some two or three hundred 
miles farther west, to the rich valley 
of the Duck River. Here in the 
midst of the wilderness, in a region 
which was subsequently called Mau- 
ry Co., they reared their lou huls, 
and established their homes. In the 
hard toil of a new farm in the wil- 
derness, James K. Polk spent the 
early years of his childhood and 
youth. His father, adding the pur- 
suit of a surveyor to that of a farmer, 
gradually increased in wealth until 
lie became one of the leading men of the region. I lis 
mother was a superior woman, of strong commi 11 
sense and earnest piety. 

Very early in life, James developed a taste for 
reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain 
a liberal education. His mother's training had made 
him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- 
uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty 
principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his 
father, fearing that ho might not be able to endure ' 



sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the 
counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. 

This was to James a bitter disappointment. He 
had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks 
were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this 
uncongenial occupation but a few weeks, when al his 
earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made 
arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon 
after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With 
ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed 
forward in his studies, and in less than twoandahalf 
years, in the autumn of 1 S 1 5, entered the sophomore 
class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel 
Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of 
scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing 
himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious 
service. 

He graduated in 1818, with the highest honors, bc« 
ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in 
mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- 
three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this 
time much impaired by the assiduity with which he 
had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of 
relaxation he went to Nashville, and entered the 
office of Felix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Poll 
renewed his acquaintance with Andrew Jackson, who 
resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but .1 few 
miles from Nashville. They had probably ben 
slightly acquainted before. 

Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican 
and Jaincs K. Polk ever adhered to the same politi- 
cal faith. He was a popular public speaker, and was 
constantly called upon to address the meetings of his 
partj friends. His skill as .1 speaker was such thai 
lie was popularly called the Napoleon of the stump. 
He was a man of unblemished morals, genial ai d 



6o 



/AMES K. POLK. 



:ourterus in his bearing, and with that sympathetic 
natu r e in the joy s and griefs of others which ever gave 
him troops of friends. In 1S23, Mr. Polk was elected 
to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his 
strong influence towards the election of his friend, 
Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. 

In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah 
Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was 
altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- 
ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a 
member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave 
to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that 
for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- 
tinuec 1 in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, 
only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair 
of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious 
member, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was 
always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever 
he spoke it was always to the point, and without any 
ambitious rhetorical display. 

During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was 
Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, 
and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- 
formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- 
tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was 
passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of 
March, 1839. 

In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a 
candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was 
elected by a large majority, and on the 1 4th of Octo- 
ber, 1839, took the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, 
his term of office expired, and he was again the can- 
didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. 

On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- 
ated President of the United States. The verdict of 
the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted 
its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the 
administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- 
nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 
}d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to 
the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas 
as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, 
Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and 
left the country, declaring the act of the annexation 
to be an act hostile to Mexico. 

In his first message, President Polk urged that 
Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- 
ceived into the Union on the same footing with the 
other States. In the meantime, Gen. Taylor was sent 



with an army into Texas to hold the country. He vas 
sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the 
western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly 
two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, 
where he erected batteries which commanded the 
Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated 011 
the western banks. 

The anticipated collision soon took place, and wa: 
was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The 
war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration 
with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first 
called one of "observation," then of "occupation,' 
then of "invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The 
feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly 
and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement 
alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. 
It was by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration 
that the war was brought on. 

'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was 
prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. 
We now consented to peace upon the condition that 
Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, 
all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- 
ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of 
Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This 
was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the 
size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen 
majestic States to be added to the Union. There were 
some Americans who thought it all right : there were 
others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution 
of this war, we expended twentv thousand lives and 
more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this 
money fifteen millions were paid tu Mexico. 

On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from 
office, having served one term. The next day was 
Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated 
as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the 
same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- 
ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to 
Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. 
He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, 
and his health was good With an ample fortune, 
a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties 
of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years 
of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the 
cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping tin 
the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, 
and died on the 15th of June, 1849,111 the fifty-fourth 
year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen 



TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 



63 





W V V V SVY • ViV,i\ ;-Xi\\- V> V " v vy-vr ^^y:^. y.yy.y.y.y .y - ^x - y-A. u v-y-v- tr y, v.v m 




^ » 




ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth 
President of the United States, 
^was born on the 24th of Nov., 
1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 
« father, Colonel Taylor, was 
a Virginian of note, and a dis- 
tinguished patriot and soldier of 
the Revolution. When Zachary 
was an infant, his father with his 
wife and two children, emigrated 
to Rentucky, where he settled in 
the pathless wilderness, a few 
miles from Louisville. In this front- 
ier home, away from civilization and 
all its refinements, young Zachary 
could enjoy but few social and educational advan- 
tages. When six years of age he attended a common 
school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, 
rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- 
acter He was strong, fearless and self-reliant, and 
manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight 
the Indians who were ravaging the frontiers. There 
is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his 
childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation, 
In 180S, his father succeeded in obtaining for him 
the commission of lieutenant in the United States 
army ; and he joined the troops which were stationed 
at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson Soon after 
this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady 
from one of the first families of Maryland. 

Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- 
land, in r8r2, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been 
promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort 
Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- 
ness by Gen. Harrison.on his march to Tippecanoe. 
It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, 
'.ed by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken 



company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of 
whom were sick. 

Early in the autumn of 1812, the Indians, stealthily, 
and in large numbers, moved upon the fort. Their 
approach was first indicated by the murder of two 
soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor 
made every possible preparation to meet the antici- 
pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of 
forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, 
waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that 
in the morning their chief would come to have a talk 
with him. It was evident that their object was merely 
to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. 
Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept 
them at a distance. 

The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the 
garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before 
midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips 
in the forest around, followed by the discharge of 
musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick 
and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that 
defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cap- 
ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- 
ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can 
conceive the scenes which ensued. The savages suc- 
ceeded in setting (ire to one of the block-houses- 
Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict 
continued. The savages then, baffled at every [»int, 
and gnashing their" teeth with rage, retired. Capt. 
Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the 
rank of major by brevet. 

Until the close of the war, Major Taylor was placed 
in such situations that he saw but little more of active 
service. He was sent far away into the depthsof the 
wilderness, to fort Crawford, on Fox River, which 
empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little 
to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one 
best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 



6 4 



ZACHARY TAYLOR 



tellectuai stimulus. Thus with him the uneventful 
years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of 
colonel. In the Black Hawk war, which resulted in 
the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor 
took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. 

For twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in 
the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in 
employments so obscure, that his name was unknown 
oeyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance. 
In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel 
the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- 
tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, 
iiac" promised they should do. The services rendered 
he e secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of 
the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated 
tt he rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon 
■after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- 
mand of the United States troops in Florida. 

After two years of such wearisome employment 
amidst the everglades of the peninsula, Gen. Taylor 
obtained, at his own request, a change of command, 
r.ud was stationed over the Department of the South- 
west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters 
at Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family 
to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. 
Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, 
r rom the world, but faithfully discharging every duty 
imposed upon him. 

In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land 
between the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river 
being the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed 
by the United States. Soon the war with Mexico 
was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la 
Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the 
Mexicans. The rank of major-general by brevet 
was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name 
was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in 
the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and 
Buena Vista in which he won signal victories over 
foices much larger than he commanded. 

His careless habits of dress and his unaffected 
simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, 
Has. sobriquet of "Old Rough and Ready.' 

The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista 
pread the wildest enthusiasm over the country. The 
name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The 
Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- 
ful popularity in bringing forward the unpolished, tin- 
ned, honest soldier as their candidate for the 
1 residency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- 
nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- 
claring that he was not .it .ill qualified for such an 
office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, 
for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not 
without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen 
who had been long years in the public service found 
•l._ir claims set aside in behalf of one whose name 



had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo 
Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena 
Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- 
marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." 

Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine 
writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- 
pared such few communications as it was needful 
should be presented to the public. The popularity of 
the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- 
umphantly elected over two opposing candidates, — 
Gen. Cass and Ex-President Martin Van Buren. 
Though he selected an excellent cabinet, the good 
old man found himself in a very uncongenial position, 
and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. 
His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably 
tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party 
was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- 
tions were fitting out to capture Cuba; California was 
pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery 
stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found 
the political conflicts in Washington to be far more 
trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or 
Indians 

In the midst of all these troubles, Gen. Taylor, 
after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little 
over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of 
but little over five days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. 
His last words were, " I am not afraid to die. I am 
ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died 
universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- 
pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the 
affections of the people ; and the Nation bitterly la- 
mented his death. 

Gen. Scott, who was thoioughly acquainted with 
Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful 
description of his character: — " With a good store of 
common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- 
larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse 
with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- 
quence. The frontiers and small military posts had 
been his home. Hence he was quite ignorant for his 
rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- 
plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- 
dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the 
tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, 
chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat 
a little on one side of his head; or an officer to leave 
a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- 
side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the 
offender to be a coxcomb (perhaps something worse), 
whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, 
' touch with a pair of tongs.' 

"Any allusion to literature beyond good old Oil- 
worth's spelling-book, on the part of one wearing a 
sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter 
unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. Inshor' 
few men have ever had a more comforja '•""„. 

suing contempt for learnii g of every kind. 





I 



J £<C6ui*xrijd 



THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



6? 





St 



>'. 



1 ^'MILLftRn FILLMflRE.^ 



it* 



-8-1- 



31> 



KS 



®*§s- 



«*-* 




^. 



#1 




ILLARD FILLMORE, thi.- 

, teenth President of the United 

^States, 



was born at Summer 
Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on 
the 7th of January, 1800. His 
father was a farmer, and ow- 
ing to misfortune, in humble cir- 
cumstances. Of his mother, the 
daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, 
of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been 
said that she possessed an intellect 
of very high order, united with much 
personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- 
position, graceful manners and ex- 
quisite sensibilities. She died in 
1 83 1 ; having lived to see her son a 
young man of distinguished prom- 
ise, chough she was not permitted to witness the high 
dignity which he finally attained. 

In consequence of the secluded houie and limited 
means of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- 
vantages for education in his early years. The com- 
mon schools, which he occasionally attended were 
very imperfect institutions; and books were scarce 
and expensive. There was nothing then in his char- 
acter to indicate the brilliant career upon which he 
was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy; 
intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred 
influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, 
and had laid the foundations of an upright character. 
When fourteen years of age, his father sent him 
some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of 
Livingston County, to learn the trade of .1 clothier. 
Near the mill there was a small villiage, where some 



enterprising man had commenced the collection of a 
village library. This proved an inestimable blessing 
to young Fillmore His evenings were spent in read- 
ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied v. ith 
books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate 
and the selections which he made were continually 
more elevating and instructive. He read history, 
biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- 
kindled in his heart a desire to be something more 
than a mere worker with his hands; and lie was be- 
coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, 
educated man. 

The young clothier had now attained the age of 
nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance 
and cf gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened that 
there was a gentleman in the neighborhood cf ample 
pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter 
Wood, — who was struck with t lie prepossessing ap- 
pearance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- 
ance, and was so much impressed with his ability and 
attainments that he advised him to abandon his 
trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The 
young man replied, that he had no means of his own, 
no friends to help him and that his previous educa- 
tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had 
so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to 
take him into his own office, and to loan him such 
money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous 
offer was accepted. 

There is in many minds a strange delusion about 
1 1 ollegiate education. A young nun 1- sup; used to 
be libera 11 \ educated if he ha- graduated at som ! col- 
lege. But man} a boy loiters through universit) lial'; 
«uid then enters a Ian office, who is b\ no means as 



i;6 



MILLARD FILLMORE. 



well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was 
Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- 
mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during 
which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- 
tense mental culture. 

In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he was 
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then 
went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the 
practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, 
his practice of course was limited, and there was no 
opportunity for a sudden rise in foitune or in fame. 
Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great 
moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station 
she might be called to fill, — Miss Abigail Powers. 

His elevation of character, his untiring industry, 
his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, 
gradually attracted attention , and he was invited to 
enter into partnership under highly advantageous 
circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in 
Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, 
he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the 
State of New York, as a representative from Erie 
County. Though he had never taken a very active 
part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with 
the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, 
and he found himself in a helpless minority in the 
Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parties, 
that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very 
unusual degu e the respect of his associates. 

In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in 
Ihe United States Congress He entered that troubled 
irena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our 
national history. The great conflict respecting the 
national bank and the removal of the deposits, was 
then raging. . 

His term of two years closed ; and he returned to 
his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- 
utation and success. After a lapse of two years 
he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- 
elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- 
rience as a representative gave him strength and 
confidence. The first term of service in Congress to 
any man can be but little more than an introduction. 
He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- 
gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every 
measure received his impress. 

Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and 
his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847, 
he was elected Comptroller of the State. 



Mr. Fillmore had attained the age of forty-seven 
years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in 
Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- 
siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to 
find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- 
dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the 
waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old 
soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles 
with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be 
proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But 
it was necessary to associate with him on the same 
ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. 

Under the influence of these considerations, the 
namesof Zachary Taylor ard Millard Fillmore became 
the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for 
President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was 
signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, 
Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard 
Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. 

On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but 
about one year and four months after his inaugura 
tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- 
stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- 
dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which 
the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. 

Mr. Fillmore had very serious difficulties to contend 
with, since the opposition had a majority in both 
Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate 
the South; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt 
the inadequacy of all measuresof transient conciliation. 
The population of the free States was so rapidly in- 
creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- 
evitable that the power of the Government should 
soon pass into the hands of the free States. The 
famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. 
Fillmore's admins t ration, and the Japan Expedition 
was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- 
more, having served one term, retired. 

In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- 
idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten 
by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in 
retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, 
he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that 
his sympathies were rather with those who were en- 
deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President 
Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any 
cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. 
He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe 
old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874. 



FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



7i 




fcrfCiu^L. 




»— ^ta3feM 



2skp 

■>-■'! 



swqwpipy^H>vvyyTyiw n ' 



» ^FRANKLIN PIERCED 









RANKLIN PIERCE, the 
fourteenth President of the 
United States, was born in 
Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 
23, 1804. His father was a 
Revolutionary soldier, who, 
with his own strong arm, 
hewed out a home in the 
wilderness. He was a man 
of inflexible integrity; of 
strong, though uncultivated 
mind, and an uncompromis- 
ing Democrat. The mother of 
Franklin Pierce was all that a son 
could desire, — an intelligent, pru- 
dent, affectionate, Christian wom- 
an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. 

Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- 
erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the 
love of old and young. The boys on the play ground 
loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors 
looked upon him with pride and affection. He was 
by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, 
doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact 
which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- 
veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural 
devotion to books, he was a good scholar ; in body, 
in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. 

When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he 
entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me He was 
one of the most popular young men in the college. 
The purity cf his moral character, the unvarying 
courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and 



genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. 
There was something very peculiarly winning in his 
address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- 
gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his 
own magnanimous and loving nature. 

Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce 
commenced the study of law in the office of Judge 
Woodbury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of 
the State, and a man of great private worth. The 
eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his 
father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant 
political career into which Judge Woodbury was en- 
tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- 
nating yet perilous path of political life. With all 
the ardor of his nature he espoused the cause of Gen. 
Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the 
practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected 
to represent the town in the State Legislature. Here 
he served for four yeais. The last two years he was 
chosen speaker of the house by a very large vote. 

In 1833, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected 
a member of Congress. Without taking an active 
part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty 
and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom 
he was associatad. 

In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, 
he was elected to the Senate of the United States; 
taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced 
his administration. He was the youngest member in 
the Senate. In the year 1834, he married Miss Jane 
Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- 
plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn every 
station with wiiich her husband was honoied. Of the 



72 



(•RANKLIN PIERCE. 



three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with 
their parents in the grave. 

In the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame 
and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his 
residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 
President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed 
Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but 
the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous 
professional engagements at home, and the precariuos 
state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the 
same time declined the nomination for governor by the 
Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. 
Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of 
brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his 
troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. 
He took an important part in this war, proving him- 
self a brave and true soldier. 

When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native- 
State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- 
cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- 
nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, 
ver) frequently taking an active part in political ques- 
tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery 
wing of the Democratic party. The compromise 
measures met cordially with his approval; and he 
strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- 
mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious 
sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin- 
guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.'' 
The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- 
quently regarded him as a man whom they could 
safely trust in office to carry out their plans. 

On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- 
tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the 
Presidency.' For four days they continued in session, 
■,id in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a 
two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown 
for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation 
brought forward his name. There were fourteen 
more ballotings, during whi< li Gen. Pierce constantly 
gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he 
received two hundred and eighty-two votes, ami all 
other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was 
the Whig candidate. Gen. Tierce was chosen with 
great unanimity. Only four States— Vermont, Mas- 
sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their 
electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pierce 
was therefore iu.1uj4ur.1ted Tresident of the United 
States on the 4th of March, 1853. 



His administration proved one of the most stormy our 
country had ever experienced. The controversy be 
tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its 
culminating point. It became evident that there was 
an " irrepressible conflict" between them, and that 
this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half 
free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- 
ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate 
the South ; but it was all in vain. 'The conflict every 
year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution 
of the Union were borne to the North on every South- 
ern breeze. 

Such was the condition of affairs when President 
Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term 
of office. 'The North had become thoroughly alien- 
ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded 
by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all 
the intellectual ability and social worth of President 
Tierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- 
ministrative acts. 'The slaveholders of the South, also, 
unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- 
cated those measures of Government which they ap- 
proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had 
rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be 
able acceptably to serve them, ungratefully dropped 
him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. 

On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce le- 
tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two 
had died, and his only surviving child had been 
kiiied before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his 
wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of 
1. ulies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. 'The 
hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left 
alone in the world, without wife or child. 

When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- 
vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. 
Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he- 
had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to 
that pro-slavery party with which he had tver been 
allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice 
or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- 
ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until 
the time of his death, which occurred in October, 
1869. He was one of the most genial and social of 
men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal 
Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. Gen 
erous to .1 fault, he contributed liberally tor the al- 
Icvi.ition of suffering and want, and many of his towns- 
people were often gladencd by his material lounty. 




Zi/S7?_4Lj & y 6 



^UC^6^Z^^/^ 



FIFTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



n 




-«*#;- 



-+— 




»»> 



'■ •..'.'•.■> •..■■■•.■v..'i ■•, 1 | 1 ' , ,v.-v,v, '. 



.: i' :■!' :v : .' :v .-.'.-.' .'.'.• ,•:,<:,•:,<: i',; , 



' : ■' : i 1 ■: i 1 : i 1 : -i'..' i 1 ."■' : ■'•■• !'■.• ■' ■' i 1 ^' ■' ■'•'•'■■' •■'» '•■'■ '■■''•■'' •■'' '■ '■ '•■'■ '•■'■ •■'■ '■ '■•'■ '■ '•■'' '■ '» "• 



« < «, 



P. 



"S> 



-m*- 




AMES BUCHANAN, the fif- 
.teenth President of the United 

States, was born in a small 
frontier town, at the foot of the 
eastern ridge of the Allegha- 
nies, in Franklin Co., Penn.,on 
the 23d of April, 1791. The place 
wliere the humble cabin of his 
father stood was called Stony 
Batter. It was 3 wild and ro- 
mantic spot in a gorge of the moun- 
tains, with towering summits rising 
grandly all around. His father 
was a native of the north of Ireland ; 
a poor man, who had emigrated in 
1783, with little property save his 
own strong arms. Five years afterwards he married 
Elizabeth Spear, the daughter of a respectable fanner, 
and, with his young bride, plunged into the wilder- 
ness, staked his claim, reared his log-hut, opened a 
clearing with Ins axe, ami settled down there to per- 
form his obscure part in the drama of life. In this se- 
cluded home, where James was born, he remained 
for eight years, enjoying but few social or intellectual 
advantages. When James was eight years of age, his 
father removed to the village of Mercersburg, where 
his son was placed at school, and commenced a 
course of study in English, Latin and Greek. His 
progress was rapid, and at the age of fourteen, he 
entered Dickinson College, at Carlisle. Here he de- 
veloped remarkable talent, and took his stand among 
the first scholars in the institution. His application 
to study was intense, and yet his native powers en- 



abled him to master the most abstruse subjects w 
facility. 

In the year 1809, he graduated with the highest 
honors of his class.. He was then eighteen years cl 
age; tall and graceful, vigorous in health, fond of 
athletic sport, an unerring shot, and enlivened with 
an exuberant flow of animal spirits. He immediately 
commenced the study of law in the city of Lancaster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812, when he was 
but twenty-one years of age. Very rapidly he rose 
in his profession, and at once took undisputed stand 
with the ablest lawyers of the State. When but 
twenty-six years of age, unaided by counsel, he suc- 
cessfully defended before the State Senate ore of the 
judges of the State, who was tried upon articles of 
impeachment. At the age of thirty it was generally 
admitted that he stood at the head of the bar; and 
there was no lawyer in the State who had a more lu- 
crative practice. 

In 1820, he reluctantly consented to run as a 
candidate for Congress. He was elected, and for 
ten years he remained a member of the Lower House. 
During the vacations of Congress, he occasionally 
tried some important case. In 1831, he retired 
altogether from the toils of his profession, having ac- 
quired an ample fortune. 

Gen. Jackson, upon his elevation to the Presidency, 
appointed Mr. Buchanan minister to Russia. The 
duties of his mission he performed with ability, which 
gave satisfaction to all parties. Upon his return, in 
1833, he was elected to a seat in the United States 
Senate. He there met, as his associates, Webster. 
Clay, Wright and Calhoun. He advocated the meas- 
ures proposed by President Jackson, of m .ling repn- 



7 6 



JAMES BUCHANAN. 



sals against Fiance, to enforce the payment of our 
claims against that country; and defended the course 
of the President in his unprecedented and wholesale 
removal from office of those who were not the sup- 
porters of his administration. Upon this question he 
was brought into direct collision with Henry Clay. 
He also, with voice and vote, advocated expunging 
from the journal of the Senate the vote of censure 
against Gen. Jackson for removing the deposits. 
Earnestly he opposed the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and urged the prohibition of the 
circulation of anti-slavery documents by the United 
States mails. 

As to petitions on the subject of slavery, he advo- 
cated that they should be respectfully received; and 
that the reply should be returned, that Congress had 
no power to legislate upon the subject. " Congress," 
said he, " might as well undertake to interfere with 
slavery under a foreign government as in any of the 
States where it now exists." 

Upon Mr. Polk's accession to the Presidency, Mr. 
Buchanan became Secretary of State, and as such, 
took his share of the responsibility in the conduct of 
the Mexican War. Mr. Polk assumed that crossing 
the Nueces by the American troops into the disputed 
territory was not wrong, but for the Mexicans to cross 
the Rio Grande into that territory was a declaration 
of war. No candid man can read with pleasure the 
account of the course our Government pursued in that 
movement 

Mr. Buchanan identified himself thoroughly with 
the party devoted to the perpetuation and extension 
of slavery, and brought all the energies of his mind 
to bear against the Wilmot Proviso. He gave his 
cordial approval to the compromise measures of 1050, 
which included the fugitive-slave law. Mr. Pierce, 
upon his election to the Presidency, honored Mr. 
Buchanan with the mission to England. 

In the year 1856, a national Democratic conven- 
tion nominated Mr. Buchanan for the Presidency. The 
political conflict was one of the most severe in which 
our country has ever engaged. All the friends of 
slavery were on one side ; all the advocates of its re- 
striction and final abolition, on the other. Mr. Fre- 
mont, the candidate of the enemies of slavery, re- 
ceived 114 electoral votes. Mr. Buchanan received 
174, and was elected. The popular vote stood 
1,340,618, for Fremont, 1,224,750 for Buchanan. On 
March 4th. 1857, Mr. Buchanan was inaugurated. 

Mr. Buchanan was far advanced in life. Only four 
vears were wanting to fill up his threescore years and 
ten. His own friends, those with whom he had been 
allied in political principles and action for years, were 
sueking the destruction of the Government, that they 
might rear upon the ruins of our free institutions a 
nation whose corner-stone should be human slavery. 
In this emergency, Mr. Buchanan was hopelessly be- 
wildered He could not, with his long-avowed prin- 



ciples, consistently oppose the State-rights party in 
their assumptions. As President of the United States, 
bound by his oath faithfully to administer the laws 
he could not, without perjury of the grossest kind, 
unite with those endeavoring to overthrow the repub- 
lic. He therefore did nothing. 

The opponents of Mr. Buchanan's administration 
nominated Abraham Lincoln as their standard bearer 
in the next Presidential canvass. The pro-slaverv 
party declared, that if he were elected, and the con- 
trol of the Government were thus taken from their 
hands, they would secede from the Union, taking 
witli them, as they retired, the National Capitol at 
Washington, and the lion's share of the territory of 
the United States. 

Mr. Buchanan's sympathy with the pro-slavery 
party was such, that he had been willing to offer them 
far more than they had ventured to claim. All the 
South had professed to ask of the North was non- 
intervention upon the subject of slavery. Mr. Bu- 
chanan had been ready to offer them the active co- 
operation of the Government to defend and extend 
the institution. 

As the storm increased in violence, the slaveholder.; 
claiming the right to secede, and Mr. Buchanan avow- 
ing that Congress had no power to prevent it, one ol 
the most pitiable exhibitions of governmental im- 
becility was exhibited the world has ever seen. He- 
declared that Congress had no power to enforce its 
laws in any State which had withdrawn, or whkh 
was attempting to withdraw from the Union. Tl.i; 
was not the doctrine of Andrew Jackson, when, wil 
his hand upon his sword-hilt, he exclaimed. "The 
Union must and shall be preserved!" 

South Carolina seceded in December, i860; nearly 
three months before the inauguration of President 
Lincoln. Mr. Buchanan looked on in listless despair. 
The rebel flag was raised in Charleston : Fort Sumpter 
was besieged ; our forts, navy-yards and arsenals 
were seized ; our depots of military stores were plun- 
dered ; and our custom-houses and post-offices were 
appropriated by the rebels. 

The energy of the rebels, and the imbecility of our 
Executive, were alike marvelous. The Nation looked 
on in agony, waiting for the slow weeks to glide away, 
and close the administration, so terrible in its weak- 
ness At length the long-looked-for hour of deliver- 
ance came, when Abraham Lincoln was to receive the 
scepter. 

The administration of President Buchanan was 
certainly the most calamitous our country has ex- 
perienced. His best friends cannot recall it with 
pleasure. And still more deplorable it is for his fame, 
that in that dreadful conflict which rolled its billows 
of flame and blood over our whole land, no word came 
from his lips to indicate his wish that our country's 
banner should triumph over the flag of the rebellion 
H** died at his Wheatland retreat, June 1, i863. 




fy* 



^-r 



G y / jfa&<^<'-&/ 



SIXTEENTH PRES/DENT. 



79 



y[ ABRAHAM > JfefNf^ ' 




j LINCOLN. >1 






BRAHAM LINCOLN, the 
sixteenth President of the 
||$United States, was born in 
Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 
1809. About the year 1780, a 
man by the name of Abraham 
Lincoln left Virginia with his 
family and moved into the then 
wilds of Kentucky. Only two years 
after this emigration, still a young 
man, while working one day in a 
field, was stealthily approached by 
an Indian and shot dead. His widow 
was left in extreme poverty with five 
little children, three boys and two 
girls. Thomas, the youngest of the 
boys, was four years of age at his 
father's death. This Thomas was 
the father of Abraham Lincoln, the 
President of the United States 
whose name must henceforth forever be enrolled 
with the must prominent in the annals of our world. 
Of course no record has been kept of the life 
ol one so lowly ns Thomas Lincoln. He was among 
1 he poorest of the poor. His home was a wretched 
log-cabin; his food the coarsest and the meanest. 
Ed ication he had none; he could never either read 
or a rite. As soon as he was able to do anything for 
himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his 
starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- 
ess wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- 
self out, and thus spent the whole of his youth as a 
Piborer in the fields of others. 

When twenty-eight years of age he built a log- 
cabin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the 
daughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- 
grants, who had also come from Virginia. Their 
second child was Abraham Lincoln, the subject of 
this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 
woman, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn 
a palace, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. 
"All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate- 
ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. 

When he was eight years of age, his father sold his 





cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana Where 
two years later his mother died. 

Abraham soon became the scribe of the uneducated 
community around him. He could not have had a 
better school than this to teach him to put thoughts 
into words. He also became an eager reader. The 
books he could obtain were few ; but these he read 
and re-read until they were almost committed tc 
memory. 

As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly family 
was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys ami 
griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sistei 
Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar- 
ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, anc 
soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr. 
Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 
and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. 

Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. 
With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearin;. 
another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at this 
until he saw the family comfortably settled, and thei' 
small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, whe:i 
he announced to his father his intention to leave 
home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- 
tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- 
liant that fortune was to be. He saw the value ol 
education and was intensely earnest to improve his 
mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin 
which aident spirits were causing, and became 
strictly temperate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- 
cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in 
Cod's word, "Thou shalt not take the name of the 
Lord thy God in vain;" and a profane expression he. 
was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His 
morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a 
single vice. 

Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborei 
among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield 
where he was employed in building a large flat-boat 
In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down 
the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis 
sissippi to New Orleans. Whatever Abraham Lin- 
coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give 
great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven 



So 



ABRAHAM LINCOLS. 



ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon 
his return they placed a store and mill under his care. 

In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he 
enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He 
returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 
years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but 
was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew 
Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New Salem, 
His only post-office was his hat. All the letters he 
received he carried there ready to deliver to those 
he chanced to meet. 1 le studied surveying, and soon 
made this his business. In 1834 he again became a 
candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. 
Stuart, of Springfield, adviseil him to study law. He 
walked from New Salem, to Springfield, borrowed of 
Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and 
began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- 
sembled he trudged on foot with his pack on his back 
one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 
1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it 
was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. 
His success with the jury was so great that he was 
coon engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. 

In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. 
Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. 
In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, 
in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became 
one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's 
speechesin opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- 
test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most 
notable part of his history. The issue was on the 
slavery question, and he took the broad ground of 
.he Declaration of Independence, that all men are 
reated equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- 
test, but won a far higher prize. 

The great Republican Convention met at Chicago 
on the r6th of June, i860. The delegates and 
strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- 
five thousand. An immense building called "The 
Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- 
tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes 
were thrown. William H Seward, a man whose fame 
as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most 
prominent. It was generally supposed he would be 
the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received 
the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then 
dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the 
bloody death, to w'ai :h that nomination doomed him: 
1 iid as little did he dream that he w.is to render services 
to his country, which would li\ upon him the eyes of 
the whole civilized world, ami which would give him 
a place in the affections nf his countrymen, second 
enly, if second, to that of Washington. 

Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received r8o 

electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, 

titutionally elected President of the United States. 

The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good 



and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was 
greater than upon any other man ever elected to this 
high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started 
for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his 
way making speeches. The whole journey wasfroughi 
with much danger. Many of the Southern States had 
already seceded, and several attempts at assassination 
were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- 
more had arranged, upon his arrival to" get up a row," 
and in the confusion to make sure of his death with 
revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled 
the plot. A secret and special train was provided t( 
take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at ar 
unexpected hour of the night. The train started at 
half-past ten ; and to prevent ai.y possible communi- 
cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Can - 
federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train bao 
started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln 
reached Washington in safety and was inaugurated, 
although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people 
In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave 
to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other 
prominent opponents before the convention he gave 
important positions. 

During no other administration have the duties 
devolving upon the President been so manifold, and 
the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to 
the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and 
feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in 
his own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he 
learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in 
determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his 
trial-, both personal and national. Contrary to his 
own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the 
most courageous of men. He went directly into the 
rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, 
with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he 
had left Springfield, in r 86 r , however, plans had been 
made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim 
tooneof them. April 14, [865, he, with Cen. Grant, 
was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It 
was announced that they would Le present. Gen. 
Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- 
ing, witti his characteristic kindliness of heart, that 
it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, 
very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to 
the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth 
entered the box where the President and family were 
seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the 
next morning at seven o'clock. 

Never before, in the history of the world was a nation 
plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. 
Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless 
anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was 
in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a 
model. His name as the savior of his country will 
live with that of Washington's, its father; his cc'intiy- 
men being unable to decide which is the greater. 





~?-1rd>(^t-^^~ 




^z^Ltfty^ 



SEVENTEENTH PRESIDENT. 



*3 












NDREW JOHNSON, seven- 

teentli President of the United 
i 
States. The early lite of 

Andrew Johnson contains but 
the record of poverty, destitu- 
tion and friendlessness. He 
7 was born December 29, 180S, 
in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, 
belonging to the class of the 
"poor whites " of the South, were 
in such circumstances, that they 
could not c-.nf:r _.*er> the slight- 
est advantages of education upon 
their child. When Andrew was five 
years of age, his father accidentally 
lost nis life while herorically endeavoring to save a 
friend from drowning. TT ruii tea years of age, Andrew 
was a ragged boy abour the streets, supported by the 
labor of his mother, who obtained her living with 
her own hands. 

He then, having never attended a school one day, 
and being unable either to read or write, was ap- 
prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman 
was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- 
ally, and reading to the boys at work there. He often 
read from the speeches of distinguished British states- 
men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more 
than ordinary native ability, became much interested 
in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he 
was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. 

He accordingly applied himself to the alphabet, and 
with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, 
.earned his letters. He then called upon the gentle- 
man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner. 



pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the boost 
but assisted him in learning to combine the letters 
into words. Under such difficulties he pressed 3.- 
ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours 
at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest 
and recreatio.- to devote such time as he could to 
reading. 

He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located at 
Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos 
sessed some education. Under her instructions he 
learned to write and cipher. He became prominent 
in the village debating society, and a favorite with 
the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- 
ganized a working man's party, which elected him 
alderman, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which 
position he held three years. 

He now began to take a lively interest in political 
affairs ; identifying himself with the working-classes, 
to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a 
member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- 
see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. 
He became a very active member of the legislature 
gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 
1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin Van 
Buren's claims to the Presidency, in opposition to thos. 
of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired mucb 
readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased 
his reputation. 

In 1841, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he 
was elected a member of Congress, and by successive 
elections, held that important post for ten years In 
1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and 
was re-elected in 1855. In all these responsible posi 
tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished abi. 



84 



ANDREW JOHNSON. 



ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- 
ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected 
United States Senator. 

Years before, in 1S45, he had warmly advocated 
the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his 
reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- 
ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable 
sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to treedom, 
and become merged in a population congenial to 
themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- 
promise measures, the two essential features of which 
were, that the white people of the Territories should 
be permitted to decide for themselves whether they 
would enslave the colored people or not, and that 
the r ree States of the North should return to the 
ooiuh persons who attempted to escape from slavery. 

Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin: 
on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that 
he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," 
said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget 
that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam 
was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- 
ior was the son of a carpenter." 

In the Charleston- Baltimore convention of iSi^j, ne 
ivas the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for the 
Presidency. In 1S61, when the purpose of the South- 
ern Democracy became apparent, he took a decided 
stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery 
must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever 
cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly 
imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of 
Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the 
Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- 
pointed him. Military Governor of the State, and lie 
established the most stringent military rule. His 
numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 

1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United 
States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 

1865, became President. In a speech two days later 
he said, " The American people must be taught, if 
they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and 
must be punished ; that the Government will not 
always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not 
only to protect, but to punish. * * The people 
must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of 
crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole 
administration, the history of which is so well known, 
was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent 



opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. 

In his loose policy of reconstruction and general 
amnesty, he was opposed by Congress; and he char- 
acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly 
defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In 
the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes 
and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the 
removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- 
ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- 
ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. 

It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three 
months. A test article of the impeachment was at 
length submitted to the court for its action. It was 
certain that as the court voted upon that article so 
would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced 
the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- 
sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- 
quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against 
him. The change of one vote from the not guilty 
side would have sustained the impeachment. 

The President, for the remainder of his terra, was 
but little regarded. He continued, though impotent 1 ;-, 
his conflict with Congress. His own party did not 
think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- 
dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- 
alleled since the days of Washington, around the name 
of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. 
The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the 
President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was 
there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- 
mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a 
nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home 
in Greenville, Tenn., taking no very active part in 
politics until 1875. On Jan 26, after an exciting 
struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- 
nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- 
gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special 
session convened by President Grant, on the 5th of 
March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President 
made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter 
Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was 
apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- 
ing the residence of his child the following day, was 
stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. 
He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 
2 a.m., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- 
eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, 
with every demonstration of respect 





7~ <2 



< <s(— 



EIGH1HENJ tl EXES1DENT. 



8? 





r r ^j\i)^. 



ru 



w 



LYSSES S. GRANT, the 
eighteenth President of the 
• : United States, was born on 
the 29th of April, 1822, of 
Christian parents, in a humble 
home, at Point Pleasant, on the 
banks of the Ohio. Shortly after 
his father moved to George- 
town, Brown Co., O. In this re- 
mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses 
received a common-school edu- 
cation. At the age of seven- 
teen, in the year 1839, he entered 
the Military Academy at West 
Point. Here he was regarded as a 
solid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of 
sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank 
as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the 
middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- 
fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- 
souri Territory. Two years he past in these dreary 
solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasperating 
-Indians. 

The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was 
sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first 
battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here 
for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at 
Resacade la Pal ma, his second battle. At the battle 
of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that 
ne performed a signal service of daring and skillful 
horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- 
munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along 
a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. 
Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, 
grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one 
side of the anin=>.il, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. 






From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 
10 aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In 
preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he 
was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the 
battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a 
first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- 
pultepec. 

At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- 
turned with his regiment to New York, and was again 
sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The 
discovery of gold in California causing an immense 
tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. 
Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in 
Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- 
migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. 
Grant resigned his commission and returned to the 
States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- 
tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but 
little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- 
munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into 
the leather business, with a younger brother, at Ga- 
lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the tidings 
of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears 
of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — 
"Uncle Sam has educated me for the army: though 
I have served him through one war, I do not fee' that 
I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge 
my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword 
and see Uncle Sam through this war too." 

He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- 
unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, 
the capital of the State, where their services wen- 
offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by 
the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. 
Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the 
volunteer organization that was being formed in the 
State in behalf of the Government. On the 15 th of 



88 



UL YSShS S. GRA NT. 



June, 1861, Capt. Grant received a commission as 
Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- 
unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who 
had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such 
that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- 
General and was placed in command at Cairo. The 
rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth 
of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- 
peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The 
rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star anil 
stripes were unfurled in its stead. 

He entered the service with great determination 
and immediately began active duty. This was the be- 
ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond 
he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and 
effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- 
prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry 
won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight 
at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the 
victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was 
immediately made a Major-General, and the military 
iistrict of Tennessee was assigned to him. 

Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how 
to secure the results of victory. He immediately 
oushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the 
terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the 
siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an 
unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty 
thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- 
non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most 
severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, 
and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. 

Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with 
Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and pro- 
ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from 
his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he 
was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid 
of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and 
by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- 
ures put the Union Army in fighting condition. Then 
followed tlie bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout 
Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels 
were routed with great loss. This won for him un- 
bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- 
ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- 
general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. 
He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials 
and enter upon lb' duties of his new office 



Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge ot 
the army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National 
troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal 
capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- 
stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- 
sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole 
continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these 
majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. 
Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains 
were burdened with closely packed thousands. His 
plans were comprehensive and involved a series of 
campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- 
ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- 
render of Lee, April 9, 1865. 

The war was ended. The Union was saved. The 
almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. 
Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- 
vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered 
the country brought him conspicuously forward as the 
Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. 

At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. 
May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the 
Presidency, and at the autumn election received a 
majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 
electoral votes. 

The National Convention of the Republican party 
which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, 
placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term 
by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- 
cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 
electoral votes being cast for him. 

Soon after the close of his second term, Gen. Grant 
started upon his famous trip around the world. He 
visited almost every country of the civilized world, 
and was everywhere received with such ovations 
and demonstrations of respect and honor, private 
as well as public and official, as were never before 
bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. 

He was the most prominent candidate before the 
Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- 
nomination for President. He went to New York and 
embarked in the brokerage business under the firm 
nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, 
wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to 
the penitentiary. The General was attacked witli 
cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like 
manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as 
General of the Army and retired by Congress. The 
cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 
1885, the nation went in mourning over the death of 
the illustrious General. 




s, 



• / u^. 




tf* 



3 



NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 



9> 





'C 



B. HA 



I 1 -. 1 .' : ■'..••i | .."i'..'v.."i r i: i'...i'.; ■■..- ><:V: >< : 1 1 : ..:. •..■■ -..■■ -. '■ . '. -.'■ ;.y , ;.y.>y..y..y'..y..v'.-v 





:>■■' i 



^ 




UTHERFORD B. HAYES, 
the nineteenth President of 
the United States, was born in 
Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- 
most three months after the 
death of his father, Rutherford 
Hayes. His ancestry on both 
the paternal and maternal sides, 
was of the most honorable char- 
acter. It can be traced, it is said, 
as far back as 1280, when Hayes and 
Rutherford were two Scottish chief- 
tains, fighting side by side with 
Baliol, William Wallace and Robert 
Bruce. Both families belonged to the 
nobility, owned extensive estates, 
and had a large following. Misfor- 
tune ovfef caking the family, George Hayes left Scot- 
.and in 16S0, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son 
George wa< born in Windsor, and remained there 
during his li.'e. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, mar- 
ried Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his mar- 
riage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, 
son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufac- 
turer of scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes, 
son of Ezekiel ai,d grandfather of President Hayes, was 
born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a farmer, 
blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to 
Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, 
where he established a hotel. Here his son Ruth- 
erford Hayes the father of President Hayes, was 



born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia 
Birchard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emi- 
grated thither from Connecticut, they having been 
among the wealthiest and best famlies of Norwich. 
Her ancestry on the male side are traced back tc 
1635, to John Birchard, one of the principal founders 
of Norwich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers 
in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of President Hayes was an industrious 
frugal and opened-hearted man. He was of a me 
chanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stock- 
ing, or do almost anything else that he choose to 
undertake. He was a member of the Church, active 
in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- 
ducted his business on Christian principles. After 
the close of the war of 181 2, for reasons inexplicable 
to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio. 

The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day 
when there were no canals, steamers, not railways, 
was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was 
first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes deter 
mined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived 
in 1817. He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial 
fever, less than three months before the birth of the 
son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore be- 
reavement, found the support she so much needed in 
her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the 
household from the day of its departure from Ver- 
mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted 
some time before as an act of charity. 

Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the 



9 2 



RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 



subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he 
was not expected to live beyond a month or two at 
most. As the months went by he grew weaker and 
weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of in- 
juring from time to time " if Mrs. Hayes' baby died 
.ast night. ' On one occasion a neighbor, who was on 
f imiliar terms with the family, after alluding to the 
hoy's big head, and the mother's assiduous care of 
lira, said in a bantering way, " That's right! Stick to 
him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't 
vonder if he would really come to something yet." 

" You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. " You 
"ait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him 
President of the United States yet." The boy lived, 
in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy 
death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was 
drowned, he became, if possible, still dearer to his 
mother, 

The boy was seven years old before he went to 
school. His education, however, was not neglected. 
He probably learned as much from his mother and 
: ister as he would have done at school. His sports 
were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being 
his sister and her associates. These circumstances 
tended, no doubt, to foster that gentleness of dispo- 
sition, and that delicate consideration for the feelings 
31 others, which are marked traits of his character. 

His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest 
In his education ; and as the boy's health had im- 
proved, and he was making good progress in his 
studies, he proposed to send him to college. His pre- 
paration commenced with a tutor at home; but he 
was afterwards sent for one year to a professor in the 
Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Conn. He en- 
tered Kenyon College in 1838, at the age of sixteen, 
and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842. 

Immediately after his graduation he began the 
study of law in the office of Thomas Sparrow, Esq., 
in Columbus. Finding his opportunities for study in 
Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter 
the Law School at Cambridge, Mass., where he re- 
mained two years. 

In r845, after graduating at the Law School, he was 
admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly 
afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law 
witli Ralph P. Buckland, of Fremont. Here he re- 
mained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, 
and apparently unambitious of distinction in his pro- 
Cession. 

'n 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambi- 
tion found a new stimulus. For several years, how- 
ever, his progress was slow. Two events, occurring at 
this period, had a powerful influence upon his subse- 
quent '.ife. One of these was his marrage with Miss 
Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of 
Chilicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cin- 
cinnati Literary Club, a body embracing among its 
members such men as^hief Justice Salmon P. Chase, 



Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many 
others hardly less distinguished in after life. The 
marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as 
everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our 
Presidents was more universally admired, reverenced 
and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did 
more than she to reflect honor upon American woman 
hood. The Literary Cluo brought Mr. Haye: :'nto 
constant association with young men of high char- 
acter and noble aims, and lured him to display the 
qualities so long hidden by his bashfulne.s and 
modesty. 

In 1856 he was nominated to the office of Judg.' o' 
the Court of Common Pleas; but he declined to ac- 
cept the nomination. Two years later, the office of 
city solicitor becoming vacant, the City Co':ncii 
elected him for the unexpired term. 

In 1 86 1, when the Rebellion broke out, he was at 
the zenith of his professional Yf_. His rank at the 
bar was among the the first. But the news of the 
attack on Fort Sumpter found him eager to take uo 
arms for the defense of his country. 

His military record was bright ard illustrious. In 
October, i86t, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel, and 
in August, 1862, promoted Colonel of the 79th Ohio 
regiment, but he refused to leave his old comrades 
and go among strangers. Subsequently, however, he 
was made Colonel of his old regiment. At the battle 
of South Mountain he received a wound, and while 
faint and bleeding displayed courage r.nd fortitude 
that won admiration from all. 

Col. Hayes was detached from his regiment, after 
his recovery, to act as Brigadier-General, and placed 
in command of the celebrated Kanawha division, 
and for gallant and meritorious services in the battles 
of Winchester, Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, he was 
promoted Brigadier-General. He was also brevetted 
Maj.ir-General, "for gallant and distinguished services 
during the campaigns of 1864. in West Virginia." In 
the course of his arduous services, four horses were 
shot from under him, and he was wounded four times 

In 1864, Gen. Hayes was elected to Congress, from 
the Second Ohio District, which had long been Dem- 
ocratic. He was not present during the campaign, 
and after his election was importuned to resign his 
commission in the army ; but he finally declared, " I 
shall never come to Washington until I can come by 
the way of Richmond." He was re-elected in 1866. 

In 1S67, Gen Hayes was elected Governor of Ohio, 
over Hon. Allen G. Thurman, a populai Democrat. 
In r869 was re-elected over George H. Pendleton. 
He was elected Governor for the third term in 1875. 

In 1876 he was the standard bearer of the Repub- 
lican Party in the Presidential contest, and after a 
hard long contest was chosen President, and was ir. 
augurated Monday, March 5, 1875. He served his 
full term, not, however, with satisfaction to his party, 
but his administration was an average or*.; 



TWENTIETH PRESIDENT. 



0" 




m. 



^SMf'-/m,^\y^s, 



r*s>t*«. *X* *vi*v 



►g;g#'SiS*'^rS*s;s*5;:;j#S;g- 



JAMES A, iARFIELI). 



""..1 

^1 



esg » 3 t g»^t: 3!e o at: o at: » 3B: » ae: 3!£ » 3 ig»^e#g|g#i 





AMES A. GARFIELD, twen- 
tieth President of the United 
States, was born Nov. 19, 
1831, in the woods of Orange, 
Cuyahoga Co., O His par- 
ents were Abram and Eliza 
(Ballou) Garfield, both of New 
England ancestry and from fami- 
lies well known in the early his- 
\ tory of that section of our coun- 
try, but had moved to the Western 
Reserve, in Ohio, early in its settle- 
ment. 

The house in which James A. was 
born was not unlike the houses of 
poor Ohio farmers of that day. It 
.as about 20x30 feet, built of logs, with the spaces be- 
.ween the logs filled with clay. His father was a 
;iard working farmer, and he soon had his fields 
cleared, an orchard planted, and a log barn built. 
The household comprised the father and mother and 
;heir four children — Mehelabel, Thomas, Mary and 
'ames. In May, 1S23 the father, from a cold con- 
tacted in helping to put out a forest fire, died. At 
this time James was about eighteen months old, and 
Thomas about ten years old. No one, perhaps, can 
rell how much James was indebted to his biother's 
toil and self-sacrifice during the twenty years suc- 
ceeding his father's death, but undoubtedly very 
much. He now lives in Michigan, and the two sis- 
ters live in Solon, O., near their birthplace. 

The early educational advantages young Garfield 
enjoyed were very limited, yet he made the most of 
them. He labored at farm work for others, did car- 
penter work, chopped wood, or did anything that 
would bring in a few dollars to aid his widowed 
mother in he r struggles to keep the little family to- 



gether. Nor was Gen. Garfield ever ashamed of his 
origin, and he never forgot the friends of his strug- 
gling childhood, youth and manhood, neither did they 
ever forget him. When in the highest seatsof honor 
the humblest fiiend of his boyhood was as kindly 
greeted as ever. The poorest laborer was sure of the 
sympathy of one who had known all the bitterness 
of want and the sweetness of bread earned ly the 
sweat of the brow. He was ever the simple, ulain, 
modest gentleman. 

The highest ambition of young Garfield until h. 
was about sixteen years old was to be a captain of 
a vessel on Lake Eiie. He was anxious to go aboard 
a vessel, which his mother strongly opposed. She 
finally consented to his going to Cleveland, with the 
understanding, however, that he should try to obtair 
some other kind of employment. He walked all the 
way to Cleveland. This was his first visit to the city 
After making many applications for work, and trying 
to get aboard a lake vessel, and not meeting with 
success, he engaged as a driver for his cousin, Amos 
Letcher, on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal. He re- 
mained at this work but a short time when he wen 
home, and attended the seminary at Chester fo- 
about three years, when he entered Hiram and the 
Eclectic Institute, teaching a few terms of school in 
the meantime, and doing other work. This school 
was started by the Disciples of Christ in 1850, of 
which church he was then a member. He became 
janitor and bell-ringer in order to help pay his way 
He then became both teacher and pupil. He soon 
" exhausted Hiram " and needed more ; hence, in the 
fall of 1854, he entered Williams College, from which 
he graduated in 1856, taking one of the highest \v%. - 
ors of his class. He afterwards returned to Hiram 
College as its President. As above stated, he early 
united with the Christian or Diciples Church at 
Hiram, and was ever after a devoted, zealous mem- 
ber, often preaching in its pulpit and places where 
he happened to be. Dr. Noah Porter, President of 
Vale College, says cf him in reference to his religion : 



9 b 



JAMES A. GAKFIELU. 



" President Garfield was more than a man of 
strong moral and religious convictions. His whole 
history, from boyhood to the last, shows that duty to 
man and to God, and devotion to Christ and life and 
faith and spiritual commission were controlling springs 
of his being, and to a more than usual degree. In 
.ny judgment there is no more interesting feature of 
ins character than his loyal allegiance to the body of 
Christians in which he was trained, and the fervent 
sympathy which he ever showed in their Christian 
communion. Not many of the few 'wise and mighty 
and noble who are called' shovv a similar loyalty to 
the less stately and cultured Christian communions 
in which they have been reared. Too often it is true 
that as they step upward in social and political sig- 
nificance they step upward from one degree to 
another in some of the many types of fashionable 
Christianity. President Garfield adhered to the 
:hurchof his mother, the church in which he was 
trained, and in which lie served as a pillar and an 
evangelist, and yet with the largest and most unsec- 
'arian charity for all 'who loveour Lord in sincerity.'" 

Mr. Garfield was united in marriage with Mi^s 
Lucretia Rudolph, Nov. n, 1858, who proved herself 
worthy as the wife of one whom all the world loved and 
mourned. To them were born seven children, five of 
whom are still living, four boys and one girl. 

Mr. Garfield made his first political speeches in 1856, 
in Hiram and the neighboring villages, and three 
years later he began to speak at county mass-meet- 
ings, and became the favorite speaker wherever he 
was. During this year he was elected to the Ohio 
Senate. He also began to study law at Cleveland, 
and in r86r was admitted to the bar. The great 
Rebellion broke out in the early part of this year, 
and Mr. Garfield at once resolved to fight as he had 
talked, and enlisted to defend the old flag. He re- 
ceived his commission as Lieut. -Colonel of the Forty- 
second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Aug. 
14,1861. He was immediately put into active ser- 
vice, and before he had everseen a gun fired in action, 
was placed in command of four regiments of infantry 
.:nd eight companies of cavalry, charged with the 
work of driving out of His native State the officer 
'Humphrey Marshall) reputed to be the ablest of 
those, not educated to war whom Kentucky had given 
to the Rebellion. This work was bravely and speed- 
ily accomplished, although against great odds. Pres- 
ident Lincoln, on his success commissioned him 
Brigadier-General, Jan. 10, 1862; and as "he had 
iieen the youngest man in the Ohio Senate two years 
before, so now he was the youngest General in the 
army." He was witli Gen. Buell's army at Shiloh, 
in its operations around Corinth and its march through 
Alabama. He was then detailed as a memberof the 
General Court-Martial for the trial of Gin. Fitz-John 
Porter. He was then ordered to report to Gen. Rose- 
crans, and was assigned to the "Chief of Staff." 

The military history of Gen. Garfield closed with 



his brilliant services at Chickamauga, where he won 
the stars 01 the Major-General. 

Without an effort on his part Ge« Garfield was 
elected to Congress in the fall of 1862 from the 
Nineteenth District of Ohio. This section of Ohio 
had been represented in Congress for sixty years 
mainly by two men — Elisha Whittlesey and Joshua 
R. Giddings. It was not without a struggle that he 
resigned his place in the army. At the time he en- 
tered Congress he was the youngest member in thai 
body. There he remained by successive re- 
elections until he was elected President in 1880. 
Of his labors in Congress Senator Hoar says : " Sinct 
the year 1864 you cannot think of a question which 
has been debated in Congress, or discussed before t, 
tribunel of the American people, in regard to whict 
you will not find, if you wish instruction, the argtu 
ment on one side stated, in almost every instance 
better than by anybody else, in some speech made in 
the House of Representatives or on the hustings by 
Mr. Garfield." 

Upon Jan. 14, 1880, Gen. Garfield was elected to 
the U. S. Senate, and on the eighth of June, of the 
same year, was nominated as the candidate of his 
party for President at the great Chicago Convention. 
He was elected in the following November, and on 
March 4, 1881, was inaugurated. Probably no ad- 
ministration ever opened its existence under brighter 
auspices than that of President Garfield, and every 
day it grew in favo; with the people, and by the first 
of July he had completed all the initiatory and pre- 
liminary work of his administration and was prepar- 
ing to leave the city to meet his friends at Williams 
College. While on his way and at the depot, in com- 
pany with Secretary Blaine, a man stepped behind 
him, drew a revolver, and fired directly at his back. 
The President tottered and fell, and as he did so the 
assassin fired a second shot, the bullet cutting the 
left coat sleeve of his victim, but inflicting no further 
injury. It has been very truthfully said that this was 
" the shot that was heard round the world " Never 
before in the history of the Nation had anything oc- 
curred which so nearly froze the blood of the people 
for the moment, as this awful deed. He was smit- 
ten on the brightest, gladdest day of all his life, and 
was at the summit of his power and hope. For eighty 
days, all during the hot months of July and August, 
he lingered and suffered. He, however, remained 
master of himself till the last, and by his magnificent 
bearing was teaching the country and the world the 
noblest of human lessons — how to live grandly in the 
very clutch of death. Great in life, he was surpass- 
ingly great in death. He passed serenely away Sept. 
19, 1883, at Elberon, N. J., on the very bank of the 
ocean, where he had been taken shortly previous. The 
world wept at his death, as it never had done on the 
death of any other man who had ever lived upon it. 
The murderer was duly tried, found guilty and exe- 
cuted, in one year after he committed the fou: deed. 



TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT. 



99 










HESTER A. ARTHUR, 

©)._ twenty-first PresKLm of the 

United States was born in 

Franklin Courty, Vermont, on 

—3* the fifthofOc'ober, 1830, andis 

¥;^§W the oldest of a family of two 

mMduSf sons and five daughters. His 

-■■ i father was the Rev. Dr. William 

s«s I i 

S&fcjS Arthur, aBaptistd',rgyrnan, who 

^J emigtated to tb.s country from 
1^, the county Antrim, Ireland, in 
his 18th year, and died in 1875, in 
Newtonville, neai Albany, after a 
long and successful ministry. 

Young Arthur was educated at 
Union College, S< henectady, where 
he excelled in all his studies. Af- 
ter his graduation he taught school 
j in Vermont for two years, and at 
so the expiration of that time came to 
New York, with $500 in his pocket, 
and e.itered the office of ex-Judge 
E. D. Culver as student. After 
I being admitted to' "he bar he formed 
a partnership with his intimate friend and room-mate, 
Henry D. Gardiner, with the intention of practicing 
in the West, and for three months they roamed about 
in the Western States in search of an eligible site, 
but in the end returned to New York, where they 
hung out their shingle, and entered upon a success- 
ful career almost from the start. General Arthur 
soon afterward nwr ; <"d the daughter of Lieutenant 



Herndon, of the United States Navy, who was lost at 
sea. Congress voted a gold medal to his widow in 
recognition of the bravery he displayed on that occa- 
sion. Mrs. Arthur died shortly before Mr. Arthur's 
nomination to the Vice Presidency, leaving two 
children. 

Gen. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity 
in his first great case, the famous Lemmon suit, 
brought to recover possession of eight slaves who had 
been declared free by Judge Paine, of the Superior 
Court of New York City. It was in 1852 that Jon. 
athan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York with 
his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when 
they were discovered and freed. The Judge decided 
that they could not be held by the owner under the 
Fugitive Slave Law. A howl of rage went up from 
the South, and the Virginia Legislature authorized the 
Attorney General of that State to assist in an appeal. 
Wm. M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the People, and they won their case, 
which then went to the Supreme Court of the United 
States. Charles O'Conor here espoused the cause 
of the slave-holders, but he too was beaten by Messrs 
Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward 
the emancipation of the black race. 

Another great service was rendered by General 
Arthur in the same cause in 1856. Lizzie Jennings. 
a respectable colored woman, was put off a Fourth 
Avenue car with violence after she had paid her fare. 
General Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured c. 
verdict of $,oo damages. The next day the compa- 
ny issued an order to admit colored persons to ride 
en their cars, and the other car companies quickly 



/oo 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



followed their example. Before that the Sixth Ave- 
nue Company ran a few special cars for colored per- 
sons and the other lines refused to let them ride at all. 

General Arthur was a delegate to the Convention 
at Saratoga that founded the Republican party. 
Previous to the war he was Judge-Advocate of the 
Second Brigade of the State of New York, and Gov- 
ernor Morgan, of that State, appointed him Engineer- 
in-Chief of his staff. In 1861, he was made Inspec- 
tor General, and soon afterward became Quartermas- 
ter-General. In each of these offices he rendered 
great service to the Government during the war. At 
the end of Governor Morgan's term he resumed the 
practice of the law, forming a partnership with Mr. 
Ransom, and then Mr. Phelps, the District Attorney 
of New York, was added to the firm. The legal prac- 
tice of this well-known firm was very large and lucra- 
tive, each of the gentlemen composing it were able 
lawyers, and possessed a splendid local reputation, if 
not indeed one of national extent. 

He always took a leading part in State and city 
politics. He was appointed Collector of the Port of 
New York by President Grant, Nov. 21 1872, to suc- 
ceed Thomas Murphy, and held the office until July, 
■20, 1878, when he was succeeded by Collector Merritt. 

Mr. Arthur was nominated on the Presidential 
ticket, with Gen. James A. Garfield, at the famous 
National Republican Convention held at Chicago in 
June, 1880. This was perhaps the greatest political 
convention that ever assembled on the continent. It 
was composed of the 'wading politicians of the Re- 
publican party, all able men, and each stood firm and 
fought vigorously and with signal tenacity for their 
respective candidates that were before the conven- 
tion for the nomination. Finally Gen. Garfield re- 
ceived the nomination for President and Gen. Arthur 
for Vice-President. The campaign which followed 
was one of the most animated known in the history of 
our country. Gen. Hancock, the standard-bearer of 
the Democratic party, was a popular man, and his 
party made a valiant fight for his election. 

Finally the election came and the country's choice 
.vas Garfield and Arthur. They were inaugurated 
.vtarch 4, 1881, as President and Vice-President. 
\ few months only had passed ere the newly chosen 
President was the victim of the assassin's bullet. Then 
came terrible weeks of suffering, — those moment* of 
anxious suspense, when the hearts of all civilized na- 



tions were throbbing in unison, longing for the re 
covery of the noble, the good President. The remark- 
able patience that he manifested during those hours 
and weeks, and even months, of the most terrible suf- 
fering man has often been called upon to endure, was 
seemingly more than human. It was certainly God- 
like. During all this period of deepest anxiety Mr. 
Arthur's every move was watched, and be it said to his 
credit that his every action displayed only an earnest 
desire that the suffering Garfield might recover, to 
serve the remainder of the term he had so auspi- 
ciously begun. Not a selfish feeling was manifested 
in deed or look of this man, even though the most 
honored position in the world >vas at any moment 
likely to fall to him. 

At last God in his mercy relieved President Gar- 
field from further suffering, and the world, as never 
before in its history over the death of any other 
man, wept at his bier. Then it became the duty of 
the Vice President to assume the responsibilities of 
the high office, and he took the oath in New York, 
Sept. 20, 1 88 1. The position was an embarrassing 
one to him, made doubly so from the facts that all 
eyes were on him, anxious to know what he would do, 
what policy he would pursue, and who he would se- 
lect as advisers. The duties of the office had been 
greatly neglected during the President's long illness, 
and many important measures were to be immediately 
decided by him ; and still farther to embarrass him he 
did not fail to realize under what circumstances he 
became President, and knew the feelings of many on 
this point. Under these trying circumstances President 
Arthur took the reins of the Government in Hs own 
hands; and, as embarrassing as were the condition of 
affairs, he happily surprised the nation, acting so 
wisely that but few criticised his administration, 
He served the nation well and faithfully, until the 
close of his administration, March 4, 1885, and was 
a popular candidate before his party for a second 
term. His name was ably presented before the con- 
vention at Chicago, and was received with great 
favor, and doubtless but for the personal popularity 
of one of the opposing candidates, he would have 
been selected as the standard-bearer of his party 
for another campaign. He retired to private life car- 
rying with him the best wishes of the American peo- 
ple, whom he had served in a manner satisfactory 
to them and with credit to himself. 




$3*fca. 



-htrLgsT' CJ^C^C^CCt^Ly^V 



TWENTY-SECOND PRESIDENT. 



l °i 




^^O^S);?^ 



s'" __. _ Me 



)V®mv WAcmlawL 









_'"■"■ ^^ 



TEPHEN GROVER CLEVE- 
] .AN D, the twenty- second Pres- 
ident of the United States, was 
born in 1837, in the obscure 
town of Caldwell, Essex Co., 
N. J., and in a little two-and-a- 
half-story white house which is still 
standing, characteristically to mark 
the hu;nble birth-place of one of 
America's great men in striking con- 
trast with the Old World, where all 
men high in office must be high in 
origin and born in the cradle of 
wealth. When the subject of this 
sketch was three years of age, his 
father, who was a Presbyterian min- 
ister, with a large family and a small salary, moved, 
oy way ci the Hudson River and Erie Canal, to 
Fayetteville, in search of an increased income and a 
'arger field of work. Fayetteville was then the most 
straggling of country villages, about five miles from 
Pompey Hill, where Governor Seymour was born. 

At the last mentioned place young Grover com- 
menced going to school in the "good, old fashioned 
way," and presumably distinguished himself after the 
manner of all village boys, in doing the things he 
ought not to do. Such is the distinguishing trait of 
all geniuses and independent thinkers. When he 
arrived at the age of 14 years, he had outgrown the 
capacity of the village school and expressed a most 



emphatic desire to be sent to an academy. To this 
his father decidedly objected. Academies in those 
days cost money; besides, his father wanted him to 
become self-supporting by the quickest possible 
means, and this at that time in Fayetteville seemed 
to be a position in a country store, where his father 
and the large family on his hands had considerable 
influence. Grover was to be paid $50 for his services 
the first year, and if he proved trustworthy he was to 
receive fioo the second year. Here the lad com- 
menced his career as salesman, and in two years he 
had earned so good a reputation for trustworthiness 
that his employers desired to retain him for an in 
definite length of time. Otherwise he did not ex- 
hibit as yet any particular " flashes of genius " or 
eccentricities of talent. He was simply a good boy. 
But instead of remaining with this firm in Fayette- 
ville, he went with the family in their removal to 
Clinton, where he had an opportunity of attending a 
high school. Here he industriously pursued his 
studies until the family removed with him to a point 
on Black River known as the " Holland Patent," a 
village of 500 or 600 people, 15 miles north of Utica, 
N. Y. At this place his father died, after preaching 
but three Sundays. This evert broke up the family, 
and Grover set out for New York City to accept, at a 
small salary, the position of " under-teacher " in an 
asylum for the blind. He taught faithfully for two 
years, and although he obtained a good reputation in 
this capacity, he concluded that teaching was not his 






IOJ 



S. GROVE R CLEVELAND. 



calling for life, and, reversing the traditional order, 
ne left the city to seek his fortune, instead of going 
to a city. He first thought of Cleveland, Ohio, as 
there was some charm in that name for him; but 
before proceeding to that place he went to Buffalo to 
isk the advice of his uncle, Lewis F. Allan, a noted 
stock-breeder of that place. The latter did not 
rpeak enthusiastically. "What is it you want to do, 
my boy?" he asked. "Well, sit, I want to study 
'aw," was the reply. "Good gracious!" remarked 
he old gentleman ; " do you, indeed ? What ever put 
that into your head? How much money have you 
got?" 'Well, sir, to tell the truth, I haven't got 
an*.* 

After a long consultation, his uncle offered him a 
p'ace temporarily as assistant herd-keeper, at $50 a 
year, while he could "look around." One day soon 
ifterward he boldly walked into the office of Rogers, 
Bowen & Rogers, of Buffalo, and told L'hem what he 
wanted. A number of young men were already en- 
gaged in the office, but Graver's persistency won, and 
ne was finally permitted to come as an office boy and 
nave the use of the law library, for the nominal sum 
of $3 or $4 a week. Out of this he had to pay for 
his board and washing. The walk to and from his 
uncle's was a long and rugged one; and, although 
the first winter was a memorably severe one, his 
shoes were out of repair and his overcoat — he had 
none — yet he was nevertheless prompt and regular. 
On the first day of his service here, his senior em- 
ployer threw down a copy of Blackstone before him 
with a bang that made the dust fly, saying "That's 
where they all begin." A titter ran around the little 
circle of clerks and students, as they thought that 
was enough to scare young Graver out of his plans ; 
yut indue time he mastered that cumbersome volume. 
Then, as ever afterward, however, Mr. Cleveland 
exhibited a talent for executiveness rather than for 
chasing principles through all their metaphysical 
possibilities. " Let us quit talking and go and do 
t," was practically his motto. 

The first public office to which Mr. Cleveland was 
eiected was that of Sheriff of Erie Co., N. Y., in 
which Buffalo is situated; and in such capacity it fell 
Jo his duty to inflict capital piT/Ishment upon two 
criminals. In 1881 he was elected Mayor of the 
fTity of Buffalo, on the Democratic ticket, with es- 
pecial reference to the bringing about certain reforms 



in the administration of the municipal affairs of that 
city. In this office, as well as that of Sheriff, his 
performance of duty has generally been considered 
fair, with possibly a few exceptions which were fer- 
reted out and magnified during the last Presidential 
campaign. As a specimen of his plain language in 
a veto message, we quote from one vetoing an iniqui- 
tous street-cleaning contract: "This is a time foi 
plain speech, and my objection to your action shall 
be plainly stated. I regard it as the culmination of 
a mos bare-faced, impudent and shameless scheme 
to betray the interests of the peopls and to worsj 
than squander the people's money." The New York 
Sun afterward very highly commended Mr. Cleve- 
land's administration as Mayor of Buffalo, and there- 
upon recommended him for Governor of the Empire 
State. To the latter office he was elected in 1882, 
and his administration of the affairs of State was 
generally satisfactory. The mistakes he made, if 
any, were made very public throughout the nation 
after he was nominated for President of the United 
States. For this high office he was nominated July 
11, 1SS4, by the National Democratic Convention st 
Chicago, when other competitors were Thomas F, 
Bayard, Roswell P. Flower, Thomas A. Hendricks, 
Benjamin F. Butler, Allen G. Thurman, etc.: and he 
was elected by the people, by a majority of about a 
thousand, over the brilliant and long-tried Repub- 
lican statesman, James G. Blaine. President Cleve- 
land resigned his office as Governor of New York in 
January, 1885, in order to prepare for his duties as 
the Chief Executive of the United States, in which 
capacity his term commenced at noon on the 4th ot 
March, 18S5. For his Cabinet officers he selected 
the following gentlemen: For Secretary of State, 
Thomas F. Bayard, of Delaware ; Secretary of the 
Treasury, Daniel Manning, of New York ; Secretary 
of War, William C. Endicott, of Massachusetts; 
Secretary of the Navy, William C. Whitney, of New 
York; Secretary of the Interior, L. Q. C. Lamar, of 
Mississippi; Postmaster-General, William F. Vilas, 
of Wisconsin ; Attorney-General, A. H. Garland, of 
Arkansas. 

The silver question precipitated a controversy be- 
tween those who were in favor of the continuance of 
silver coinage and those who were opposed, Mr. 
Cleveland answering for the latter, even before his 
inauguration. 





, C&a 



CZ^?~^7^t*^(?~-ZsC 



TWENTY-THIRD PRESIDENT. 



Juv 






^oniantin (t iT.a^mon 










"Oto-tgWf&iHo* 




BENJAMIN HARRISON, the 
iwenty-third President, is 
the descendant of one of the 
historical families of this 
country. The head of the 
family was a Major General 
Harrison, one of Oliver 
Cromwell's trusted follow- 
ers and fighters. In the zenith of Crom- 
well's power it became the duty of this 
Harrison to participate in the trial of 
Charles I, and afterward to sign the 
death warrant of the king. He subse- 
quently paid for this with his life, being 
hung Oct. 13, 1GC0. His descendants 
came to America, and the next of the 
family that appears in history is Benja- 
min Harrison, of Virginia, great-grand- 
father of the subject of this sketch, and 
after whom he was named. Benjamin Harrison 
was a member of the Continental Congress during 
the years i774— 5-6, and was one of the original 
signers of the Declaration of Independence. He 
wa.: three times elected Governor of Virginia. 
Gen William Heniy Harrison, the son of the 



distinguished patriot of the Revolution, after a suo. 
cessful career as a soldier during the War of 1812, 
and with -a clean record as Governor of the North- 
western Territory, was elected President of the 
United States in 1840. His career was cut short 
by death within one month .ifter his inauguration. 
President Harrison was born at North Bend, 
Hamilton Co., Ohio, Aug. r?0, 1833, His life upto 
the time of his graduation by the Miami University 
at Oxford, Ohio, was the uneventful one of a coun- 
try lad of a family of small means. His father was 
aide to give him a good education, and nothing 
more. He became engaged while at college to tho 
daughter of Dr. Scott, Principal of a female schoo 
at Oxford. After graduating he determined to en^ 
ter upon the study of the law. lie went to Cin 
cinnati and then read law for two years. At tht 
expiration of that time young Harrison receiv: d tt . 
only inheritance of his life; his aunt dying left Ilia 
a lot valued at $800. He regarded this legacy as t 
fortune, and decided to get married at once, tako 
this money and go to some Eastern town an . be- 
gin the practice of law. He sold his lot, and with 
the money in his pocket, he started out witii his 
young wife to fight for a place in the world. Ee 



10S 



BENJAMIN HARRISON. 



iecided to go to Indianapolis, which was even at 
dial time a town of promise. He met with slight 
encouragement at first, making scarcely anything 
Uie first year. He worked diligently, applying him- 
self closely to his calling, built up an extensive 
practice and took a leading rank in the legal pro- 
fession. He is the father of two children. 

In 18GC Mr. Harrison was nominated for the 
position of Supreme Court Reporter, and then be- 
gan his experience as a stump speaker He can- 
vassed the State thoroughly, and was elected by a 
handsome majority. In 18G2 he raised the 17th 
Indiana Infantry, and was chosen its Colonel. His 
regiment was composed of the rawest of material, 
i)ut Col. Harrison employed all Ins time at first 
mastering military tactics and drilling his men, 
vhen he therefore came to move toward the East 
with Sherman his regiment was one of the best 
drilled and organized in the army. At Resaca he 
especially distinguished himself, and for his bravery 
"t Peachtree Creek he was made a Brigadier Gen- 

ral, Gen. Hooker speaking of him in the most 

•om pi i mentaiy terms. 
During the absence of Gen. Harrison in the field 

lie Supreme Court declared the office of the Su- 
preme Court Reporter vacant, and another person 
was elected to the position. Erorn the time of leav- 
i; g Indiana with his regiment until the fall of 18G4 
ne had taken no leave of absence, but having been 
nominated that year for the same office, he got a 
thirty-day leave of absence, and during that time 
made a brilliant canvass of the State, and was elected 
for another terra. He then started to rejoin Shi r- 
2.an,buton the way was stricken down with scarlet 

ever, and after a most trying siege made his way 
:o the front in time to participate in the closing 

Dcidents of the war. 
In 1 SGs Gen. Harrison declined re-election as 

pporter, and resumed the practice of law In 1876 

e was a candidate for Governor. Although de- 

eated, the brilliant campaign he made won iorlrim 

i National reputation, and he was much sought, es- 
pecial.y in 'he East, to make speeches. [n 1880, 
as usual, he took an active part in tin campaign, 
: nd w\ elected to the United Slates Senate. Here 
ae served six years, and "'as known as one oi liio 
ablest men, besl lawyer and strongest debaters in 



that body. With the expiration of his Senatorial 
term he returned to the practice of his profession, 
becoming the head of one of the strongest firms in 
the State. 

The political campaign of 1888 was one of the 
most memorable in the history of our country. The 
convention which assembled in Chicago in June and 
named Mr. Harrison as the chief standard bearer 
of the Republican party, was great in every partic- 
ular, and on this account, and the attitude it as- 
sumed upon the vital questions of the day, chief 
among which was the tariff, awoke a deep interest 
in the campaign throughout the Nation. Shortly 
after the nomination delegations began to visit Mr. 
Harrison at Indianapolis, his home. This move- 
ment became popular, and from all sections of the 
country societies, clubs and delegations journeyed 
thither to pay their respects to the distinguished 
statesman. The popularity of these was greatly 
increased on account of the remarkable speeches 
made by Mr. Harrison. He spoke daily all through 
the summer and autumn to these visiting delega- 
tions, and so varied, masterly' and eloquent were 
his speeches that they at once placed him in the 
foremost rank of American orators and statesmen. 

On account of his eloquence as a speaker and his 
power as a debater, he was called upon at an un- 
commonly early age to take part in the liscussion 
of the great questions that then began I > agitate 
the country. He was an uncompromising ant: 
slavery man. and was matched against some of ' e 
most eminent. Democratic speakers of his State. 
No man who fell the touch of his blade de ired b 
lie pitted with him again. AVith all his eloquence 
as an orator lie never spoke for oratorical effect, 
but his words always wen! like bullets to the mark 
He is purely American ill his ideas and is a spier 
did type of the American statesman. Gifted witl ; 
quick perception, a logical mind and a ready tongue. 
he is one of the most, distinguished impromptu 
speakers in the Nation. .Many of these speeches 
sparlded with the rarest, of eloquence and contained 
arguments of greatest weight. Many of his terse 
statements havealreadi become aphorisms. Origi- 
nal in tllOUgb.1 precise i.' logic, terse in statement. 
yet withal faultless in elo uence, he is recognized as 
thesound statesman and briUian orator o- to- day 



"*^>)t» ^fe Jj 



^^^s^ 



i:1 .'■■ 



'% 




m 









KB? s K 





GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



in 





HADRACH BOND, ihe first 
Governor of Illinois after its 
organization as a State, serving 
from 1818 to 1822, was born in 
Frederick County, Maryland, 
in the year 1773, and was 
raised a farmer on his father's 
plantation, receiving only a plain 
English education. He emigrated 
to this State in 1794, when it was a 
part of the "Northwest Territory," 
continuing in the vocation in which 
he had been brought up in his native 
State, in the " New Design," near 
Eagle Creek, in what is how Monroe 
County. He served several terms as 
a member of the General Assembly 
of Indiana Territory, after it was organized as such, 
and in 1812-14 he was a Delegate to the Twelfth 
and Thirteenth Congresses, taking his seat Dec. 3, 
181 2, and serving until Oct. 3, 1814. These were 
the times, the reader will recollect, when this Gov- 
ernment had its last struggle with Great Britain. 
The year 181 2 is also noted in the history of this 
State as that in which the first Territorial Legislature 
was held. It convened at Kaskaskia, Nov. 25, and 
adjourned Dec. 26, following. 

While serving as Delegate to Congress, Mr. Bond 
was instrumental in procuring the right of pre-emp- 
tion on the public domain. On the expiration of his 
term at Washington he was appointed Receiver of 
Public Moneys at Kaskaskia, then the capital of the 
Territory. In company with John G. Comyges, 



Thomas H. Harris, Charles Slade, Michael Jones, 
Warren Brown. Edward Humphries and Charles W 
Hunter, he became a proprietor of the site of the 
initial city of Cairo, which they hoped, from its favor- 
able location at the junction of the two great 
rivers near the center of the Great West, would 
rapidly develop into a metropolis. To aid the enter- 
prise, they obtained a special charter from the Legis- 
lature, incorporating both the City and the Bank of 
Cairo. 

In 1818 Mr. Bond was elected the first Governor 
of the State of Illinois, being inaugurated Oct. 6 
that year, which was several weeks before Illinois 
was actually admitted. The facts are these: In 
January, 1818, the Territorial Legislature sent a peti- 
tion to Congress for the admission of Illinois as a 
State, Nathaniel Pope being then Delegate. The 
petition was granted, fixing the northern line of the 
State on the latitude of the southern extremity of 
Lake Michigan; but the bill was afterward so amend- 
ed as to extend this line to its present latitude. In 
July a convention was called at Kaskaskia to draft a 
constitution, which, however, was not submitted to 
the people. By its provisions, supreme judges, pros 
ecuting attorneys, county and circuit judges, record- 
ers and justices of the peace were all to be appointed 
by the Governor or elected by the Legislature. This 
constitution was accepted by Congress Dec. 30. At 
that time Illinois comprised but eleven counties, 
namely, Randolph, Madison, Gallatin, Johnson, 
Pope, Jackson, Crawford, Bond, Union, Washington 
and Franklin, the northern portion of the State be- 
ing mainly in Madison County. Thus it appears 
that Mr. Bond was honored by the naming of a 



SHADRACH BOND. 



county before he was elected Governor. The present 
county of Bond is of small limitations, about 60 to 80 
miles south of Springfield. For Lieutenant Governor 
the people chose Pierre Menard, a prominent and 
worthy Frenchman, after whom a county in this State 
is named. In this election there were no opposition 
candidates, as the popularity of these men had made 
their promotion to the chief offices of the S^ate, even 
oefore the constitution was drafted, a foregone con- 
clusion. 

The principal points that excited the people in 
reference to political issues at this period were local 
or "internal improvements," as they were called, 
State banks, location of the capital, slavery and the 
personal characteristics of the proposed candidates. 
Mr. Bond represented the "Convention party," for 
introducing slavery into the State, supported by Elias 
Ke.it Kane, his Secretary of State, and John Mc- 
Lean, while Nathaniel Pope and John P. Cook led 
the anti-slavery element. The people, however, did 
not become very much excited over this issue until 
1820, when the famous Missouri Compromise was 
adopted by Congress, limiting slavery to the south 
of the parallel of 36° 30' except in Missouri. While 
this measure settled the great slavery controversy, 
so far as the average public sentiment was tempor- 
arily concerned, until 1854, when it was repealed 
under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas, the issue 
as considered locally in this State was not decided 
until "824, after a most furious campaign. (See 
sketch of Gov. Coles.) The ticket of 1818 was a 
compromise one, Bond representing (moderately) the 
pro-slavery sentiment and Menard the anti-slavery. 

An awkward element in the State government 
under Gov. Bond's administration, was the imperfec- 
tion of the State constitution. The Convention 
wished to have Elijah C. Berry for the first Auditor 
of Public Accounts, but, as it was believed that the 
new Governor would not appoint him to the office, 
Uie Convention declared in a schedule that "an 
auditor of public accounts, an attorney general and 
such other officers of the State as may be necessary, 
may be appointed by the General Assembly." The 
Constitution, as it stood, vested a very large appoint- 
ing power in the Governor; but for the purpose of 
getting one man into office, a total change was made, 
and the power vested in the Legislature. Of this 
provision the Legislature took advantage, and de- 



clared that State's attorneys, canal commissioners, 
bank directors, etc., were all " officers of the State r 
and must therefore be appointed by itself independ- 
ently of the Governor. 

During Gov. Bond's administration a general law 
was passed for the incorporation of academies and 
towns, and one authorizing lotteries. The session of 
1822 authorized the Governor to appoint commis- 
sioners, to act in conjunction with like commissioners 
appointed by the State of Indiana, to report on the 
practicability and expediency of improving the navi- 
gation of the Wabash River; also inland navigation 
generally. Many improvements were recommended, 
some of which have been feebly worked at even till 
the present day, those along the Wabash being of no 
value. Also, during Gov. Bond's term of office, the 
capital of the State was removed from Kaskaskia to 
Vandalia. In 1820 a law was passed by Congress 
authorizing this State to open a canal through the 
public lands. The State appointed commissioners 
to explore the route and prepare the necessary sur- 
veys and estimates, preparatory to its execution; 
but, being unable out of its own resources to defray 
the expenses of the undertaking, it was abandoned 
until some time after Congress made the grant of 
land for the purpose of its construction. 

On the whole, Gov. Bond's administration was 
fairly good, not being open to severe criticism from 
any party. In rS24, two years after the expiration 
of his term of office, he was brought out as a candi- 
date for Congress against the formidable John P. 
Cook, but received only 4,374 votes to 7,460 for the 
latter. Gov. Bond was no orator, but had made 
many fast friends by a judicious bsstowment of his 
gubernatorial patronage, and these worked zealously 
for him in the campaign. 

In 1827 ex-Gov. Bond was appointed by the Leg- 
islature, with Wm. P. McKee and Dr. Gershom 
Jayne, as Commissioners to locate a site for a peni- 
tentiary on the Mississippi at or near Alton. 

Mr. Bond was of a benevolent and convivial dis- 
position, a man of shrewd observation and clear ap- 
preciation of events. His person was erect, stand- 
ing six feet in height, and after middle life became 
portly, weighing 200 pounds. His features were 
strongly masculine, complexion dark, hair jet and 
eyes hazel ; was a favorite witli the ladies. He died 
April 1 1, 1S30, in peace and contentment. 




IdwusuJ CcsuZd? 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 




est s ^h-M ^.^ 5 j&~9, A/^O^^I"^,), Utt-®-, V^ -5|fe-®9 ^ 




Ebwarb doles. 



&-T-i£ 



^3K^ 









DWARD COLES, second 
Governor of Illinois, 1823- 
. 6, was born Dec. 15, 1786, 
in Albemarle Co., Va., on 
the old family estate called 
"Enniscorthy," on the 
Green Mountain. His fath- 
er, John Coles, was a Colonel in the 
Revolutionary War. Having been fit- 
ted for college by private tutors, he 
was sent to Hampden Sidney, where 
he remained until the autumn of 1805, 
when he was removed to William and 
Mary College, at Williamsburg, Va. 
This college he left in the summer of 
1S07, a short time before the final and graduating 
examination. Among his classmates were Lieut. 
Gen. Scott, President John Tyler, Wm. S. Archer, 
United States Senator from Virginia, and Justice 
Baldwin, of the United States Supreme Court. The 
President of the latter college, Bishop Madison, was 
a cousin of President James Madison, and that cir- 
cumstance was the occasion of Mr. Coles becoming 
personally acquainted with the President and re- 
ceiving a position as his private secretary, 1809-15. 
The family of Coles was a prominent one in Vir- 
ginia, and their mansion was the seat of the old- 
fashioned Virginian hospitality. It was visited by 
such notables as Patrick Henry, Jefferson, Madison, 
Monroe, the Randolphs, Tazewell, Wirt, etc. At the 
age of 23, youii£ Coles founa himself heir to a plant- 
ation and a considerable number of slaves. Ever 
since his earlier college days his attention had been 
drawn to the question of slavery. He read every- 



thing on the subject that came in his way, and 
listened to lectures on the rights of man. The more 
he reflected upon the subject, the more impossible 
was it for him to reconcile the immortal declaration 
"that all men are born free and equal " with the 
practice of slave-holding. He resolved, therefore, to 
free his slaves the first opportunity, and even remove 
his residence to a free State. One reason which de- 
termined him to accept the appointment as private 
secretary to Mr. Madison was because he believed 
that through the acquaintances he could make at 
Washington he could better determine in what par*, 
of the non-slaveho!ding portion of the Union he woulc 
prefer to settle. 

The relations between Mr. Coles and President 
Madison, as well as Jefferson and other distinguished 
men, were of a very friendly character, arising from 
the similarity of their views on the question of slavery 
and their sympathy for each other in holding doc- 
trines so much at variance with the prevailing senti- 
ment in their own State. 

In 1857, he resigned his secretaryship and spent a 
portion of the following autumn in exploring the 
Northwest Territory, for the purpose of finding a lo- 
cation and purchasing lands on which to settle his 
negroes. He traveled with a horse and buggy, with 
an extra man and horse for emergencies, through 
many parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, 
determining finally to settle in Illinois. At this time, 
however, a misunderstanding arose between our 
Government and Russia, and Mr. Coles was selected 
to repair to St. Petersburg on a special mission, bear- 
ing important papers concerning the matter at issue 
The result was a conviction of the Emperor (Alex- 



n6 



EDWARD COLES. 



ander) of the error committed by his minister at 
Washington, and the consequent withdrawal of the 
the latter from the post. On his return, Mr. Coles 
visited other parts of Europe, especially Paris, where 
he was introduced to Gen. Lafayette. 

In the spring of i8rg, he removed with all his 
negroes from Virginia to Edwardsville, 111., with the 
intention of giving them their liberty. He did not 
make known to them his intention until one beautiful 
morning in April, as they were descending the Ohio 
River. He lashed all the boats together and called 
all the negroes on deck and made them a short ad- 
dress, concluding his remarks by so expressing him- 
self that by a turn of a sentence he proclaimed in 
the shortest and fullest manner that they were no 
longer slaves, but free as he was and were at liberty 
to proceed with him or go ashore at their pleas- 
ure. A description of the effect upon the negroes is 
best desciibed in his own language: 

"The effect upon them was electrical. They stared 
at me and then at each other, as if doubting the ac- 
curacy or reality of what they heard. In breathless 
silence they stood before me, unable to utter a word, 
but with countenances beaming with expression which 
no words could convey, and which no language 
can describe. As they began to see the truth of 
what they had heard, and realize their situation, there 
came on a kind of hysterical, giggling laugh. After 
a pause of intense and unutterable emotion, bathed 
in tears, and with tremulous voices, they gave vent to 
their gratitude and implored the blessing of God 
on me." 

Before landing he gave them a general certificate 
of freedom, and afterward conformed more particu- 
larly with the law of this State requiring that each 
individual should have a certificate. This act of 
Mr. Coles, all the more noble and heroic considering_ 
the overwhelming pro-slavery influences surrounding 
him, has challenged the admiration of every philan- 
thropist of modern times. 

March 5, 1819, President Monroe appointed Mr. 
Coles Registrar of the Land Office at EdwardsviLe, 
at that time one of the principal land offices in the 
State. While acting in this capacity and gaining 
many friends by his politeness and general intelli- 
gence, the greatest struggle that ever occurred in 
Illinois on the slavery ques.ion culminated in the 
furious contest characterizing the campaigns and 
elections of 1822-4. In the summer of 1823, when a 
new Governor was to be elected to succeed Mr. 
Bond, the pro-slavery element divided into factions, 
putting forward for the executive office Joseph 
Phillips, Chief Justice of the State, Thomas C. 
Browne and Gen. Jumes P. Moore, of the State Mil- 
itia. The anti-slavery element united upon Mr. 
Coles, and, after one of the most bitter campaigns, 
succeeded in electing him as Governor. His plural- 
ity over Judge Phillips was only 59 in a total vote of 



over 8,000. The Lieutenant Governor was elected 
by the slavery men. Mr. Coles' inauguration speech 
was marked by calmness, deliberation and such a 
wise expression of appropriate suggestions as to 
elicit the sanction of all judicious politicians. But 
he compromised not with evil. In his message to 
the Legislature, the seat of Government being then 
at Vandalia, he strongly urged the abrogation of the 
modified form of slavery which then existed in this 
State, contrary to the Ordinance of 1787. His posi- 
tion on this subject seems the more remarkable, when 
it is considered that he was a minority Governor, the 
population of Illinois being at that lime almost ex- 
clusively from slave-holding States and by a large 
majority in favor of the perpetuation of that old relic 
of barbarism. The Legislature itself was, of course, 
a reflex of the popular sentiment, and a majority of 
them were led on by fiery men in denunciations of 
the conscientious Governor, and in curses loud and 
deep upon him and all his friends. Some of the 
public men, indeed, went so far as to head a sort of 
mob, or " shiveree " party, who visited the residence 
of the Governor and others at Vandalia and yelled 
and groaned and spat fire. 

The Constitution, not establishing or permitting 
slavery in this State, was thought therefore to be 
defective by the slavery politicians, and they desired 
a State Convention to be elected, to devise and sub- 
mit a new Constitution; and the dominant politics 
of the day was "Convention" and "anti-Conven- 
tion." Both parties issued addresses to the people, 
Gov. Coles himself being the author of the address 
published by the latter party. This address revealed 
the schemes of the conspirators in a masterly man- 
ner. It is difficult for us at this distant day to esti- 
mate the critical and extremely delicate situation in 
which the Governor was placed at that time. 

Our hero maintained himself honorably and with 
supreme dignity throughout his administration, and 
in his honor a county in this State is named. He 
was truly a great man, and those who lived in 
this Slate during his sojourn here, like those who 
live at the base of the mountain, were too near to see 
and recognize the greatness that overshadowed them. 

Mr. Coles was married Nov. 28, 1833, by Bishop 
De Lancey, to Miss Sally Logan Roberts, a daughter 
of Hugh Roberts, a descendant of Welsh ancestry, 
who cami to this country with Wra. Penn in 1682. 

After the expiration of his term of service, Gov. 
Coles continued his residence in Edwardsville, sup- 
erintending his farm in the vicinity. He was fond 
of agriculture, and was the founder of the first agri- 
cultural society in the State. On account of ill 
health, however, and having no family to tie him 
down, he spent much of his time in Eastern cities. 
About 1832 he changed his residence to Philadel- 
phia, where he died July 7, 1868, and is buried at 
Woodland, near that city. 



.-^■ : '^%* 




' 6 e$-uy&-^Jl> 



GO VERNORS OF ILL/NO IS. 




%} Simian, Edwrnids^ 

[fig;- V'l 





i—^-i^f&c^-V)-^ 




S3 



INI AN EDWARDS, Govei nor 
from 1827 to 1830, was a son 
of Benjamin Edwards, and 
'Jy was born in Montgomery 
5S/0 County, Maryland, in March, 
1775. His domestic train- 
ing was well fitted to give 
his mind strength, firmness and 
honorable principles, and a good 
foundation was laid for the elevated 
character to which he afterwards 
attained. His parents were Bap- 
tists, and very strict in their moral 
principles. His education in early 
youth was in company with and 
partly under the tuition of Hon. Wm. 
Wirt, whom his father patronized 
and who was more than two years 
older. An intimacy was thus 
formed between them which was lasting for life. He 
was further educated at Dickinson College, at Car- 
lisle, Pa. He next commenced the study of law, but 
before completing his course he moved to Nelson 
County, Ky., to open a farm for his father and to 
purchase homes and locate lands for his brothers and 
sisters. Here he fell in the company of dissolute 
companions, and for several years led the life of a 
spendthrift. He was, however, elected to the Legis- 
lature of Kentucky as the Representative of Nelson 
bounty before he was 2 1 years of age, and was re- 
elected by an almost unanimous vote. 



In 1798 he was 'licensed to practice law, and the 
following year was admitted to the Courts of Tennes- 
see. About this time he left Nelson County for 
Russellville, in Logan County, broke away from his 
dissolute companions, commenced a reformation and 
devoted himself to severe and laborious study. He 
then began to rise rapidly in his profession, and soon 
became an eminent lawyer, and inside of four years 
he filled in succession the offices of Presiding Judge 
of the General Court, Circuit Judge, fourth Judge of 
the Court of Appeals and Chief Justice of the State, 
— all before he was 32 years of age! In addition, in 
1802, he received a commission as Major of a battal- 
ion of Kentucky militia, and in 1804 was chosen a 
Presidential Elector, on the Jefferson and Clinton 
ticket. In 1S06 he was a candidate for Congress, 
but withdrew on being promoted to the Court of 
Appeals. 

Illinois was organized as a separate Territory in 
the spring of 1S09, when Mr. Edwards, then Chief 
Justice of the Court of Appeals in Kentucky, received 
from President Madison the appointment as Gover- 
nor of the new Territory, his commission bearing date 
April 24, 1S09. Edwards arrived at Kaskaskia in 
June, and on the 1 ith of that month took the oath of 
office. At the same time he was appointed Superin- 
tendent of the United States Saline, this Government 
interest then developing into considerable proportions 
in Southern Illinois. Although during the first three 
years of his administration he had the power to make 
new counties and appoint all the officers, yet he always 
allowed the people of each county, by an informal 



NINIAN EDWARDS. 



vote, to select their own officers, both civil and mili- 
tary. The noted John J. Crittenden, afterward 
United States Senator from Kentucky, was appointed 
by Gev. Edwards to the office of Attorney General of 
the Territory, which office was accepted for a short 
time only. 

The Indians in 1810 committing sundry depreda- 
tions in the Territory, crossing the Mississippi from 
the Territory of Louisiana, a long correspondence fol- 
lowed between the respective Governors concerning 
the remedies, which ended in a council with the sav- 
ages at Peoria in 1812, and a fresh interpretation of 
the treaties. Peoria was depopulated by these de- 
predations, and was not re-settled for many .years 
afterward. 

As Gov. Edwards' term of office expired by law in 
r8i2, he was re-appointed for another term of three 
years, and again in 1815 for a third term, serving 
until the organization of the State in the fall of 18 18 
and the inauguration of Gov. Bond. At this time 
ex-Gov. Edwards was sent to the United States 
Senate, his colleague being Jesse B. Thomas. As 
Senator, Mr. Edwards took a conspicuous part, and 
acquitted himself honorably in all the measures that 
came up in that body, being well posted, an able de- 
bater and a conscientious statesman. He thought 
.eriously of resigning this situation in T821, but was 
persuaded by his old friend, Wm. Wirt, and others to 
continue in office, which he did to the end of the 
term. 

He was then appointed Minister to Mexico by 
President Monroe. About this time, it appears that 
Mr. Edwards saw suspicious signs in the conduct of 
Wm. H. Crawford, Secretary of the United States 
Treasury, and an ambitious candidate for the Presi- 
dency, and being implicated by the latter in some of 
his statements, he resigned his Mexican mission in 
order fully to investigate the charges. The result 
was the exculpation of Mr. Edwards. 

Pro-slavery regulations, often termed "Black Laws," 
cisgraced the statute books of both the Territory and 
he State of Illinois during the whole of his career in 
.his commonwealth, and Mr. Edwards always main- 
tained the doctrines of freedom, and was an important 
.-.ctor in the great struggle which ended in a victory 
f or his party in 1824. 

In 1826 7 the Winnebago and other Indians com- 
mitted Wire depredations in the northern part of the 



State, and the white settlers, who desired the lands 
and wished to exasperate the savages into an evacu- 
ation of the country, magnified the misdemeanors of 
the aborigines and thereby produced a hostility be- 
tween the races so great as to precipitate a little war, 
known in history as the "Winnebago War." A few 
chases and skirmishes were had, when Gen. Atkinson 
succeeded in capturing Red Bird, the Indian chief, 
and putting him to death, thus ending the contest, at 
least until the troubles commenced which ended in 
the " Black Hawk War " of 1832. In the interpre- 
tation of treaties and execution of their provisions 
Gov. Edwards had much vexatious work to do. The 
Indians kept themselves generally within the juris- 
diction of Michigan Territory, and its Governor, 
Lewis Cass, was at a point so remote that ready cor- 
respondence with him was difficult or impossible. 
Gov. Edwards' administration, however, in regard to 
the protection of the Illinois frontier, seems to have 
been very efficient and satisfactory. 

For a considerable portion of his time after his re- 
moval to Illinois, Gov. Edwards resided upon his 
farm near Kaskaskia, which he had well stocked with 
horses, cattle and sheep from Kentucky, also with 
fruit-trees, grape-vines and shrubbery. He estab- 
lished saw and grist-mills, and engaged extensively 
in mercantile business, having no less than eight or ten 
stores in this State and Missouri. Notwithstanding 
the arduous duties of his office, he nearly always pur- 
chased the goods himself with which to supply the 
stores. Although not a regular practitioner of medi- 
cine, he studied the healing art to a considerable ex- 
tent, and took great pleasure in prescribing for, and 
taking care of, the sick, generally without charge. 
He was also liberal to the poor, several widows and 
ministers of the gospel becoming indebted to him 
even for their homes. 

He married Miss Elvira Lane, of Maryland, in 
1803, and they became the affectionate parents of 
several children, one of whom, especially, is well 
known to the people of the " Prairie State," namely, 
Ninian Wirt Edwards, once the Superintendent c< 
Public Instruction and still a resident of Springfield 
Gov. Edwards resided at and in the vicinity of Kas- 
kaskia from 1809 to 1818; in Edwardsville (named 
after him) from that time to 1824; and from the lat- 
ter date at Belleville, St. Clair County, until his 
death, July 20, 1833, of Asiatic cholera. Edwards 
County is also named in his honor, 



/ 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



I2J 




#Kr:' 



<*-TTlO feo ■*— J-*« 




' : OHN REYNOLDS, Governor 1831- 
4, was born in Montgomery Coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, Feb. 26, 178S. 
His father, Robert Reynolds and 
liis mother, nee Margaret Moore, 
were both natives of Ireland, from 
which country they emigrated to 
the United States in 1785, land- 
ing at Philadelphia. The senior 
Reynolds entertained an undying 
hostility to the British Govern- 
ment. When the subject of this 
sketch was about six months old, 
his parents emigrated with him to 
Tennessee, where many of their 
relatives had already located, at the base of the 
Copper Ridge Mountain, about 14 miles northeast of 
the present city of Kno.wille. There they were ex- 
posed to Indian depredations, and were much molest- 
ed by them. In 1794 they moved into the interior 
of the State. They were poor, and brought up their 
children to habits of manual industry. 

In 1800 the family removed to Kaskaskia, 111., with 
eight horses and two wagons, encountering many 
nardships on the way. Here young Reynolds passed 
the most of his childhood, while his character began 
to develop, the most prominent traits of which were 
ambition and energy. He also adopted the principle 
and practice of total abstinence from intoxicating 
liquors, In 1807 the family made another removal, 



this time to the " Goshen Settlement," at the foot of 
the Mississippi bluffs three or four miles southwest 
of Edwardsville. 

On arriving at his 20th year, Mr. Reynolds, seeing 
that he must look about for his own livelihood and 
not yet having determined what calling to pursue, 
concluded first to attend college, and he accordingly 
went to such an institution of learning, near Knox- 
ville, Tenn., where he had relatives. Imagine his 
diffidence, when, after passing the first 20 years of 
his life without ever having seen a carpet, a papered 
wall or a Windsor chair, and never having lived in a 
shingle-roofed house, he suddenly ushered himself 
into the society of the wealthy in the vicinity of 
Knoxville! He attended college nearly two years, 
going through the principal Latin authors ; but it 
seems that he, like the rest of the world in modern 
times, had but very little use for his Latin in after 
life. He always failed, indeed, to exhibit any good 
degree of literary discipline. He commenced the 
study of law in Knoxville, but a pulmonary trouble 
came on and compelled him to change his mode 
of life. Accordingly he returned home and re- 
cuperated, and in 1812 resumed his college and 
law studies at Knoxville. In the fall of 1812 he was 
admitted to the Bar at Kaskaskia. About this time 
he also learned the French language, which he 
practiced with pleasure in conversation with his 
family for many years. He regarded this language 
as being superior to all others for social intercourse. 



12 4 



JOHN REYNOLDS. 



From his services in the West, in the war of 1812, 
he obtained the sobriquet of the " Old Ranger." He 
was Orderly Sergeant, then Judge Advocate. 

Mr. Reynolds opened his first law office in the 
winter and spring of 1814, in the French village of 
Cahokia, then the capital of St. Clair County. 

In the fall of 18 1 8 he was elected an Associate 
Justice upon the Supreme Bench by the General 
Assembly. In 1825 he entered more earnestly than 
ever into the practice of law, and the very next year 
was elected a member of the Legislature, where he 
acted independently of all cliques and private inter- 
ests. In 1828 the Whigs and Democrats were for 
the first time distinctively organized as such in Illi- 
nois, and the usual party bitterness grew up and 
raged on all sides, while Mr. Reynolds preserved a 
iudicial calmness and moderation. The real animus 
if the campaign was " Jackson " and " anti-Jackson," 
'he former party carrying the State. 

In August, 1830, Mr. Reynolds was elected Gov- 
ernor, amid great excitement. Installed in office, he 
did all within his power to advance the cause of edu- 
cation, internal improvements, the Illinois & Mich- 
igan Canal, the harbor at Chicago, settling the coun- 
try, etc.; also reccmmended the winding up of the 
State Bank, as its affairs had become dangerously 
complicated. In his national politics, he was a 
moderate supporter of General Jackson. But the 
most celebrated event of his gubernatorial admin- 
istration was the Black Hawk War, which occurred 
in 1832. He called out the militia and prosecuted 
the contest with commendable diligence, appearing 
in person on the battle-grounds during the most 
critical periods. He was recognized by the President 
as Major-General, and authorized by him to make 
treaties with the Indians. By the assistance of the 
ger.f.ral Government the war was terminated without 
much bloodshed, but after many serious fights. This 
war, as well as everything else, was materially re- 
tarded by the occurrence of Asiatic cholera in the 
West. This was its first appearance here, and was 
the next event in prominence during Gov. Reynolds' 
term. 

South Carolina nullification coming up at this time, 
t was heartily condemned by both President Jackson 
,-.nd Gov. Reynolds, who took precisely the same 
grounds as the Unionists in the last war. 

On the termination of his gubernatorial term in 
.834, Gov. Reynolds was elected a Member of Con- 
gress, still considering himself a backwoodsman, as 
■ e had scarcely been outside of the State since he 
became of age, and had spent nearly all his youthful 
lays in the wildest region of the frontier. His first 
•nove in Congress was to adopt a resolution that in 
•ill elections made by the House for officers the votes 
should be given viva voce, each member in his place 
naming aloud the person for whom he votes. This 
created considerable heated discussion, but was es- 



sentially adopted, and remained the controlling prin- 
ciple for many years. The ex Governor was scarcely 
absent from his seat a single day, during eight ses- 
sions of Congress, covering a period of seven years, 
and he never vacillated in a party vote; but he failed 
to get the Democratic party to foster his " National 
Road" scheme. He says, in "My Own Times" (a 
large autobiography he published), that it was only 
by rigid economy that he avoided insolvency while in 
Washington. During his sojourn in that city he was 
married, to a lady of the place. 

In 1837, while out of Congress, and in company 
with a few others, he built the first railroad in the 
Mississippi Valley, namely, one about six miles long, 
leading from his coal mine in the Mississippi bluff to 
the bank of the river opposite St. Louis. Having not 
the means to purchase a locomotive, they operated it 
by horse-power. The next spring, however, the com- 
pany sold out, at great sacrifice. 

In 1839 the ex-Governor was appointed one of the 
Canal Commissioners, and authorized to borrow 
money to prosecute the enterprise. Accord' ugly, he 
repaired to Philadelphia and succeeding in obtaining 
a million dollars, which, however, was only a fourth 
of what was wanted. The same year he and his 
wife made at our of Europe. This year, also, Mr. 
Reynolds had the rather awkward little responsibility 
of introducing to President Van Buren the noted 
Mormon Prophet, Joseph Smith, as a " Latter-Day 
Saint!" 

In 1846 Gov. Reynolds was elected a member of 
the Legislature from St. Clair County, more particu- 
larly for the purpose of obtaining a feasible charter 
for a macadamized road from Belleville to St. Louis, 
a distance of nearly 14 miles. This was immediately 
built, and was the first road of the kind in the State. 
He was again elected to the Legislature in 1 85 2, when 
he was chosen Speaker of the House. In i860, aged 
and infirm, he attended the National Democratic 
Convention at Charleston, S. C , as an anti-Douglas 
Delegate, where he received more attention from the 
Southern Delegates than any other member. He 
supported Breckenridge for the Presidency. After 
the October elections foreshadowed the success of 
Lincoln, he published an address urging the Demo- 
crats to rally to the support of Douglas. Immedi- 
ately preceding and during the late war, his corre- 
spondence evinced a clear sympathy for the Southern 
secession, and about the first of March, 1861, he 
urged upon the Buchanan officials the seizure of the 
treasure and arms in the custom-house and arsenal 
at St. Louis. Mr. Reynolds was a rather talkative 
man, and apt in all the Western phrases and catch- 
words that ever gained currency, besides many cun- 
ning and odd ones of his own manufacture. 

He was married twice, but had no children. He 
died in Belleville, in May, 1865, just after the cbse 
of the war, 



■ 





u 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



' 2 7 





.LIAM LEE D. EWING, 
Governor of Illinois Nov. 3 
^p to 17, 1834, was a native 
of Kentucky, and probably 
of Scotch ancestry. He bad 
fine education, was a gentle- 
man of polished manners and 
rned sentiment. In 1830 John Rey- 
nolds was elected Governor of the State, 
id Zadok Casey Lieutenant Governor, 
id for the principal events that followed, 
nd the characteristics of the times, see 
sketch of Gov. Reynolds. The first we 
in history concerning Mr. Ewing, in- 
jrms us that he was a Receiver of Public 
Moi.eys at Vandalia soon after the organization of 
this State, and that the public moneys in his hands 
vere deposited in various banks, as they are usually 
.*■. thi present day. In 1823 the State Bank was 
obbed, by which disaster Mr. Ewing lost a thousand- 
dollar deposit. 

The subject of this sketcli had a commission as 
'. olonel in the Black Hawk War, and in emergencies 
ne acted also as Major. In the summer of 1832, 
"hen 1 vras rumored among the whites that Black 
Hawk and his men had encamped somewhere on 
Rock River, Gen. Henry was sent on a tour of 
reconnoisance, and with orders to drive the Indians 
from the State. After some opposition from his 
subordinate officers, Henry resolved to proceed up 
Rock River in search of the enemy. On the 19th of 
July, early in the morning, five baggage wagons, 



camp equipage and all heavy and cumbersome arti- 
cles were piled up and left, so that the army might 
make speedy and forced marches. For some miles 
the travel was exceedingly bad, crossing swamps 
and the worst thickets; but the large, fresh trail 
gave life and animation to the Americans. Ge:i. 
Dodge and Col. Ewing were both acting as Majors, 
and composed the " spy corps " or vanguard of the 
army. It is supposed the army marched nearly 50 
miles this day, and the Indian trail they followed 
became fresher, and was strewed with much property 
and trinkets of the red-skins that they had lost or 
thrown away to hasten their march. During the 
following night there was a terrific thunder-storm, and 
the soldiery, with all their appurtenances, were thor- 
oughly drenched. 

On approaching nearer the Indians the next day. 
Gen. Dodge and Major Ewing, each commanding a 
battalion of men, were placed in front to bring on the 
battle, but the savages were not overtaken this day 
Forced marches were continued until they reached. 
Wisconsin River, where a veritable battle ensued, 
resulting in the death of about 68 of Black Hawk's 
men. The next day they continued the chase, and 
as soon as he discovered the trail of the Indians 
leading toward the Mississippi, Maj. Ewing formed 
his battalion in order of battle and awaited the order 
of Gen. Henry. The latter soon appeared on the 
ground and ordered a charge, which directly resulted 
in chasing the red warriors across the great river. 
Maj. Ewing and his command proved particularly 
efficient in war, as it seems they were the chief actors 
in driving the main body of the Sacs and Foxes, in- 



128 



WILLIAM L. D. SWING. 



eluding Black Hawk himself, across the Mississippi, 
while Gen. Atkinson, commander-in-chief of the ex- 
pedition, with a body of the army, was hunting for 
them 5n another direction. 

In the above affair Maj. Ewing is often referred to 
as a ''General," which title he had derived from bin 
connection with the militia. 

It was in the latter part of the same year (1S32) 
that Lieutenant Governor Casey was elected to Con- 
gress and Gen. Ewing, who had been elected to the 
Genate, was chosen to preside over that body. At 
the August election of 1S34, Gov. Reynolds was also 
elected to Congress, more than a year ahead of the 
time at which he could actually take his seat, as was 
then the law. His predecessor, Chailes Slade, had 
just died of Asiatic cholera, soon after the elec- 
tion, and Gov. Reynolds was chosen to serve out his 
unexpired term. Accordingly he set out for Wash- 
ington in November of that year to take his seat in 
Congress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his office as 
President of the Senate, became Governor of the 
State; of Illinois, his term covering only a period of 
15 days, namely, from the 3d to the 17th days, in- 
clusive, of November. On the 17th the Legislature 
met, and Gov. Ewing transmitted to that body his 
message, giving a statement of the condition of the 
affairs of the Stale at that time, and urging a contin- 
uance of the policy adopted by his predecessor ; and 
on the same day Governor elect Joseph Duncan 
was sworn into office, thus relieving Mr. Ewing from 



the responsible situation. This is the only time that 
such a juncture has happened in the history of Illi- 
nois. 

On the 29th of December, 1835, Gen. Ewing was 
elected a U.-.ited States Senator to serve out the 
unexpired term of Elias Kent Kane, deceased. The 
latter gentleman was a very prominent figure in the 
early politics of Illinois, and a county in this State is 
named in his honor. The election of Gen. Ewing to 
the Senate was a protracted struggle. His competi- 
tors were James Semple, who afterwards held several 
important offices in this State,- and Richard M. 
Young, afterward a United States Senator and a 
Supreme Judge and a man of vast influence. On 
the first ballot Mr. Semple had 25 votes, Young 19 
and Ewing 18. On the eighth ballot Young was 
diopped; the ninth and tenth stood a tie; but on 
the 1 2th E.ving received 40, to Semple 37, and was 
accordingly declared elected. In 1837 Mr. Ewing 
received some votes for a continuance of his term in 
Congress, when Mr. Young, just referred to, was 
elected. In 1842 Mr. Ewing was elected State 
Auditor on the ticket with Gov Ford. 

Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer 
by profession, and was much in public life. In person 
he was above medium height and of heavy build, 
with auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and 
short face. He was genial, social, friendly and 
affable, with fair talent, though of no high degTee of 
originality. He died March 25, 1846. 





J&tt/i^ 5fa 



: 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



■3" 





im%tmx i 






^ £S£ £^^^s j ^'i>6 r ^ r *'3! | ^^e|S^i^^®^JpSC***^ •* 4W ^3§v&'crar^$,j3r> 







OSEPH DUNCAN, Governor 
1834-3, was born at Paris, 
Ky., Feb. 23, 1794. At the 
tender age of 19 years he en- 
listed in the war against Great 
Britain, and as a soldier he 
acquitted himself with credit. He 
was an Ensign under the daunt- 
less Croghan at Lower Sandusky, 
or Fort Stephenson. In Illinois 
lie first appeared in a public capa- 
city as Major-General of the Militia, 
a position which his military fame 
had procured him. Subsequently 
he became a State Senator from 
Jackson County, and is honorably 
mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for 
a free-school system. In 1826, when the redoubt- 
able John P, Cook, who had previously beaten such 
men as John McLean, Elias Kent Kane and ex- 
Gov. Bond, came up for the fourth time for Congress, 
Mr. Duncan was brought forward against him by his 
friends, greatly to the surprise of all the politicians. 
\s yet he was but little known in the State. He was 
an original Jackson man at that time, being attached 
to his political fortune in admiration of the glory of 
his military achievements. His chances of success 
against Cook were generally regarded as hopeless, 
but he entered upon the campaign undaunted. His 
speeches, though short and devoid of ornament, were 
full of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of 
the State, Mr. Cook being hindered by the condition of 
his health. The most that was expected of Mr. 
Duncan, under the circumstances, was that he would 



obtain a respectable vote, but without defeating Mr 
Cook. The result of the campaign, however, was .1 
source of surprise and amazement to both friends 
and foes, as Mr. Duncan came out 641 votes ahead! 
He received 6,32 r votes, and Mr. Cook 5,680. Un- 
til this denouement, the violence of party feeling 
smoldering in the breasts of the people on account 
of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly appreciated. 
Aside from the great convention struggle of 1824, no 
other than mere local and personal considerations 
had ever before controlled an election in Illinois. 

From the above date Mr. Duncan retained his 
seat in Co.igress until his election as Governor in 
August, 1834. The first and bloodless year of the 
Black Hawk War he was appointed by Gov. Rey- 
nolds to the position of Brigadier-General of the 
volunteers, and he conducted his brigade to Rock 
Island. But he was absent from the State, in Wash- 
ington, during the gubernatorial campaign, and did 
not personally participate in it, but addressed circu- 
lars to his constituents. His election was, indeed, 
attributed to the circumstance of his absence, be- 
cause his estrangement from Jackson, formerly his 
political idol, and also from the Democracy, largely 
in ascendency in the State, was complete; but while 
his defection was well known to his Whig friends, 
and even to the leading Jackson men of this State, 
the latter were unable to carry conviction of that fact 
to the masses, as mail and newspaper facilities at 
that day were far inferior to those of the present 
time. Of course the Governor was much abused 
afterward by the fossilized Jackson men who re- 
garded party ties and affiliations as above all 
other issues that could arise; but he was doubtless 



I 3 2 



JOSEPH DUNCAN. 



sincere in his opposition to the old hero, as the Litter 
,;ad vetoed several important western measures 
which were dear to Mr. Duncan. In his inaugural 
message he threw off the mask and took a bold stand 
r gainst the course of the President. The measures 
•-.e recommended in his message, however, were so 
desirable that the Legislature, although by a large 
majority consisting of Jackson men, could not refrain 
from endorsing them. These measures related 
mainly to backs and internal improvements. 

It was while Mr. Duncan was Governor that the 
people of Illinois went whirling on with bank and in- 
ternal improvement schemes that well nigh bank- 
-upted the State. The hard times of 1837 came on, 
and the disasters that attended the inauguration of 
jiese plans and the operation of the banks were mu- 
tually charged upon the two political parties. Had 
any cr.e man autocratic power to introduce and 
carry on any one of these measures, he would proba- 
bly have succeeded to the satisfaction of the public ; 
tut as many jealous men had hold of the same plow 
handle, no success followed and each blamed the other 
for the failure. In this great vortex Gov. Duncan 
was carried along, suffering the like derogation of 
character with his fellow citizens. 

At the height of the excitement the Legislature 
"provided for" railroads from Galena to Cairo, Alton 
to Shawneetown, Alton to Mount Carmel, Alton to the 
eastern boundary of the State in the direction of 
Terre Haute, Quincy via Springfield to the Wabash, 
Bloomington to Pekin, and Peoria to Warsaw, — in all 
about 1,300 miles of road. It also provided for the 
improvement of the navigation of the Kaskaskia, 
Illinois, Great and Little Wabash and Rock Rivers ; 
also as a placebo, $200,000 in money were to be dis- 
ributed to the various counties wherein no improve- 
ments were ordered to be made as above. The 
estimate for the expenses for all these projects was 
placed at a little over $10,000,000, which was not 
more man half enough! That would now be equal to 
paddling upon the State a debt of $225,000,000 ! It 
was sufficient to bankrupt the State several times 
over, even counting all the possible benefits. 

One of the most exciting events that ever occurred 
in this fair State was the murder of Elijah P. Love- 
ioy in the fall of 1837, at Alton, during Mr. Duncan's 
lerm as Governor. Lovejoy was an " Abolitionist," 
editing the Observer at that place, and the pro- 
slavery slums there formed themselves into a mob, 



and after destroying successively three presses be- 
longing to Mr. Lovejoy, surrounded the warehouse 
where the fourth press was stored away, endeavoring 
to destroy it, and where Lovejoy and his friends 
were entierching themselves, and shot and killed the 
brave reformer! 

About this time, also, the question of removing the 
State capital again came up, as the 20 years' limit for 
its existence at Vandalia was drawing to a close. 
There was, of course, considerable excitement over 
the matter, the two main points competing for it be- 
ing Springfield and Peoria. The jealousy of the lat- 
ter place is not even yet, 45 years afterward, fully 
allayed. 

Gov. Duncan's term expired in 1838. In 1842 
he was again proposed as a candidate for the Execu- 
tive chair, this time by the Whig party, against Adarr. 
W. Snyder, of St. Clair County, the nominee of the 
Democrats. Charles W. Hunter was a third candi- 
date for the same position. Mr. Snyder, however, died 
before the campaign had advanced very far, and his 
party substituted Thomas Ford, who was elected 
receiving 46,901 votes, to 38,584 for Duncan, and 
909 for Hunter. The cause of Democratic success 
at this time is mainly attributed to the temporary 
support of the Mormons which they enjoyed, and the 
want of any knowledge, on the part of the masses, 
that Mr. Ford was opposed to any given policy en- 
tertained in the respective localities. 

Gov. Duncan was a man of rather limited educa- 
tion, but with naturally fine abilities he profited 
greatly by his various public services, and gathered 
a store of knowledge regarding public affairs which 
served him a ready purpose. He possessed a clear 
judgment, decision, confidence in himself and moral 
courage to carry out his convictions of right. In his 
deportment he was well adapted to gain the admira- 
tion of the people. His intercourse with them was 
both affable and dignified. His portrait at the Gov- 
ernor's mansion, from which the accompanying was 
made, represents him as having a swarthy complex- 
ion, high cheek bones, broad forehead, piercing black 
eyes and straight black hair. 

He was a liberal patron of the Illinois College at 
In ksonville, a member of its Board of Trustees, and 
died, after a short illness, Jan. r5, r844, a devoted 
member of the Presbyterian Church, leaving a wife 
but no children. Two children, born to them, had 
died in infancy. 





-r/aAj^^ ? 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



'35 










ia^lii^. 





HOMAS CARLIN, the sixth 
Governor of the State of 
Illinois, serving from 1838 
to 1842, was also a Ken- 
tuckian, being born near 
Frankfort, that State, July 
18, 1789, of Irish paternity. 
The opportunities for an education 
being very meager in his native 
place, he, on approaching years of 
judgment and maturity, applied 
himself to those branches of learn- 
ing that seemed most important, 
and thus became a self-made man ; 
and his taste for reading and 
study remained with him through 
In 1803 his father removed 
10 Missouri, then a part of " New Spain," where he 
died in 18 10. 

In 181 2 young Carlin came to Illinois and partici- 
pated in all the "ranging" service incident to the 
war of that period, proving himself a soldier of un- 
daunted bravery. In 1814 he married Rebecca 
Hunt, and lived for four years on the bank of the 
Mississippi River, opposite the mouth of the Mis- 
souri, where he followed farming, and then removed 
to Greene County. He located the town site of Car- 
rc'.ton, in that county, and in 1825 made a liberal 
donation of land for county building purposes. He 
was the first Sheriff of that county after its separate 
organization, and afterward was twice elected, as a 
Jackson Democrat, to the Illinois Senate. In the 
Black Hawk War he commanded a spy battalion, a 
post of considerable danger. In 1834 he was ap- 
pointed by President Jackson to the position of 
Receiver of Public Moneys, and to fulfill the office 



more conveniently he removed to the city of Quincy. 

While, in 1838, the unwieldy internal improvement 
system of the State was in full operation, with all its 
expensive machinery, amidst bank suspensions 
throughout the United States, a great stringency in 
the money market everywhere, and Illinois bonds 
forced to sale at a heavy discount, and the " hardest 
times " existing that the people of the Prairie State 
ever saw, the general election of State officers was 
approaching. Discreet men who had cherished the 
hope of a speedy subsidence of the public infatua- 
tion, met with disappointment. A Governor and 
Legislature were to be elected, and these were now 
looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous State 
policy. But the grand scheme had not yet lost its 
dazzling influence upon the minds of the people. 
Time and experience had not yet fully demonstrated 
its utter absurdity. Hence the question of arresting 
its career of profligate expenditures did not become 
a leading one with the dominant party during the 
campaign, and most of the old members of the Leg- 
islature were returned at this election. 

Under these circumstances the Democrats, in State 
Convention assembled, nominated Mr. Carlin for She 
office of Governor, and S. H. Anderson for Lieuten- 
ant Governor, while the Whigs nominated Cyrus Ed- 
wards, brotherof Ninian Edwards, formerly Governor, 
and W. H. Davidson. Edwards came out strongly 
for a continuance of the State policy, while Garlic 
remained non-committal. This was the first time 
that the two main political parties in this State were 
unembarrassed by any third party in the field. The 
result of the election was: Carlin, 35,573 ; Ander- 
son, 30,335; Edwards, 29,629; and Davidson, 28,- 

7LS- 

Upon the meeting of the subsequent Legislature 

(1839), the retiring Governor CDuncan) in his mes- 



I3 6 



THOMAS CARUN. 



sage spoke in emphatic terms of the impolicy of the 
internal improvement system, presaging the evils 
threatened, and uiged that body to do their utmost 
to correct the great error ; yet, on the contrary, the 
Legislature not only decided to continue the policy 
but also added to its burden by voting more appro- 
priations and ordering more improvements. Although 
the money market was still stringent, a further loan 
of $4,000,000 was ordered for the Illinois & Mich- 
igan Canal alone. Cli'cago at that time began to 
loom up and promise to be an important city, even 
the great emporium of the West, as it has since in- 
deed came to be. Ex-Gov. Reynolds, an incompe- 
tent financier, was commissioned to effect the loan, 
and accordingly hastened to the East on this respons- 
ible errand, and negotiated the loans, at considera- 
ble sacrifice to the State. Besides this embarrassment 
to Carlin's administration, the Legislature also de- 
clared that he had no authority to appoint a Secretary 
of State until a vacancy existed, and A. P. Field, a 
Whig, who had already held the post by appointment 
through three administrations, was determined to 
keep the place a while longer, in spite of Gov. Car- 
lin's preferences. The course of the Legislature in 
this regard, however, was finally sustained by the 
Supreme Court, in a quo warranto case brought up 
before it by John A. McClernand, whom the Gov- 
ernor had nominated for the office. Thereupon that 
dignified body was denounced as a "Whig Court!'' 
endeavoring to establish the principle of life-tenure 
of office. 

A new law was adopted re-organizing the Judici- 
ary, and under it five additional Supreme Judges 
were elected by the Legislature, namely, Thomas 
Ford (afterward Governor), Sidney Breese, Walter B. 
Scates, Samuel H. Treat and Stephen A. Douglas — 
all Democrats. 

It was during Cov. Carlin's administration that the 
noisy campaign of "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" oc- 
curred, resulting in a Whig victory. This, however, 
did net affect Illinois politics very seriously. 

Another prominent event in the West during Gov. 
Carlin's term of office was the excitement caused by 
the Mormons and their removal from Independence, 
Mo., to Nauvoo, 111., in 1840. At the same time 
they began to figure somewhat in State politics. On 
account of their believing — as they thought, accord- 
ing to the New Testament — that they should have 



"all things common," and that consequently "all 
the earth " and all that is upon it were the" Lord's " 
and therefore the property of his "saints," they 
were suspected, and correctly, too, of committing 
many of the deeds of larceny, robbery, etc., that 
were so rife throughout this country in those days. 
Hence a feeling of violence grew up between the 
Mormons and "anti-Mormons." In the State of 
Missouri the Mormons always supported the Dem- 
ocracy until they were driven out by the Democratic 
government, when they turned their support to the 
Whigs. They were becoming numerous, and in the 
Legislature of 1840-1, therefore, it became a matter 
of great interest with both parties to conciliate these 
people. Through the agency of one John C. Ben- 
nett, a scamp, the Mormons succeeded in rushing 
through the Legislature (both parties not daring to 
oppose) a charter for the city of Nauvoo which vir- 
tually erected a hierarchy co-ordinate with the Fed- 
eral Government itself. In the fall of 1841 the 
Governor of Missouri made a demand upon Gov. 
Carlin for the body of Joe Smith, the Mormon leader, 
as a fugitive from justice. Gov. Carlin issued th; 
writ, but for some reason it was returned unserved. 
It was again issued in 1S42, and Smith was arrested, 
but was either rescued by his followers or discharged 
by the municipal court on a writ of habeas corpus. 

In December, 1841, the Democratic Convention 
nominated Adam W. Snyder, of Belleville, for Gov- 
ernor. As he had been, as a member of the Legisla- 
ture, rather friendly to the Mormons, the latter 
naturally turned their support to the Democratic 
party. The next spring the Whigs nominated Ex- 
Gov. Duncan for the same office. In the meantime 
the Mormons began to grow more odious to the 
masses of the people, and the comparative prospects 
of the respective parties for success became very 
problematical. Mr. Snyder died in May, and 
Thomas Ford, a Supreme Judge, was substituted as 
a candidate, and was elected. 

At the close of his gubernatorial term, Mr. Carlin 
removed back to his old home at Carrollton, where 
he spent the remainder of his life, as before his ele- 
vation to office, in agricultural pursuits. In 1849 
he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in the 
Illinois House of Representatives, and died Feb. 4, 
1852, at his residence at Carrollton, leaving a wife 
a id seven children. 




o, 




V*-*T>tS<Sl4 




GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



«3<) 



£ri*>.>nfc.- "*- 




_ . ^.<i*3* \ 



^n^ ' -iw ^"^ ^^ * * ** '""• f? j *^ f Y ** " f v * * ^ * * * v v *+' * ** * * ¥ T¥% ' * *W' '+'"+' «| ' ffi^ ' iflr-^ * 



^fcC***" 





JHOMAS FORD, Governor 
from 1842 to 1846, and au- 
thor of a very interesting 
history of Illinois, was born 
at Uniontown, Pa., in the 
year 1 800. His mother, after 
the death of her first hus- 
band (Mr. Forquer), married Rob- 
ert Ford, who was killed in 1802, 
by the Indians in the mountains 
of Pennsylvania. She was conse- 
quently left in indigent circum- 
stances, with a large family, mostly 
girls. With a view to better her 
condition, she, in 1804, removed to 
Missouri, where it had been cus- 
tomary by the Spanish Govern- 
ment to give land to actual settlers; but upon her 
arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to 
the United States, and the liberal policy toward set- 
tlers changed by the new ownership. After some 
sickness to herself and family, she finally removed to 
Illinois, and settled some three miles south of Water- 
loo, but the following year moved nearer the Missis- 
sippi bluffs. Here young Ford received his first 1 



schooling, under the instructions of a Mr. Humphrey, 
for which he had to walk three miles. His mother, 
though lacking a thorough education, was a woman 
of superior mental endowments, joined to energy 
and determination of character. She inculcated in 
her children those high-toned principles which dis- 
tinguished her sons in public life. She exercised a 
rigid economy to provide her children an education; 
but George Forquer, her oldest son (six years older 
than Thomas Ford), at an early age had to quit 
school to aid by his labor in the support of the family. 
He afterward became an eminent man in Illinois 
affairs, and but for his early death would probably 
have been elected to the United States Senate. 

Young Ford, with somewhat better opportunities, 
received a better education, though limited to the 
curriculum of the common school of those pioneer 
times. His mind gave early promise of superior en- 
dowments, with an inclination for mathematics. His 
proficiency attracted the attention of Hon. Daniel P. 
Cook, who became his efficient patron and friend. 
The latter gentleman was an eminent Illinois states- 
man who, as a Member of Congress, obtained a grant 
of 300,000 acres of land to aid in completing the 
Illinois & Michigan Canal, and after whom the 
county of Cook was named. Through the advice of 



140 



THOMAS FORD. 



this gentleman, Mr. Ford turned his attention to the 
study of law; but Forquer, then merchandising, re- 
garding his education defective, sent him to Transyl- 
vania University, where, however, he remained but 
one term, owing to Forquer's failure in business. On 
his return he alternated his law reading with teach- 
ing school for support. 

In 1829 Gov. Edwards appointed him Prosecuting 
Attorney, and in 1831 he was re-appointed by Gov. 
Reynolds, and after that he was four times elected a 
Judge by the Legislature, without opposition, twice a 
Circuit Judge, once a Judge of Chicago, and as As- 
sociate Judge of the Supreme Court, when, in 1841, 
the latter tribunal was re-organized by the addition 
of five Judges, all Democrats. Ford was assigned to 
the Ninth Judicial Circuit, and while in this capacity 
lie was holding Court in Ogle County he received a 
notice of his nomination by the Democratic Conven- 
tion for the office of Governor. He immediately re- 
signed his place and entered upon the canvass. In 
August, 1842, he was elected, and on the 8th of De- 
cember following he was inaugurated. 

All the offices which he had held were unsolicited 
by him. He received them upon the true Jefferson- 
ian principle, — Never to ask and never to refuse 
office. Both as a lawyer and as a Judge he stood 
deservedly high, but his cast of intellect fitted him 
rather for a writer upon law than a practicing advo- 
cate in the courts. In the latter capacity he was void 
of the moving power of eloquence, so necessary to 
success with juries. As a Judge his opinions were 
^outid, lucid and able expositions of the law. In 
practice, he was a stranger to the tact, skill and in- 
sinuating address of the politician, but he saw through 
the arts of demagogues as well as any man. He was 
plain in his demeanor, so much so, indeed, that at 
one time after the expiration of his term of office, 
during a session of the Legislature, he was taken by 
a stranger to be a seeker for the position of door- 
keeper, and was waited upon at his hotel near mid- 
night by a knot of small office-seekers with the view 
of effecting a " combination ! " 

Mr. Ford had not the "brass" of the ordinary 
politician, nor that impetuosity which characterizes a 
political leader. He cared little for money, and 
hardly enough for a decent support. In person he 
was of small stature, slender, of dark complexion, 
with black hair, sharp features, deep-set eyes, a 
pointed, aquiline nose having a decided twist to one 
side, and a small mouth. 

The three most important events in Gov. Ford's 
administration were the establishment of the high 
financial credit of the State, the " Mormon War "and 
.he Mexican War. 

In the first of tiiese the Governor proved himself 
'a be eminently wise. On coming into office he found 
the State badly paralyzed by the ruinous effects of 
?ne notorious "internal improvement" schemes of 



the preceding decade, with scarcely anything to 
show by way of "improvement." The enterprise 
that seemed to be getting ahead more than all the 
rest was the Illinois & Michigan Canal. As this 
promised to be the most important thoroughfare, 
feasible to the people, it was well under headway in 
its construction. Therefore the State policy was 
almost concentrated upon it, in order to rush it onto 
completion. The bonded indebtedness of the State 
was growing so large as to frighten the people, and 
they were about ready to entertain a proposition for 
repudiation. But the Governor had the foresight to 
recommend such measures as would maintain the 
public credit, for which every citizen to-day feels 
thankful. 

But perhaps the Governor is remembered more for 
his connection with the Mormon troubles than for 
anything else; for it was during his term of office 
that the " Latter-Day Saints" became so strong at 
Nauvoo, built their temple there, increased their num- 
bers throughout the country, committed misdemean- 
ors, taught dangerous doctrines, suffered the loss of 
their leader, Jo Smith, by a violent death, were driven 
out of Nauvoo to the far West, etc. Having been a 
Judge for so many years previously, Mr. Ford of 
course was no i-committal concerning Mormon affairs, 
and was therefore claimed by both parties and also 
accused by each of sympathizing too greatly with the 
other side. Mormonism claiming to be a system of 
religion, the Governor no doubt was "between two 
fires," and felt compelled to touch the matter rather 
" gingerly," and doubtless felt greatly relieved when 
that pestilential people left the State. Such compli- 
cated matters, especially when religion is mixed up 
with them, expose every person participating in 
them to criticism from all parties. 

The Mexican War was begun in the spring of 
1845, and was continued into the gubernatorial term 
of Mr. Ford's successor. The Governor's connection 
with this war, however, was not conspicuous, as it 
was only administrative, commissioning officers, etc. 

Ford's " History of Illinois " is a very readable and 
entertaining work, of 450 small octavo pages, and is 
destined to increase in value with the lapse of time. 
It exhibits a natural flow of compact and forcible 
thought, never failing to convey the nicest sense. In 
tracing with his trenchant pen the devious operations 
of the professional politician, in which he is inimit- 
able, his account is open, perhaps, to the objection 
that all his contemporaries are treated as mere place- 
seekers, while many of them have since been judged 
by the people to be worthy statesmen. His writings 
seem slightly open to the criticism that they exhibit 
a little splenetic partiality against those of his con- 
temporaries who were prominent during his term of 
office as Governor. 

The death of Gov. Ford took place at Peoria, 111., 
Nov. 2, 1850. 




^&pi^ C??>-S^ns^/ 






GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



H3 





-yivM^I 



jjg»^g»gjg^^H>^;»^s<»as»a8g»s» £ <» gg » ^g $ 



Augustus C« French. 





P^UGUSTUS C. FRENCH, 



Governor of Illinois from 
1846 to 1852, was born in 
the town of Hill, in the 
State of New Hampshire, 
Aug. 2, 1808. He was a 
descendant in the fourth 
generation ot Nathaniel 
French, who emigrated from England 
in 16S7 and settled in Saybury, Mass. 
In early life young French lost his 
father, but continued to receive in- 
struction from an exemplary and 
-wSS*w Christian mother until he was 19 years 
old, when she also died, confiding to 
his care and trust four younger broth- 
ers and one sister. He discharged his trust with 
parental devotion. His education in early life was 
such mainly as a common school afforded. For a 
brief period he attended Dartmouth College, but 
from pecuniary causes and the care of his brothers 
and sister, he did not graduate. He subsequently 
read law, and was admitted to the Bar in 1S31, and 
shortly afterward removed to Illinois, settling first at 
Albion, Edwards County, where he established him- 
self in the practice of law. The following year he 
removed to Paris, Edgar County. Here he attained 
eminence in his profession, and entered public life 
by representing that county in the Legislature. A 
strong attachment sprang up between him and Ste- 
phen A. Douglas. 

In 1839, Mr. French was appointed Receiver of 
the United States Land Office at Palestine, Craw- 
tord County, at which place he was a resident when 



elevated to the gubernatorial chair. In 1844 he was 
a Presidential Elector, and as such he voted for 
James K. Polk. 

The Democratic State Convention of 1846, meet- 
ing at Springfield Feb. 10, nominated Mr. French 
for Governor. Other Democratic candidates were 
Lyman Trumbull, John Calhoun (subsequently of 
Lecompton Constitution notoriety), Walter B. Scates. 
Richard M. Young and A. W. Cavarly, — an array of 
very able and prominent names. Trumbull was per- 
haps defeated in the Convention by the rumor that 
he was opposed to the Illinois and Michigan Canal, 
as he had been a year previously. For Lieutenant 
Governor J. B. Wells was chosen, while other candi- 
dates were Lewis Ross, Win, McMurtry, Newton 
Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. Thompson. The 
resolutions declared strongly against the resuscita- 
tion of the old State Banks. 

The Whigs, wiio were in a hopeless minority, held 
their convention June 8, at Peoria, and selected 
Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott County, for Governor, 
and Gen. Nathaniel G. Wilcox, of Schuyler, for 
Lieutenant Governor. 

In the campaign the latter exposed Mr. French's 
record and connection with the passage of the in- 
ternal improvement system, urging it against his 
election; but in the meantime the war with Mexico 
broke out, regarding which the Whig record was un 
popular in this State. The war was the absorbing 
and dominating question of the period, sweeping 
every other political issue in its course. The elec- 
tion in August gave Mr. French 58,700 votes, and 
Kilpatrick only 36,775. Richard Eells, Abolitionist 
candidate for the same office, received 5,152 votf-s 



144 



AUGUSTUS C. FRENCH. 



By the new Constitution of 1848, a new election for 
State officers was ordered in November of that year, 
before Gov. French's term was half out, and he was 
re-elected for the term of four years. He was there- 
fore the incumbent for six consecutive years, the 
only Governor of this State who has ever served in 
that capacity so long at one time. As there was no 
organized opposition to his election, he received 67,- 
453 votes, to 5,639 for Pierre Menard (son of the 
first Lieutenant Governor), 4,748 for Charles V. 
Dyer, 3,834 for W. L. D. Morrison, and 1,361 for 
James L. D. Morrison. But Wm. McMurtry, of 
Knox County, was elected Lieutenant Governor, in 
place of Joseph B. Wells, who was before elected 
and did not run again. 

Governor French was inaugurated into office dur- 
ing the progress of the Mexican War, which closed 
during the summer of 1847, although the treaty of 
Guadalupe Hidalgo was not made until Feb. 2, 
1848. The policy of Gov. French's party was com- 
mitted to that war, but in connection with that affair 
he was, of course, only an administrative officer. 
During his term of office, Feb. 19, 1847, the Legisla- 
ture, by special permission of Congress, declared that 
all Government lands sold to settlers should be im- 
mediately subject to State taxation; before this they 
were exempt for five years after sale. By this ar- 
rangement the revenue was materially increased. 
About the same time, the distribution of Government 
land warrants among the Mexican soldiers as bounty 
threw upon the market a great quantity of good 
lands, and this enhanced the settlement of the State. 
The same Legislature authorized, with the recom- 
mendation of the Governor, the sale of the Northern 
Cross Railroad (from Springfield to Meredosia, the 
fust in the State and now a section of the Wabash, 
St. Louis & Pacific) It sold for $100,000 in bonds, 
■although it had cost the State not less than a million. 
The salt wells and canal lands in the Saline reserve 
in Gallatin County, granted by the general Govern- 
ment to the State, were also authorized by the 
Governor to be sold, to apply on the State debt. In 
1850, for the first time since 1839, the accruing State 
revenue, exclusive of specific appropriations, was 
sufficient to meet the current demands upon the 
treasury. The aggregate taxable property of the 
State at this time was over $100,000,000, and the 
population 851,470. 



In 1849 the Legislature adopted the township or- 
ganization law, which, however, proved defective, 
and was properly amended in 1851. At its session 
in the latter year, the General Assembly also passed 
a law to exempt homesteads from sale on executions 
This beneficent measure had been repeatedly uiged 
upon that body by Gov. French. 

In 1850 some business men in St. Louis com- 
menced to build a dike opposite the lower part of 
their city on the Illinois side, to keep the Mississippi 
in its channel near St. Louis, instead of breaking 
away from them as it sometimes threatened to do. 
This they undertook without permission from the 
Legislature or Executive authority of this State ; and 
as many of the inhabitants there complained that 
the scheme would inundate and ruin much valuable 
land, there was a slight conflict of jurisdictions, re- 
sulting in favor of the St. Louis project; and since 
then a good site has existed there for a city (East St. 
Louis), and now a score of railroads center there. 

It was in September, 1850, that Congress granted 
to this State nearly 3,000,000 acres of land in aid of 
the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, 
which constituted the most important epoch in the 
railroad — we might say internal improvement — his- 
tory of the State. The road was rushed on to com- 
pletion, which accelerated the settlement of the in- 
terior of the State by a good class of industrious citi- 
zens, and by the charter a good income to the State 
Treasury is paid in from the earnings of the road. 

In 1851 the Legislature passed a law authorizing 
free stock banks, which was the source of much leg- 
islative discussion for a number of years. 

But we have not space further to particularize 
concerning legislation. Gov. French's administra- 
tion was not marked by any feature to be criticised, 
while the country was settling up as never before. 

In stature, Gov. French was of medium height, 
squarely built, light complexioned, with ruddy face 
and pleasant countenance. In manners he was 
plain and agreeable By nature he was somewhat 
diffident, but he was often very outspoken in his con- 
victions of duty. In public speech he was not an 
orator, but was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In 
business he was accurate and methodical, and in his 
administration he kept up the credit of the State. 

He died in 1865, at his home in Lebanon, St. 
Clair Co., 111. 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



'47 











^^ 




r, 



3«shi»his™5 



i-.OEL A. MATTESON, Governor 
1853-6, was born Aug. 8, 1808, 
in Jefferson County, New York, 
to which place his father had re- 
moved from Vermont three years 
before. His father was a farmer 
in fair circumstances, but a com- 
mon English education was all 
that his only son received. Young 
Joel first tempted fortune as a 
small tradesman in Prescott, 
Canada, before he was of age. 
He returned from that place to 
his home, entered an academy, 
taught school, visited the prin- 
cipal Eastern cities, improved a farm his father had 
given him, made a tour in the South, worked there 
in building railroads, experienced a storm on the 
Gulf of Mexico, visited the gold diggings of Northern 
Georgia, and returned via Nashville to St. Louis and 
through Illinois to his father's home, when he mar- 
ried. In 1S33, having sold his farm, he removed, 
ivith his wife and o e child, to Illinois, and entered 
a claim on Govern ent land near the head of Au 
Sable River, in what is now Kendall County. At 
that time there were not more than two neighbors 
within a range of ten miles of his place, and only 
three or four houses between him and Chicago. He 
opened a large farm. His family was boarded 12 



miles away while he erected a house on his claim, 
sleeping, during this time, under a rude pole shed. 
Here his life was once placed in imminent peril by 
a huge prairie rattlesnake sharing his bed. 

In 1835 he bought largely at the Government land 
sales. During the speculative real-estate mania which 
broke out in Chicago in 1836 and spread over the State, 
he sold his binds under the inflation of that period 
and removed to Joliet. In 1838 he became a heavy 
contractor on the Illinois & Michigan Canal. Upon 
the completion of his job in 1S41, when hard times 
prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State 
scrip; when all the public works except the canal 
were abandoned, the State offered for sale 700 tons 
of railroad iron, which was purchased by Mr. Mat- 
teson at a bargain. This he accepted, shipped and 
sold at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit, 
enough to pay off all his canal debts and leave him a 
surplus of several thousand dollars. His enterprise 
next prompted him to start a woolen mill at Joliet, 
in which he prospered, and which, after successive 
enlargements, became an enormous establishment. 

In 1842 he was first elected a State Senator, but, 
by a bungling apportionment, John Pearson, a Senate- 
holding over, was found to be in the same distric, 
and decided to be entitled to represent it. Mat- 
teson's seat was declared vacant. Pearson, however 
with a nobleness difficult to appreciate in this day of 



r48 



JOEL A. MATTESON. 



greed for office, unwilling to represent his district 
under the circumstances, immediately resigned his 
unexpired term of two years. A bill was passed in a 
few hours ordering a new election, and in ten days' 
time Mr. Matteson was returned re-elected and took 
his seat as Senator. From his well-known capacity 
as a business man, he was made Chairman of the 
Committee on Finance, a position he held during 
this half and two full succeeding Senatorial terms, 
discharging its important duties with ability and faith- 
fulness. Besides his extensive woolen-mill interest, 
when work was resumed on the canal under the new 
loan uf $j[, 600,000 he again became a heavy con- 
tractor, and also subsequently operated largely in 
building railroads. Thus he showed himself a most 
energetic and thorough business man. 

He was nominated for Governor by the Demo- 
cratic State Convention which met at Springfield 
April 20, 1852. Other candidates before the Con- 
vention were D. L. Gregg and F. C. Sherman, of 
Cook ; John Dement, of Lee ; Thomas L. Harris, of 
Menard; Lewis W. Ross, of Fulton ; and D. P. Bush, 
of Pike. Gustavus Koerner, of St. Clair, was nom- 
inated for Lieutenant Governor. For the same offices 
the Whigs nominated Edwin B. Webb and Dexter A. 
Knowlton. Mr. Matteson received 80,645 votes at 
the election, while Mr. Webb received 64,408. Mat- 
teson's forte was not on the stump; he had not cul- 
tivated the art of oily flattery, or the faculty of being 
all things to all men. His intellectual qualities took 
rather the direction of efficient executive ability. His 
turn consisted not so much in the adroit manage- 
ment of party, or the powerful advocacy of great gov- 
ernmental principles, as in those more solid and 
enduring operations which cause the physical devel- 
opment and advancement of a State, — of commerce 
and business enterprise, into which he labored with 
success to lead the people. As a politician he was 
just and liberal in his views, and both in official and 
piivate life he then stood untainted and free from 
blemish. As a man, in active benevolence, social 
I'irtues and all the amiable qualities of neighbor or 
citizen, he had few superiors. His messages present 
a perspicuous array of facts as to the condition of the 
State, and are often couched in forcible and elegant 
diction. 

The greatest excitement during his term of office 
was the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, by Con- 



gress, under the leadership of Stephen A. Douglas in 
1S54, when the bill was passed organizing the Terri- 
tory of Kansas and Nebraska. A large portion of 
the Whig party of the North, through their bitter op- 
position to the Democratic party, naturally drifted 
into the doctrine of anti-slavery, and thus led to what 
was temporarily called the "Anti-Nebraska" party, 
while the followers of Douglas were known as " Ne- 
braska or Douglas Democrats." It was during this 
embryo stage of the Republican party that Abraham 
Lincoln was brought forward as the "Anti-Nebraska " 
candidate for the United States Senatorship, while 
Gen. James Shields, the incumbent, was re-nom- 
inated by the Democrats. But after a few ballotings 
in the Legislature (1855), these men were dropped, 
and Lyman Trumbull, an Anti-Nebraska Democrat, 
was brought up by the former, and Mr. Matteson, 
then Governor, by the latter. On the nth ballot 
Mr. Trumbull obtained one majority, and was ac- 
cordingly declared elected. Before Gov. Matteson's 
term expired, the Republicans were fully organized 
as a national party, and in 1S56 put into the field a 
full national and State ticket, carrying the State, but 
not the nation. 

The Legislature of 1855 passed two very import- 
ant measures, — the present free-school system and a 
submission of the Maine liquor law to a vote of the 
people. The latter was defeated by a small majority 
of the popular vote. 

During the four years of Gov. Matteson's admin- 
istration the taxable wealth of the State was about 
trebled, from $137,818,079 to $349,951,272; the pub- 
lic debt was reduced from $r7, 398,985 to $12,843,- 
144; taxation was at the same time reduced, and the 
State resumed paying interest on its debt in New 
York as fast as it fell due; railroads were increased 
in their mileage from something less than 400 to 
about 3,000 ; and the population of Chicago was 
nearly doubled, and its commerce more than quad- 
rupled. 

Before closing this account, we regret that we have 
to say that Mr. Matteson, in all other respects an 
upright man and a good Governor, was implicated 
in a false re-issue of redeemed canal serin, amount- 
ing to $224,182.66. By a suit in the Sangamon Cir- 
cuit Court the State recovered the principal and all 
the interest excepting $27,500. 

He died in the winter of 1872-3, at Chicago. 





) . t ^uj2e_ 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



151 





m 



Tt -,. Vi'i '. .'i •.. i i".. 1 i'V'r , ..'i ".'i •. 'J "'•, 'i".-'i'-, .'r'l. 'i :■'< ". K'.' : i' ; .' : v :<' .".' ' >' ."■' ■' >' ■">' •'''•' ''■•"'' •'- j ' •' vA 

L l 'fjifilliAffil IfC- jpiftftf li. if 





ILLIAM H. BISSELL, Gov- 
ernor 1857-60, was born 
3 April 25, 181 1, in the 
|HT State of New York, near 
Painted Post, Yates County. 
Y^ His parents were obscure, 
honest, God-fearing people, 
who reared their children under the daily 
example of industry and frugality, accord- 
ing to the custom of that class of Eastern 
society. Mr. Bissell received a respecta- 
ble but not thorough academical education. 
By assiduous application he acquired a 
-3%>^V knowledge of medicine, and in his early 
manhood came West and located in Mon- 
roe County, this State, where he engaged in the 
practice of that profession. But he was not enam- 
ored of his calling: he was swayed by a broader 
ambition, to such an extent that the mysteries of the 
healing art and its arduous duties failed to yield him 
further any charms. In a few years he discovered 
his i hoice of a profession to be a mistake, and when 
lie approached the age of 30 he sought to begin 
anew. Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to him- 
self, discovered a singular facility and charm of 
speech, the exercise of which acquired for him a 
ready local notoriety. It soon came to be under- 




stood that he desired to abandon his profession and 
take up that of the law. During terms of Court he 
would spend his time at the county seat among the 
members of the Bar, who extended to him a ready 
welcome. 

It was not strange, therefore, that he should drift 
into public life. In r84o he was elected as a Dem- 
ocrat to the Legislature from Monroe County, and 
was an efficient member of that body. On his re- 
turn home he qualified himself for admission to the 
Bar and speedily rose to the front rank as an advo- 
cate. His powers of oratory were captivating. With a . 
pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures, 
clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly 
humor, his efforts before a jury told with irresistible 
effect. He was chosen by the Legislature Prosecut- 
ing Attorney for the Circuit in which he lived, and 
in that position he fully discharged his duty to the 
State, gained the esteem of the Bar, and seldom 
failed to convict the offender of the law. 

In stature he was somewhat tall and slender, and 
with a straight, military bearing, he presented a dis- 
tinguished appearance. His complexion was dark, 
his head well poised, though not large, his address 
pleasant and manner winning. He was exemplary 
in his habits, a devoted husband and kind parent. 
He was twice married, the first time to Miss James, 



'5 = 



WILLIAM H. BISSELL. 



of Monroe County, by whom he had two children, 
both daughters. She died soon after the year 1840, 
and Mr. B. married for his second wife a daughter 
of Elias K. Kane, previously a United States Senator 
from this State. She survived him but a short time, 
and died without issue. 

When the war with Mexico was declared in 1846, 
Mr. Bissell enlisted and was elected Colonel of his 
regiment, over Hon. Don Morrison, by an almost 
unanimous vote, — 807 to 6. Considering the limited 
opportunities he had had, he evinced a high order of 
military talent. On the bloody field of Buena Vista 
he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished 
ability, contributing with his regiment, the Second 
Illinois, in no small degree toward saving the waver- 
ing fortunes of our arms during that long and fiercely 
contested battle. 

After his return home, at the close of the war, he 
was elected to Congress, his opponents being the 
Hons. P. B. Fouke and Joseph Gillespie. He served 
two terms in Congress. He was an ardent politician. 
During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor 
of the adjustment measures; but in 1854 he opposed 
the repeal of the Missouri Compromise act and 
therefore the Kansas-Nebraska bill of Douglas, and 
thus became identified with the nascent Republican 
party. 

During his first Congressional term, while the 
Southern members were following their old practice 
of intimidating the North by bullying language, 
and claiming most of the credit for victories in the 
Mexican War, and Jefferson Davis claiming for the 
Mississippi troops all the credit for success at Buena 
Vista, Mr. P.issell bravely defended the Northern 
troops; whereupon Davis'challenged Bissell to a duel, 
which was accepted. This matter was brought up 
against Bissell when he was candidate for Governor 
and during his term of office, as the Constitution of 
this State forbade any duelist from holding a State 
office. 

In 1856, when the Republican party first put forth 
a candidate, John C. Fremont, for President of the 
United States, the same party nominated Mr. Missel 1 
for Governor of Illinois, and John Wood, of Quincy, 
for Lieutenant Governor, while the Democrats nomi- 
nated Hon. W. A. Richardson, of Adams County, 
for Governor, and Col. R. J. Hamilton, of Cook 
County, for Lieutenant Governor. The result of the 



election was a plurality of 4,729 votes over Richard- 
son. The American, or Know-Nothing, party had a 
ticket in the field. The Legislature was nearly bal- 
anced, but was politically opposed to the Governor. 
His message to the Legislature was short and rather 
ordinary, and was criticised for expressing the sup- 
posed obligations of the people to the incorporators 
of the Illinois Central Railroad Company and for re- 
opening the slavery question by allusions to the 
Kansas troubles. Late in the session an apportion- 
ment bill, based upon the State census of 1855, was 
passed, amid much partisan strife. The Governor 
at first signed the bill and then vetoed it. A furious 
debate followed, and the question whether the Gov- 
ernor had the authority to recall a signature was 
referred to the Courts, that of last resort deciding in 
favor of the Governor. Two years afterward another 
outrageous attempt was made for a re-apportionment 
and to gerrymander the State, but the Legislature 
failed to pass the bill over the veto of the Governor. 

It was during Gov. Bissell's administration that 
the notorious canal scrip fraud was brought to light, 
implicating ex-Gov. Matteson and other prominent 
State officials. The principal and interest, aggregat- 
ing $255,500, was all recovered by the State except- 
ing $27,500. (See sketch of Gov. Matteson.) 

In 1S59 an attempt was discovered to fraudu- 
lently refund the Macalister and Stebbins bonds and 
thus rob the State Treasury of nearly a quarter of a 
million dollars. The State Government was impli- 
cated in this affair, and to this day remains unex- 
plained or unatoned for. For the above, and other 
matters previously mentioned, Gov. Bissell has been 
severely criticised, and he has also been most shame- 
fully libelled and slandered. 

On account of exposure in the army, the remote 
cause of a nervous form of disease gained entrance 
into his system and eventually developed paraplegia, 
affecting his lower extremities, which, while it left 
his body in comparative health, deprived him of loco- 
motion except by the aid of crutches. While he was 
generally hopeful of ultimate recovery, this myste- 
rious disease pursued him, without once relaxing its 
stealthy hold, to the close of his life, March iS, 
i860, over nine months before the expiration of hi, 
gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. He 
died in the faith of the Roman Catholic Church, of 
which lie hart been a member since 1854. 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 




'55 




-5- 



-*■ 



, JDHNWOOD, Governo,' 1 860-1, and 
'^i'/tXil M*' tne nrst settler of Quincy, 111., 
was born in the town of Sempro- 
nius (now Moravia), Cayuga Co., 
N. Y., Dec. 20, 179S. He was 
the second child and only son of 
Dr. Daniel Wood. His mother, 
nee Catherine Crause, was of 
German parentage, and died 
while he was an infant. Dr. 
Wood was a learned and skillful 
physician, of classical attain- 
ments and proficient in several 
modern languages, who, after 
serving throughout the Revolu- 
tionary War as a Surgeon, settled on the land granted 
him by the Government, and resided there a re- 
spected and leading influence in his section until his 
death, at the ripe age of 92 years. 

The subject of this sketch, impelled by the spirit 
of Western adventure then pervading everywhere, 
left his home, Nov. 2, 1818, and passed the succeed- 
ing winter in Cincinnati, Ohio. The following sum- 
mer he pushed on to Illinois, landing at Shawneetovvn, 
and spent the fall and following winter in Calhoun 
County. In 1820, in company with Willard Keyes, 
he settled in Pike County, about 30 miles southeast 
of Quincy, where for the next two years he pursued 
farming. In 1S21 he visited "the Bluffs" (as the 
present site of Quincy was called, then uninhabited) 
and, pleased with its prospects, soon after purchased 
a quarter-section of land near by, and in the follow- 
ing fall (1822) erected near the river a small cabin, 



e? 



18 x 20 feet, the first building in Quincy, of which 
he then became the first and for some months the 
only occupant. 

About this time he visited his old friends in Pik<? 
County, chief of whom was William Ross, the lead- 
ing man in building up the village of Atlas, of that 
county, which was thought then to be the possible 
commencement of a city. One day they and others 
were traveling together over the country between the 
two points named, making observations on the com- 
parative merits of the respective localities. On ap- 
proaching the Mississippi near Mr. Wood's place, 
the latter told his companions to follow him and he 
would show them where he was going to build a city. 
They went about a mile off the main trail, to a high 
point, from which the view in every direction was 
most magnificent, as it had been for ages and as ye; 
untouched by the hand of man. Before them swept 
by the majestic Father of Waters, yet unburdened by 
navigation. After Mr. Wood had expatiated at 
length on the advantages of the situation, Mr. Ross 
replied, " But it's too near Atlas ever to amount to 
anything!" 

Atlas is still a cultivated farm, and Quincy is 9 
city of over 30,000 population. 

In 1824 Mr. Wood gave a newspaper notice, 
as the law then prescribed, of his intention to apply 
to the General Assembly for the formation of a new 
county. This was done the following winter, result- 
ing in the establishment of the present Adams 
County. During the next summer Quincy was se- 
lected as the county seat, it and the vicinity then 
containing but four adult male residents and hall 



'5" 



JOHN WOOD. 



that number of females. Since that period Mr. 
Wood resided at the place of his early adoption un- 
til his death, and far more than any other man was 
he identified with every measure of its progress and 
history, and almost continuously kept in public posi- 
tions. 

He was one of the early town Trustees, and after 
the place became a city he was often a member of 
the City Council, many times elected Mayor, in the 
*ace of a constant large opposition political majority. 
In 1850 he was elected to the State Senate. In 1856, 
on the organization of the Republican party, he was 
chosen Lieutenant Governor of the State, on the 
ticket with Wm. H. Bissell for Governor, and on the 
death of the latter, March 18, 1S60, he succeeded to 
the Chief Executive chair, which he occupied until 
Gov. Yates was inaugurated nearly ten months after- 
ward. 

Nothing very marked characterized the adminis- 
tration of Gov. Wood. The great anti-slavery cam- 
paign of i860, resulting in the election of the honest 
Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the Presidency of the 
United States, occurred during the short period 
while Mr. Wood was Governor, and the excitement 
and issues of that struggle dominated over every 
other consideration, — indeed, supplanted them in a 
great measure. The people of Illinois, during all 
that time, were passing the comparatively petty strifes 
under Bissell's administration to the overwhelming 
issue of preserving the whole nation from destruction. 

In 186 r ex-Gov. Wood was oife of the five Dele- 
gates from Illinois to the " Peace Convention " at 
Washington, and in April of the same year, on the 
breaking out of the Rebellion, he was appointed 



Quartermaster-General of the State, which position 
he held throughout the war. In 1864 he took com- 
mand as Colonel of the 137th 111. Vol. Inf., with 
whom he served until the period of enlistment ex- 
pired. 

Politically, Gov. Wood was always actively identi- 
fied with the Whig and Republican parties. Few 
men have in personal experience comprehended so 
many surprising and advancing local changes as 
vested in the more than half century recollections of 
Gov. Wood. Sixty-four years ago a solitary settler 
on the "Bluffs," with no family, and no neighbor 
within a score of miles, the world of civilization away 
behind him, and the strolling red-man almost his 
only visitant, he lived to see growing around him, 
and under his auspices and aid, overspreading the 
wild hills and scraggy forest a teaming city, second 
only in size in the State, and surpassed nowhere in 
beauty, prosperity and promise; whose people recog- 
nize as with a single voice the proverbial honor and 
liberality that attach to the name and lengthened 
life of their pioneer settler, "the old Governor." 

Gov. Wood was twice married, — first in January, 
1826, to Ann M. Streeter, daughter of Joshua Streeter, 
formerly of Salem, Washington Co., N. Y. They had 
eight children. Mrs. W. died Oct. 8, 1863, and in 
Tune, 1865, Gov. Wood married Mrs. Mary A., widow 
of Rev. Joseph T. Holmes. Gov. Wood died June 4, 
1880, at his residence in Quincy. Four of his eight 
children are now living, namely: Ann E., wife of 
Gen. John Tillson; Daniel C, who married Mary J. 
Abernethy; John, Jr., who married Josephine Skinner, 
and Joshua S., who married Annie Bradley. The 
last mentioned now resides at Atchison, Kansas, and 
all the rest are still at Quincy. 




GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



'50 



>sn 





c;l\ard Tafc^s. 



Ta*«v«JM],^m«^woTO,a.Ts,m\soTmncmT»TX 





Richard yates, the "War 

' Governor," 1 86 1-4, was born 
1 Jan. 18, 18 1 8, on the banks of 
the Ohio River, at Warsaw, 
Gallatin Co., Ky. His father 
moved in 1831 to Illinois, and 
after stopping for a time in 
Springfield, settled at Island 
Grove, Sangamon County. Here, 
after attending school, Richard joined 
the family. Subsequently he entered 
Illinois College at Jacksonville, 
where, in 1837, he graduated with 
first honors. He chose for his pro- 
fession the law, the Hon. J. J. Har- 
din being his instructor. After ad- 
mission to the Bar he soon rose to distinction as an 
advocate. 

Gifted with a fluent and ready oratory, he soon 
appeared in the political hustings, and, being a 
passionate admirer of the great Whig leader of the 
West. Henry Clay, he joined his political fortunes to 
he party of his idol. In [840 he engaged with great 
^rdor in the exciting "hard cider" campaign for 
rfarrison. Two years later he was elected to the 
Legislature from Morgan County, a Democratic 
stronghold. He served three or four terms in the 
Legislature, and such was the fascination of his ora- 
'->ry that by 1850 his large Congressional District, 
extending from Morgan and Sangamon Counties 
. orth to include LaSalle, unanimously tendered him 
tne Whig nomination for Congress. His Democratic 
opponent was Maj. Thomas L. Harris, a very pop- 
ular man who had won distinction at the battle of 
Cerro Gordo, in the Mexican War, and who had 
oeaten Hon. Stephen T. Logan for the same position, 



two years before, by a large majority. Yates wa.- 
elected. Two years later he was re-elected, over 
John Calhoun. 

It was during Yates second term in Congress that 
the great question of the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
promise was agitated, and the bars laid down for re- 
opening the dreaded anti-slavery question. He took 
strong grounds against the repeal, and thus became 
identified with the rising Republican party. Conse- 
quently he fell into the minority in his district, which 
was pro-slavery. Even then, in a third contest, he 
fell behind Major Harris only 200 votes, after the 
district had two years before given Pierce 2,000 
majority for President. 

The Republican State Convention of i860 met at 
Decatur May 9, and nominated for the office of Gov- 
ernor Mr. Yates, in preference to Hon. Norman B. 
Judd, of Chicago, and Leonard Swett, of Blooming- 
ton, two of the ablest men of the State, who were 
also candidates before the Convention. Francis A. 
Hoffman, of DuPage County, was nominated for 
Lieutenant Governor. This was the year when Mr. 
Lincoln was a candidate for President, a period re- 
membered as characterized by the great whirlpool 
which precipitated the bloody War of the Rebellion. 
The Douglas Democrats nominated J. C. Allen of 
Crawford County, for Governor, and Lewis W. Ro-s, 
of Fulton County, for Lieutenant Governor. The 
Breckenridge Democrats and the Bell-Everett party 
had also full tickets in the field. After a most fear- 
ful campaign, the result of the election gave Mr. 
Yates 172,196 votes, and Mr. Allen 159,253. Mr. 
Yates received over a thousand more votes than did 
Mr. Lincoln himself. 

Gov. Yates occupied the chair of State during the 



i6o 



RICHARD YATES. 



most critical period of our country's history. In the 
fate of the nation was involved that of each State. 
The life struggle of the former derived its sustenance 
from the loyalty of the latter; and Gov. Yates 
seemed to realize the situation, and proved himself 
both loyal and wise in upholding the Government. 
He had a deep hold upon the affections of the 
people, won by his moving eloquence and genial 
manners. Erect and symmetrical in person, of pre- 
possessing appearance, with a winning address and a 
magnetic power, few men possessed more of the ele- 
ments of popularity. His oratory was scholarly and 
captivating, his hearers hardly knowing why they 
were transported. He was social and convivial. In 
the latter respect he was ultimately carried too far. 

The very creditable military efforts of this State 
during the War of the Rebellion, in putting into the 
field the enormous number of about 200,000 soldiers, 
were ever promptly and ably seconded by his excel- 
lency ; and the was ambitious to deserve the title of 
"the soldier's friend." Immediately after the battle of 
Shiloh he repaired to the field of carnage to look 
after the wounded, and his appeals for aid were 
promptly responded to by the people. His procla- 
mations calling for volunteers were impassionate 
appeals, urging upon the people the duties and re- 
quirements of patriotism ; and his special message 
in 1863 to the Democratic Legislature of this State 
pleading for material aid for the sick and wounded 
soldiers of Illinois regiments, breathes a deep fervor 
of noble sentiment and feeling rarely equaled in 
beauty or felicity of expression. Generally his mes- 
sages 0:1 political and civil affairs were able and com- 
prehensive. During his administration, however, 
there were no civil events of an engrossing character, 
although two years of his time were replete with 
partisan quarrels of great bitterness. Military ar- 
rests, Knights of the Golden Circle, riot in Fulton 
County, attempted suppression of the Chicago Times 
and the usurping State Constitutional Convention of 
1862, were the chief local topics that were exciting 
during the Governor's term. This Convention assem- 
bled Jan. 7, and at once took the high position that 
'he law calling it was no longer binding, and that it 
ad supreme power; that it represented a virtual 
assemblage of the whole people of the State, and was 
sovereign in the exercise of all power necessary to 
effect a. peaceable revolution of the State Government 



and to the re-establishment of one for the "happiness, 
prosperity and freedom of the citizens," limited only 
by the Federal Constitution. Notwithstanding the 
law calling the Convention required its members to 
take an oath to support the Constitution of the State 
as well as that of the general Government, they 
utterly refused to take such oath. They also as- 
sumed legislative powers and passed several import- 
ant "laws!" Interfering with the (then) present 
executive duties, Gov. Yates was provoked to tell 
them plainly that " he did not acknowledge the right 
of the Convention to instruct him in the performance 
of his duty." 

In 1863 the Governor astonished the Democrats 
by " proroguing " their Legislature. This body, after 
a recess, met June 2, that year, and soon began to 
waste time upon various partisan resolutions ; and, 
while the two houses were disagreeing upon the 
question of adjourning sine die, the Governor, having 
the authority in such cases, surprised them all by 
adjourning them " to the Saturday next preceding the 
first Monday in January, 1865 ! " This led to great 
excitement and confusion, and to a reference of the 
Governor's act to the Supreme Court, who decided in 
his favor. Then it was the Court's turn to receive 
abuse for weeks and months afterward. 

During the autumn of 1864 a conspiracy was de- 
tected at Chicago which had for its object the liber- 
ation of the prisoners of war at Camp Douglas, the 
burning of the city and the inauguration of rebellion 
in the North. Gen. Sweet, who had charge of the 
camp at the time, first had his suspicions of danger 
aroused by a number of enigmatically worded letters 
which passed through the Camp postoffice. A de- 
tective afterward discovered that the rebel Gen. 
Marmaduke was in the city, under an assumed 
name, and he, with other rebel officers — Grenfell, 
Morgan, Cantrell, Buckner Morris, and Charles 
Walsh — was arrested, most of whom were convicted 
by a court-martial at Cincinnati and sentenced to 
imprisonment, — Grenfell to be hung. The sentence 
of the latter was afterward commuted to imprison- 
ment for life, and all the others, after nine months' 
imprisonment, were pardoned. 

In March, 1873, Gov. Yates was appointed a Gov- 
ernment Director of the Union Pacific Railroad, in 
which office he continued until his decease, at St, 
Louis, Mo., on the 27th of November following. 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



,6 3 





—5- 



jN« 



-:— 



Richard j. oglesby, Gov- 

jW ernor 1865-8, and re-elected 
in 1872 and 1884, was born 
July 25, 1824, in Oldham Co., 
Ky., — the State which might 
be considered the " mother of 
Illinois Governors." Bereft of 
his parents at the tender age 
of eight years, his early education 
was neglected. When 12 years of 
age, and after he had worked a year 
and a half at the carpenter's trade, 
he removed with an uncle, Willis 
Oglesby, into whose care he had 
been committed, to Decatur, this 
State, where he continued his ap- 
prenticeship as a mechanic, working six months for 
Hon. E. O. Smith. 

In 1S44 he commenced studying law at Spring- 
field, with Judge Silas Robbins, and read with him 
one year. He was admitted to the Bar in 1845, and 
commenced the practice of his chosen profession at 
Sullivan, the county seat of Moultrie County. 

The next year the war with Mexico was com- 
menced, and in June, 1S46, Mr. Oglesby volunteered, 
was elected First Lieutenant of Co. C, Fourth Illinois 
Regiment of Volunteers, and participated in the bat- 
tles of Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. 

On his return he sought to perfect his law studies 
by attending a course of lectures at Louisville, but 
on the breaking out of the California "gold fever " in 
1849, he crossed the plains and mountains to the 
new Eldorado, driving a six-mule team, with a com- 



pany of eight men, Henry Prather being the leader. 

In 1852 lie returned home to Macon County, and 
was placed that year by the Whig party on the ticket 
of Presidential Electors. In 1856 he visited Europe, 
Asia and Africa, being absent 20 months. On his 
return home he resumed the practice of law, as a 
member of the firm of Gallagher, Wait & Oglesby. 
In 1S58 he was the Republican nominee for the 
Lower House of Congress, but was defeated by the 
Hon. James C. Robinson, Democrat. In i860 he 
was elected to the Illinois State Senate ; and on the 
evening the returns of this election were coming in, 
Mr. Oglesby had a fisticuff encounter with " Cerro 
Gordo Williams," in which he came out victorious, 
and which was regarded as " the first fight of the 
Rebellion." The following spring, when the war 
had commenced in earnest, his ardent nature 
quickly responded to the demands of patriotism and 
he enlisted. The extra session of the Legislature 
elected him Colonel of the Eighth Illinois Infantry, 
the second one in the State raised to suppress the 
great Rebellion. 

He was shortly entrusted with important com- 
mands. For a time he was stationed at Bird's Point 
and Cairo; in April he was promoted Brigadier Gen- 
eral ; at Fort Donelson his brigade was in the van, 
being stationed on the right of General Grant's army 
and the first brigade to be attacked. He lost 500 
men before re-inforcements arrived. Many of these 
men were from Macon County. He was engaged in 
the battle of Corinth, and, in a brave charge at this 
place, was shot in the left lung with an ounce ball, 
and was carried from the field in expectation of im- 



164 



RICHARD J. OGLESBY. 



mediate death. That rebel ball he carries to this 
day. On his partial recovery he was promoted as 
Major General, for gillantry, his commission to rank 
from November, 1S62. In the spring of 1863 he 
was assigned to the command of the 16th Army 
Corps, but, owing to inability fro 11 the effects of his 
wound, he relinquished this command in July, that 
year. Gen. Grant, however, refused to accept his 
resignation, and he was detailed, in December follow- 
ing, to court-martial and try tire Surgeon General of 
the Army at Washington, where he remained until 
May, 1S64, when he returned home. 

The Republican, or U lion, State Convention of 

1864 was held at Springfield, May 25, when Mr. 
Oglesby was nominated for the office of Governor, 
while other candidates before the Convention were 
Allen C. Fuller, of Boone, Jesse K. Dubois, of Sanga- 
mon, and John M. Palmer, of Macoupin. Wm. 
Bross, of Chicago, was nominated for Lieutenant 
Governor. On the Democratic State ticket were 
Tames C. Robinson, of Clark, for Governor, and S. 
Corning Judd, of Fulton, for Lieutenant Governor. 
The general election gave Gen. Oglesby a majority 
of about 31,000 votes. The Republicans had also a 
majority in both tlu Legislature and in the repre- 
sentation m Congress. 

Gov. Oglesby was duly inaugurated Jan. 17, T865. 
The day before the first time set for his installation 
de uh visited his h > ne at Decatur, and toik from it 
his only son, an intelligent and sprightly lad of six 
years, a great favorite of the bereaved parents. This 
caused the inauguration to be postponed a week. 

The political events of the Legislative session of 

1865 were the election of ex-Gov. Yates to the 
United States Senate, and the ratification of the 13th 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
abolishing slavery. This session also signalized 
itself by repealing the notorious " black laws," part 
of which, although a dead letter, had held their place 
upon the statute books since 1819. Also, laws re- 
quiring the registration of voters, and establishing a 
State Board of Equalization, were passed by this Leg- 
islature. But the same body evinced that it was cor- 
ruptly influenced by a mercenary lobby, as it adopted 
some bad legislation, over the Governor's veto, nota- 
bly an amendment to a charter for a Chicago horse 
railway, granted in 1859 for 25 years, and now 
sought to be extended 99 years. As this measure 
was promptly passed ov:r his veto by both branches 
of the Legislature, he deemed it useless further to 
attempt to check their headlong career. At this 
session no law of a general useful character or public 
interest was perfected, unless we count such the 
turning over of the canal to Chicago to be deepened. 
The session of 18C7 was still more productive of 
private and special acts. Many omnibus bills were 
proposed, and some passed. The contests over the 
.Dcation of the Industrial College, the C ipital, the 



Southern Penitentiary, and the canal enlargement 
and Illinois River improvement, dominated even- 
thing else. 

During the year 1872, it became evident that it 
the Republicans could re-elect Mr. Oglesby to the 
office of Governor, they could alsq elect him to the 
United States Senate, which they desired to do. 
Accordingly they re-nominated him for the Execu- 
tive chair, and placed upon the ticket with him for 
Lieutenant Governor, John L. Beveridge, of Cook 
County. On the other side the Democrats put into 
the field Gustavus Koerner for Governor and John 
C. Black for Lieutenant Governor. The election 
gave the Republican ticket majorities ranging from 
35)334 to 56,174, — the Democratic defection being 
caused mainly by their hiving an old-time Whig and 
Abolitionist, Horace Greeley, on the national ticket 
for President. According to the general understand- 
ing had beforehand, as soon as the Legislature met 
it elected Gov. Oglesby to the United States Senate, 
whereupon Mr. Beveridge became Governor. Sena- 
tor Oglesby 's term expired March 4, 1879, having 
served his party faithfully and exhibited an order of 
statesmanship beyond criticism. 

During the campaign of 18S4 Mr. Oglesby was 
nominated for a "third term" as Executive of the 
State of Illinois, against Carter H. Harrison, Mayor 
of Chicago, nominated by the Democrats. Both 
gentlemen " stumped " the State, and while the peo- 
ple elected a Legislature which was a tie on a joint 
ballot, as between the two parties, they gave the 
jovial " Dick" Oglesby a majority of 15,01s for Gov- 
ernor, and he was inaugurated Jan. 30, 18S5. The 
Legislature did not fully organize until this 'date, on 
account of its equal division between the two main 
parties and the consequent desperate tactics of each 
party to checkmate the latter in the organization of 
the House. 

Gov. Oglesby is a fine-appearing, affable man, with 
regular, well defined features and rotund face. In 
stature he is a little above medium height, of a large 
frame and somewhat fleshy. His physical appear- 
ance is striking and prepossessing, while his straight- 
out, net to say bluff, manner and speech are well 
calculated favorably to impress the average masses. 
Ardent in feeling and si rongly committed to the pol- 
icies of his party, he intensifies Republicanism 
among Republicans, while at the same time hisjoviat 
and liberal manner prevents those of the opposite 
party from hating him. 

He is quite an effective stump orator. With vehe- 
ment, passionate and scornful tone and gestures, 
tremendous physical power, which in speaking he 
exercises to the utmost; with frequent descents to 
the grotesque; and with abundant homely compari- 
sons or frontier figures, expressed in the broadest 
vernacular and enforced with stentorian emphasis, 
he delights a promiscuous audience beyond measure. 





Gu£^u^ 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



ioj 





John M. Palmer 




$B 




• — ->-J-4— OOWBP-Z&o- 



-*<— 



|:OHN Mc AULEY PALMER, Gov- 

£l?** ernor 1869-72, was born on 
Eagle Creek, Scott Co., Ky., 
Sept. 13, 1S17. During his in- 
fancy, his father, who had been 
a soldier in the war of 181 2, re- 
moved to Christian Co., Ky., 
where lands were cheap. Here 
the future Governor of the great 
Prairie State spent his childhood 
and received such meager school- 
ing as the new and sparsely set- 
tled country afforded. To this 
he added materially by diligent 
reading, for which he evinced an 
His father, an ardent Jackson man, 
was also noted for his anti-slavery sentiments, which 
he thoroughly impressed upon his children. In 1831 
he emigrated to Illinois, settling in Madison County. 
Here the labor of improving a farm was pursued for 
about two years, when the death of Mr. Palmet's 
mother broke up the family. About this time Alton 
College was opened, on the "manual labor " system, 
and in the spring of 1834 young Palmer, with his 
elder brother, Elihu, entered this school and remained 
18 months. Next, for over three years, he tried 
variously coopering, peddling and school-teaching. 

During the summer of 1838 he formed the ac- 
quaintance of Stephen A. Douglas, then making his 



eaily aptitude. 



first canvass for Congress. Young, eloquent and in 
political accord with Mr. Palmer, he won his confi- 
dence, fired his ambition and fixed his purpose. The 
following winter, while teaching near Canton, he be- 
gan to devote his spare time to a desultory reading 
of law, and in the spring entered a law office at Car- 
linville, making his home with his elder brother, 
Elihu. (The latter was a learned clergyman, of con- 
siderable orginality of thought and doctrine.) On 
the next meeting of the Supreme Court he was ad- 
mitted to the Bar, Douglas being one of his examiners. 
He was not immediately successful in his profession, 
and would have located elsewhere than Carlinville 
had he the requisite means. Thus his early poverty 
was a blessing in disguise, for to it he now attributes 
the success of his life. 

From 1S39 on, while he diligently pursued his 
profession, he participated more or less in local 
politics. In 1843 he became Probate Judge. Ir 
1847 he was elected to the State Constitutional Con 
vention, where he took a leading part. In 1852 lit. 
was elected to the State Senate, and at the special 
session of February, 1854, true to the anti-slaverv 
sentiments bred in him, he took a firm stand in op 
position to the repeal of the Missouri Compromise 
and when the Nebraska question became a part] 
issue he refused to receive a re-nomination for tin 
Senatorship at the hands of the Democracy, issuing 
a circular to that effect. A few weeks afterward 



1 68 



JOHN MC AULEY PALMER. 



ho vever, hesitating to break with his party, he par- 
ticipated in a Congressional Convention which nomi- 
I . L. Harris against Richard Yates, and which 
unqualifiedly approved the principles of the Kansas- 
Nebraska act. But later in the campaign he made 
the plunge, ran for the Senate as an Anti-Nebraska 
Democrat, and was elected. The following winter 
he put in nomination for the ^United States Senate 
Mr. Trumbull, and was one of the five steadfast men 
who voted for him until all the Whigs came to their 
support and elected their man. 

In 1856 he was Chairman of the Republican State 
Convention at Bloomington. He ran for Congress in 
1859, but was defeated. In i860 he was Republican 
Presidential Elector for the State at large. In 1861 
he was appointed one of the five Delegates (all Re- 
publicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at 
Washington. 

When the civil conflict broke out, he offered his 
services to his country, and was elected Colonel of the 
14th 111. Vol. Inf., and participated in the engagements 
at Island No. 10; at Farmington, where he skillfully 
extricated his command from a dangerous position ; 
at Stone River, where his division for several hours, 
Dec. 3r, 1862, held the advance and stood like a 
rock, and for his gallantry there he was made Major 
General; at Chickamauga, where his and Van Cleve's 
divisions for two hours maintained their position 
when they were cut off by overpowering numbers. 
Under Gen. Sherman, he was assigned to the 14th 
Army Corps and participated in the Atlanta campaign. 
At Peach-Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert 
disaster. In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was as- 
signed to the military administration of Kentucky, 
which was a delicate post. That State was about 
half rebel and half Union, and those of the latter 
element were daily fretted by the loss of their slaves. 
1 [e, who had been bred to the rules of common law, 
trembled at the contemplation of his extraordinary 
power over the persons and property of his fellow 
men, with which he was vested in his capacity as 
military Governor; and he exhibited great caution in 
the execution of the duties of his post. 

G 1. Palm jr was nominated for Governor of Illi- 
nois by the Republican State Convention which met 
at Peuii M iv 6, [868, a >1 Ins nomination would 
probably have been made by acclamation had he not 
persistently declared that he could not accept a can- 



didature for the office. The result of the ensuing 
election gave Mr. Palmer a majority of 44,707 over 
John R. Eden, the Democratic nominee. 

On the meeting of the Legislature in January, 
1869, the first thing to arrest public attention was 
that portion of the Governor's message which took 
broad Slate's rights ground. This and some minor 
points, which were more in keeping with the Demo- 
cratic sentiment, constituted the entering wedge fjr 
the criticisms and reproofs he afterward received 
from the Republican party, and ultimately resulted 
in his entire aleniation from the latter element. The 
Legislature just referred to was noted for the intro- 
duction of numerous bills in the interest of private 
parties, which were embarrassing to the Governor. 
Among the public acts passed was that which limited 
railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum 
of three cents per mile ; and it was passed over the 
Governor's veto. Also, they passed, over his veto, 
the " tax-grabbing law " to pay railroad subscriptions, 
the Chicago Lake Front bill, etc. The new State 
Constitution of 1870, far superior to the old, was a 
peaceful " revolution " which took place during Gov. 
Palmer's term of office. The suffering caused by the 
great Chicago Fire 0/ October, 1871, was greatly 
alleviated by the prompt responses of his excellency. 

Since the expiration of Gov. Palmers 's term, he has 
been somewhat prominent in Illinois politics, and 
has been talked of by many, especially in the Dem- 
ocratic party, as the best man in the State for a 
United States Senator. His business during life has 
been that of the law. Few excel him in an accurate 
appreciation of the depth and scope of its principles- 
The great number of his able veto messages abun- 
dantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to 
point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner 
and an interesting, forcible and convincing speaker, 
though not fluent or ornate. Without brilliancy, his 
dealings are rather with facts and ideas than with 
appeals to passions and prejudices. He is a patriot 
and a statesman of very high order. Physically he is 
above the medium height, of robust frame, ruddy 
complexion and sanguine-nervous temperament. He 
lias a large cranial development, is vivacious, social 
in disposition, easy of approach, unostentatious in his 
habits of life, democratic in his habits and manners 
and is a true American in his fundamental principle! 
of statesmanship. 







/; 





GO VERNOXS OF ILLINOIS. 



17' 




i7\ ', ■. •, •. ', * ', •. >, -.v. v. v. •, •..',".,', ■■. ', •. v. •::< : ■■ : ,' : ,< ; >' ; ,' : .' ; .' : .' .' .' .' ■' •' ■' ' •' .' >' .' - 



m | ®5Mi ft- 








"SU^" 




OHN LOWRiE BEVER- 
IDGE, Governor 1873-6, was 
born in the town of Green- 
wich, Washington Co., N. Y., 
July 6, 1824. His parents 
were George and Ann Bever- 
) idge. His father's parents, An- 
drew and Isabel Beveridge, be- 
fore their marriage emigrated 
from Scotland just before the 
Revolutionary War, settling in 
Washington County. His father 
was the eldest of eight brothers, the 
youngest of whom was 60 years of 
age when the first one of the num- 
ber died. His mother's parents, 
James and Agnes Hoy, emigrated 
from Scotland at the close of the 
Revolutionary War, settling also in 
JQ Washington Co., N. Y., with their 
first-born, whose " native land "was 
the wild ocean. His parents and 
grandparents lived beyond the time 
allotted to man, their average age 
being over 80 years. They belonged to the "Asso- 
ciate Church," a seceding Presbyterian body of 



America from the old Scotch school ; and so rigid 
was the training of young Beveridge that he never 
heard a sermon from any other minister except that 
of his own denomination until he was in his 19th 
year. Later in life he became a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, which relation he still 
holds. 

Mr. Beveridge received a good common-school ed- 
ucation, but his parents, who could obtain a livelihood 
only by rigid economy and industry, could not send 
him away to college. He was raised upon a farm, 
and was in his 18th year when the family removed 
to De Kalb County, this State, when that section was 
very sparsely settled. Chicago had less than 7,000 
inhabitants. In this wild West he continued as a 
farm laborer, teaching school during the winter 
months to supply the means of an education. In the 
f dl of 1842 he attended one term at the academy at 
( '.r.uwille, Putnam Co., 111., and subsequently several 
terms at the Rock River Seminary at Mount Morris, 
Ogle Co., 111., completing the academic course. At 
this time, the fall of 1845, his parents and brothers 
were anxious to have him go to college, even though 
he had not money sufficient; but, njt willing to bur- 
den the family, he packed his trunk and with only 
$40 in money started South to seek his fortune 



JOHN L. BEVERIDGE. 



?.jcr, alone, without friends and influence, lie thus 
entered upon the battle of life. 

First, he taught school in Wilson, Overton and 
Jackson Cos., Tenn., in which experience he under- 
went considerable mental drill, both in book studies 
and in the ways of the world. He read law and was 
admitted to the Bar, in the South, but did not learn 
to love the institution of slavery, although he ad- 
mired many features of Southern character. In De- 
cember, 1847, he returned North, and Jan. 20, 1848, 
he married Miss Helen M. Judson, in the old Clark- 
Street M. E. church in Chicago, her father at that 
time being Pastor of the society there. In the spring 
of 1848 he returned with his wife to Tennessee, 
where his two children, Alia May and Philo Judson, 
were born. 

In the fall of 1S49, through the mismanagement 
of an associate, he lost what little he had accumu- 
lated and was left in debt. He soon managed to 
earn means to pay his debts, returned to De Kail) 
Co., 111., and entered upon the practice of his pro- 
fession at Sycamore, the county seat. On arrival 
from the South he had but one-quarter of a dollar in 
money, and scanty clothing and bedding for himself 
and family. He borrowed a little money, practiced 
law, worked in public offices, kept books for some of 
the business men of the town, and some railroad en- 
gineering, till the spring of 1854, when he removed 
to Evanston, 12 miles north of Chicago, a place then 
but recently laid out, under the supervision of the 
Northwestern University, a Methodist institution. 
Of the latter his father-in-law was then financial 
agent and business manager. Here Mr. Beveridge 
prospered, and the next year (1855) opened a law 
office in Chicago, where he found the battle some- 
what hard; but he persevered with encouragement 
and increasing success. 

Aug. 12, 1 861, his law partner, Gen. John F. 
Farnsworth, secured authority to raise a regiment of 
cavalry, and authorized Mr. Beveridge to raise a 
company for it. He succeeded in a few days in rais- 
ing the company, of course enlisting himself along 
with it. The regiment rendezvoused at St. Charles, 
111., was mustered in Sept. [8, and on its organiza- 
tion Mr. B. was elected Second Major. It was at- 
tached, Oct. 11, to the Eighth Cavalry and to the 
Army of the Potomai . He served wit!; the regiment 
until November, 1S63, participating in some 40 bat- 



tles and skirmishes : was at Fair Oaks, the seven days 
fight around Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellors- 
ville and Gettysburg. He commanded the regiment 
the greater part of the summer of 1863, and it was while 
lying in camp this year that he originated the policy 
of encouraging recruits as well as the fighting capac- 
ity of the soldiery, by the wholesale furlough system. 
It worked so well that many other officers adopted 
it. In the fall of this year he recruited another com- 
pany, against heavy odds, in January, 1864, was 
commissioned Colonel of the 17th 111. Cav., and 
skirmished around in Missouri, concluding with the 
reception of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith's 
army in Arkansas. In 1865 he commanded various 
sub-districts in the Southwest. He was mustered 
out Feb. 6, 1866, safe from the casualties of war and 
a stouter man than when he first enlisted. His men 
idolized him. 

He then returned to Chicago, to practice law, with 
no library and no clientage, and no political experi- 
ence except to help others into office. In the fall of 
1S66 he was elected Sheriff of Cook County, serving 
one term; next, until November, 1870, he practiced 
law and closed up the unfinished business of his 
office. He was then elected State Senator; in No- 
vember, 187 1, he was elected Congressman at large; 
in November, 1872, he was elected Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor on the ticket with Gov. Oglesby; the latter be- 
ing elected to the U. S. Senate, Mr. Beveridge became 
Governor, Jan. 21, 1873. Thus, inside of a few 
weeks, he was Congressman at large, Lieutenant 
Governor and Governor. The principal events oc- 
curring during Gov. Beveridge's administration were: 
The completion of the revision of the statutes, begun 
in 1869; the partial success of the "farmers' move- 
ment;" " Haines' Legislature " and Illinois' exhibit at 
the Centennial. 

Since the close of his gubernatorial term ex-Gov. 
Beveridge has been a member of the firm of Bever- 
idge & Dewey, bankers and dealers in commercial 
paper at 7 1 Dearborn Street (McCormick Block), 
Chicago, and since November, 1881, he has also been 
Assistant United States Treasurer: office in the 
Government Building. His residence is still at Ev- 
anston. 

He has a brother and two sisters yet residing in 
De Kalb County — James H. Beveridge, Mrs. Jennet 
Henry and Mrs. Isabel French. 



GO VERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



'75 




^A^g^:w ->^ lv 



Sbelb y 31. Cullom. 



5£ 



W 





HELBY M. CULLOM, Gover- 
nor 1S77— S3, is the sixth child 
of the late Richard N. Cullom, 
and was born Nov. 22, 1S29, in 
Wayne Co., Ky., where his fa- 
ther then resided, and whence 
both the Illinois and Tennessee 
branches of the family originated. In 
the following year the family emi- 
grated to the vicinity of Washington, 
Tazewell Co., 111., when that section 
was very sparsely settled. They lo- 
cated on Deer Creek, in a grove at 
the time occupied by a party of In- 
dians, attracted there by the superior 
hunting and fishing afforded in that 
vicinity. The following winter was 
known as the " hard winter," the snow being very 
deep and lasting and the weather severely cold; and 
the family had to subsist mainly on boiled corn or 
hominy, and some wild game, for several weeks. In 
the course of time Mr. R. N. Cullom became a prom- 
inent citizen and was several times elected to the 
Legislature, both before and after the removal of the 
capital from Vandalia to Springfield. He died about 
'873- 

Until about 19 years of age young Cullom grew up 
to agricultural pursuits, attending school as he had 
opportunity during the winter. Within this time, 
nowever, he spent several months teaching school. 



and in the following summer he "broke prairie "with 
an ox team for the neighbors. With the money ob- 
tained by these various ventures, he undertook a 
course of study at the Rock River Seminary, .1 
Methodist institution at Mt. Morris, Ogle County; 
but the sudden change to the in-door life of a stu- 
dent told severely upon his health, and he was taken 
home, being considered in a hopeless condition. While 
at Mt. Morris he heard Hon. E. B. Washburne make 
his first speech. 

On recovering health, Mr. Cullom concluded to 
study law, under the instruction of Abraham Lincoln, 
at Springfield, who had by this time attained some 
notoriety as an able lawyer; but the latter, being ab- 
sent from his office most of the time, advised Mr. 
Cullom to enter the office of Stuart & Edwards. 
After about a year of study there, however, his health 
failed again, and he was obliged to return once more 
to out-door life. Accordingly he bought hogs for 
packing, for A. G. Tyng, in Peoria, and while he re- 
led his health he gained in purse, netting $400 in 
a few weeks. Having been admitted to the B.ir, he 
went to Springfield, where he was soon elected City 
Attorney, on the Anti- Nebraska ticket. 

In 1856 he ran on the Fillmore ticket as a Presi- 
dential Elector, and, although failing to be elected as 
such, he was at the same time elected a Representa- 
tive in the Legislature from Sangamon County, by a 
local coalition of the American and Republican par- 
ties. On the organization of the House, he received 
the vote of the Fillmore men for Speaker. Practicing 



176 



SHELB Y M. CULLOM. 



law until i860, he was again elected to the Legisla- 
ture, as a Republican, while the county went Demo- 
cratic on the Presidential ticket. In January follow- 
ing he was elected Speaker, probably the youngest 
man who had ever presided over an Illinois Legis- 
lature. After the session of 1861, he was a candidate 
for the State Constitutional Convention called for 
that year, but was defeated, and thus escaped the 
disgrace of being connected with that abortive party 
scheme to revolutionize the State Government. In 
1862 he was a candidate for the State Senate, but 
was defeated. The same year, however, he was ap- 
pointed by President Lincoln on a Government 
Commission, in company with Gov. Boutwell of 
Massachusetts and Cnarles A. Dana, since of the 
New York Sun, to investigate the affairs of the 
Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments at 
Cairo. He devoted several months to this duty. 

In 1864 he entered upon a larger political field, 
being nominated a.s the Republican candidate for 
Congress from the Eighth (Springfield) District, in 
opposition to the incumbent, JohnT. Stuart, who had 
been elected in 1862 by about 1,500 majority over 
Leonard Swett, then of Bloomington, now of Chicago. 
The result was the election of Mr. Cullom in Novem- 
ber following by a majority of 1,785. In 1866 he 
was re-elected to Congress, over Dr. E. S. Fowler, by 
the magnificent majority of 4,103! In 1868 he was 
again a candidate, defeating the Hon. B. S. Edwards, 
another of his old preceptors, by 2,884 votes. 

During his first term in Congress he served on the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and Expenditures in 
the Treasury Department; in his second term, on 
the Committees on Foreign Affairs and 0:1 Territories ; 
and in his third term he succeeded Mr. Ashley, of 
Ohio, to the Chairmanship of the latter. He intro- 
duced a bill in the House, to aid in the execution of 
law in Utah, which caused more consternation anion" 
the Mormons than any measure had previously, but 
which, though it passed the House, failed to pass the 
Senate. 

The Republican Convention which met May 25, 
1876, nominated Mr. Cullom for Governor, while the 
other contestant was Gov. Beveridge. For Lieuten- 
ant-Governor they nominated Andrew Shuman, editor 
of the Chicago Journal. For the same offices the 
Democrats, combining with the Anti-Monopolists, 
placed in nomination Lewis Steward, a wealthy 



farmer and manufacturer, and A. A. Glenn. The 
result of the election was rather close, Mr. Cullom 
obtaining only 6,800 majority. He was inaugurated 
Jan. 8, 1877. 

Great depression prevailed in financial circles at 
this time, as a consequence of the heavy failures of 
1873 and afterward, the effect of which had seemed 
to gather force from that time to the end of Gov. 
Cullom's first administration. This unspeculative 
period was not calculated to call forth any new 
issues, but the Governor's energies were at one time 
put to task to quell a spirit of insubordination that 
had been begun in Pittsburg, Pa., among the laboring 
classes, and transferred to Illinois at Chicago, East 
St. Louis and Braidwood, at which places laboring 
men for a short time refused to work or allow others 
to work. These disturbances were soon quelled and 
the wheels of industry again set in motion. 

In May, 1880, Gov. Cullom was re-nominated by 
the Republicans, against Lyman Trumbull, by the 
Democrats; and although the former party was some- 
what handicapped in the campaign by a zealous 
faction opposed to Grant for President and to Grant 
men for office generally, Mr. Cullom was re-elected 
by about 314,565, to 277,532 for the Democratic State 
ticket. The Greenback vote at the same time was 
about 27,000. Both Houses of the Legislature again 
became Republican, and no representative of the 
Greenback or Socialist parties were elected. Gov. 
Cullom was inaugurated Jan. 10, 1881. In his mes- 
sage he announced that the last dollar of the State 
debt had been provided for. 

March 4, 1883, the term of David Davis as United 
States Senator from Illinois expired, and Gov. Cul- 
lom was chosen to succeed him. This promoted 
Lieutenant-Governor John M. Hamilton to the Gov- 
ernorship. Senator Cullom's term in the United 
States Senate will expire March 4, 1889. 

As a practitioner oflaw Mr. C. has been a member 
of the firm of Cullom, Scholes & Mather, at Spring- 
field ; and he has also been President of the State 
National Bank. 

He has been married twice, — the first time Dec. 
12, 1855, to Miss Hannah Fisher, by whom he had 
two daughters; and the second time May 5, 1863, 
to Julia Fisher. Mrs. C is a member of the Method- 
ist Episcopal Church, with which religious body Mr. 
C, is also in sympathy. 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



'70 





*$* "^ I iCS* V, , vC •**■*-/(«* *S* -VIST'S* *v?\-*" , 3s* ^>i vC*SP"^ii ^*SPTj i«C ! S? 7; i^'ST'^v i<^ "S^sTsCSr -> isCfi* «<* t>i* 'fir -JliFT^P ^v i iC V^v tv~ *r 






=9*nf*«s 



OHN MARSHALL HAMIL- 
TON, Governor 1883-5, was 
born May 28, 1847, in a log 
house upon a farm about two 
miles from Richwood, Union 
County, Ohio. His father was 
Samuel Hamilton, the eldest son 
of Rev. Wm. Hamilton, who, to- 
gether with his brother, the Rev. 
% Samuel Hamilton, was among the 
early pioneer Methodist preachers in 
Ohio. The mother of the subject of 
this sketch was, before her marriage, 
Mrs. Nancy McMorris, who was 
born and raised in Fauquier or Lou- 
doun County, Va., and related to the 
two large families of Youngs and Marshalls, well 
known in that commonwealth; and from the latter 
family name was derived the middle name of Gov. 
Hamilton. 

In March, 1854, Mr. Hamilton's father sold out 
his little pioneer forest home in Union County, O., 
and, loading his few household effects and family 
(of six children) into two emigrant covered wagons, 
moved to Roberts Township. Marshall Co., 111., being 
21 days on the route. Swamps, unbridged streams 
and innumerable hardships and privations met them 
on their way. Their new home had been previously 
selected by the father. Here, after many long years 
of toil, they succeeded in paying for the land and 
making a comforta'^p home. John was, of course, 



brought up to hard manual labor, with no schooling 
except three or four months in the year at a common 
country school. However, he evinced a capacity 
and taste for a high order of self-education, by 
studying or reading what books he could borrow, as 
the family had but very few in the house. Much of 
his study he prosecuted by the light of a log fire in 
the old-fashioned chimney place. The financial 
panic of 1857 caused the family to come near losing 
their home, to pay debts; but the father and two 
sons, William and John, "buckled to" and perse 
vered in hard labor and economy until they redeemed 
their place from the mortgage. 

When the tremendous excitement of the political 
campaign of i860 reached the neighborhood of Rob- 
erts Township, young Hamilton, who had been 
brought up in the doctrine of anti-slavery, took a zeal- 
ous part in favor of Lincoln's election. Making special 
efforts to procure a little money to buy a uniform, he 
joined a company of Lincoln Wide-Awakes at Mag- 
nolia, a village not far away. Directly after the 
ensuing election it became evident that trouble 
would ensue with the South, and this VVide-Awake 
company, like many others throughout the country, 
kept up its organization and transformed itself into a 
military company. During the ensuing summer they 
met often for drill and became proficient ; but when 
they offered themselves for the war, young Hamilton 
was rejected on account of his youth, he being then 
but 14 years of age. During the winter of 1863-4 he 
attended an academy at Henry, Marshall County 



i8e 



JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON. 



and in the following May he again enlisted, for the 
fourth time, when he was placed in the 141st 111. 
Vol. Inf., a regiment then being raised at Elgin, 111., 
for the 100-day service. He took with him 13 other 
lads from his neighborhood, for enlistment in the 
service. This regiment operated in Southwestern 
Kentucky, for about five months, under Gen. Paine. 

The following winter, 1864-5, Mr. Hamilton taught 
school, and during the two college years 1865-7, he 
went through three years of the curriculum of the 
Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. The 
third year he graduated, the fourth in a class of 46, 
in the classical department. In due time he received 
the degree of M. A. For a few months he was the 
Principal of Marshall " College " at Henry, an acad- 
emy under the auspices of the M. E. Church. By 
this time he had commenced the study of law, and 
after earning some money as a temporary Professor 
of Latin at the Illinois Wesleyan University a; 
Bloomington, he entered the law office of Weldon, 
Tipton & Benjamin, of that city. Each member of 
this firm has since been distinguished as a Judge. 
Admitted to the Bar in M ly, 1870, Mr. Hamilton 
was given an interest in the same firm, Tipton hav- 
ing been elected Judge. In October following he 
formed a partnership with J. H. Rowell, at that time 
Prosecuting Attorney. Their business was then 
small, but they increased it to very large proportions, 
practicing in all grades of courts, including even the 
U. S. Supreme Court, and this partnership continued 
unbroken until Feb. 6, 18S3, when Mr. Hamilton 
was sworn in as Executive of Illinois. On the 4th 
of March following Mr. Rowell took his seat in Con- 
gress. 

In July, 1871, Mr. Hamilton married Miss Helen 
M. Williams, the daughter of Prof. Wm. G. Williams, 
Professor of Greek in the Ohio Wesleyan University. 
Mi. and Mrs. H. have two daughters and one son. 

In 1876 Mr. Hamilton was nominated by the Re- 
publicans for the State Senate, over other and older 
competitors. He took an active part " on the stump " 
in the campaign, for the success of his party, and was 
sleeted by a majority of 1,640 over his Democratic- 
Greenback opponent. In the Senate he served on 
the Committees on Judiciary, Revenue, State Insti- 
tutions, Appropriations, Education, and on Miscel- 
lany ; and during the contest for the election of a 
V, S. Senator, the Republicans endeavoring to re- 



elect John A. Logan, he voted for the war chief on 
every ballot, even alone when all the other Republi- 
cans had gone over to the Hon. E. B. Lawrence and 
the Democrats and Independents elected Judg? 
David Davis. At this session, also, was passed the 
first Board of Health and Medical Practice act, of 
which Mr. Hamilton was a champion, again;'; : 1 
much opposition that the bill was seveial times 
"laid on the table." Also, this session authorized 
the location and establishment of a southern peni 
tentiary, which was fixed at Chester. In the session 
of 1879 Mr. Hamilton was elected President pro tern. 
of the Senate, and was a zealous supporter of John 
A. Logan for the U. S. Senate, who wa3 this time 
elected without any trouble. 

In May, 1880, Mr. Hamilton was nominated on 
the Republican ticket for Lieutenant Governor, his 
principal competitors before the Convention being 
Hon. Wm. A. James, ex-Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, Judge Robert Bell, of Wabash 
County, Hon. T. T. Fountain, of Perry County, and 
Hon. M. M. Saddler, of Marion County. He engaged 
actively in the campaign, and his ticket was elected 
by a majority of 41,200. As Lieutenant Governor, 
he presided almost continuously over the Senate in 
the 33d General Assembly and during the early days 
of the 33d, until he succeeded to the Governorship. 
When the Legislature of 1883 elected Gov. Cullom 
to the United States Senate, Lieut. Gov. Hamilton 
succeeded him, under the Constitution, taking the 
oath of office Feb. 6, 1883. He bravely met all the 
annoyances and embarrassments incidental upon 
taking up another's administration. The principal 
events with which Gov. Hamilton was connected as 
the Chief Executive of the State were, the mine dis- 
aster at Braidwood, the riots in St. Clair and Madison 
Counties in May, 1883, the appropriations for the 
State militia, the adoption of the Harper high-license 
liquor law, the veto of a dangerous railroad bill, etc. 

The Governor was a Delegate at large to the 
National Republican Convention at Chicago in June, 

1884, where his first choice for President was John 
A. Logan, and second choice Chester A. Arthur; but 
he afterward zealously worked for the election of Mr. 
Blaine, true to his party. 

Mr. Hamilton's term as Governor expired Jan. 30. 

1885, when the great favorite "Dick" Oglesby was 
inaugurated. 










I 
-feV.' 







IJ -i^U^ 



GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS. 



183 






?"• 





"<:. >"rO' : - '■■{ " 







...J. ■..■:....'..■:...■. ...'■..'..' ......... ...:'......-.. .. ...... .'. .1 .*..+..+. .t.A.^rg&^SL^ 



^^ 




7 ^.V'..",v 



..o*o.-@y\<^@-o«o.. 



-■V 




" >OSKPII WILSON FIFER. This 
.;; distinguished gentleman was 
(ffw elected Governor of Illinois 
|i November 6, 1888. He was 
\. popularly known during the 
?,,;." campaign as "Private Joe." He 
had served with great devotion 
to his country during the Re- 
bellion, in the Thirty-third 
Illinois Infantry. A native of 
Virginia, he was born in 1840. 
His parents, John and Mary 
(Daniels) Fifer, were American 
born, though of German de- 
scent. His father was a brick 
and stone mason, and an old 
Henry Clay Whig in politics. John and Mary 
Fifer had nine children, of whom Joseph was the 
sixth, and naturally with SO large a family it was 
all the father could do to keep the wolf from the 
door; to say nothing of giving Ins children any- 
thing like good educational advantages. 

Young Joseph attended school some in Vir- 
ginia, but it was not a good school, and when 
his father removed to the West, in 1857. Joseph had 
not advanced much further than the "First Reader." 



Our subject was sixteen then and suffered a great 
misfortune in the loss of his mother. After the death 
of Mrs. Fifer. which occurred in Missouri, the 
family returned to Virginia, but remained only a 
short time, as during the same year Mr. Fifer 
came to Illinois. He settled in McLean County and 
started a brickyard. Here Joseph and his broth- 
ers were put to work. The elder Fifer soon 
bought a farm near Bloomington and began life as 
an agriculturalist. Here Joe worked and attended 
the neighboring school. He alternated farm-work, 
brick-laying, and going to the district school for 
the succeeding few years. It was all work and no 
play for Joe, yet it by no means made a dull boy 
of him. All the time he was thinking of the great 
world outside, of which he had caught a glimpse 
when coming from Virginia, yet he did not know 
just how he was going to get out into it. He 
could not feel that the woods around the new 
farm and the log cabin, in which the family lived, 
were to hold him. 

The opportunity to get out into the world was 
soon offered to young Joe. lie traveled a dozen 
miles barefoot, in company with his brother George, 
and enlisted in Company C, 33d Illinois Infantry; 
he being then twenty years old. In a few days 



184 



JOSEPH W. FIFER. 



the regiment was sent to Camp Butler, and then 
over fiito Missouri, and saw some vigorous service 
there. After a second time helping to chase Price 
out of Missouri, the 33d Regiment went down 
to Milliken's Bend, and for several weeks " Private 
Joe" worked on Grant's famous ditch. The regi- 
ment then joined the forces operating against Port 
Gibson and Vicksburg. Joe was on guard duty in 
the front ditches when the flag of surrender was 
run up on the 4th of July, and stuck the bayonet 
of his gun into the embankment and went into the 
city with the vanguard of Union soldiers. 

The next day, July 5, the 33d joined the force 
after Johnston, who had been threatening Grant's 
rear; and finally an assault was made on him at 
Jackson, Miss. In this charge "Private Joe" fell, ter- 
ribly wounded. He was loading his gun when a 
minie-ball struck him and passed entirely through 
his body. ; He, was regarded as mortally wounded. 
His brother, George, who had been made a Lieu- 
tenant, proved to be the means of saving his life. 
The Surgeon told him unless he had ice his brother 
Joe could not live. It was fifty miles to the nearest 
point where ice could be obtained, and the roads 
were rough. A comrade, a McLean county man, who 
had been wounded, offered to make the trip. An 
ambulance was secured and the brother soldier 
started on the journey. He returned with the ice, 
but the trip, owing to the roughness of the roads, 
was very hard on him. After a few months' care- 
ful nursing Mr. Filer was able to come home. The 
:53d came home on a furlough, and when the 
boys were ready to return to the tented field, 
young Fifer was ready to go with them; for he was 
determined to finish his term of three years. He 
was mustered out in October, 18G4, having been 
in the service three years and two months. 

•• Private Joe" came out of the army a tall, 
tanned, and awkward young man of twenty-four. 
About all he possessed was ambition to be some- 
body — and pluck. Though at an age when most 
men have finished their college course, the young 
soldier saw that if he was to be anybody he must 
have an education. Yet he had no means t«> ena- 
ble him to enter school as most young men do. 
He was determined to have an education, however, 
and that to him meant success. For the following 



four years he struggled with his books. He entered 
Wesleyan University Jan. 1, 1865. He was not a 
brilliant student, being neither at the head nor the 
foot of his class. He was in great earnest, how- 
ever, studied hard and came forth with a well- 
stored and disciplined mind. 

Immediately after being graduated he entered 
an office at Bloomington as a law student. He had 
already read law some, and as he continued to work 
hard, with the spur of poverty and promptings of 
ambition ever with him, he was ready to hang out 
his professional shingle in 1869. Being trust- 
worthy he soon gathered about him some influen- 
tial friends. In 1871 he was elected Corporation 
Counsel of Bloomington. In 1872 he was elected 
State's Attorney of McLean Count)'. This office 
he held for eight years, when he took his seat in 
the State Senate. Here he served for four years. 
His ability to perform abundance of hard work 
made him a most valued member of the Legisla- 
ture. 

Mr. Fifer was married in 1870 to Gertie, daugh- 
ter of 'William J. Lewis, of Bloomington. Mr. 
Fifer is six feet in height and is spare, weighing 
only 150 pounds. He has a swarthy complexion, 
keen black eyes, quick movement, and possesses a 
frank and sympathetic nature, and naturally makes 
friends wherever he goes. During the late Guber- 
natorial campaign his visits throughout the State 
proved a great power in his behalf. His happy 
faculty of winning the confidence and good wishes 
of those with whom he comes in personal contact is a 
source of great popularity, especially during a polit- 
ical battle. As a speaker he is fluent, his language 
is good, voice clear and agreeable, and manner 
forcible. His manifest earnestness in what he says 
as well as his tact as a public speaker, and his elo- 
quent and forceful language, makes him a most 
valuable campaign orator and a powerful pleader 
at the bar. At the Republican State Convention, 
held in May. 1 888, Mr. Fifer was chosen as its candi- 
date for Governor. He proved a popular nominee, 
and the name of "Private Joe" became familiar 
to everyone throughout the State. He waged a 
vigorous campaign, was elected by a good majority, 
and in due time assumed the duties of the Chief 
Executive of Illinois. 



- Dfi i 



e%^= 







,AdZ& 



F 



ciit 



Xoultpm fSoun^iei 



■ btlinoisc 





INTRODUGTO 





;HE time has arrived when it 
becomes the duty of the 
people of this county to per- 
petuate the names of their 
pioneers, to furnish a record 
of their early settlement, 
and relate the story of their 
progress. The civilization of our 
day, the enlightenment of the age 
and the duty that men of the pres- 
ent time owe to their ancestors, to 
themselves and to their posterity, 
demand that a record of their lives 
and deeds should be made. In bio- 
graphical history is found a power 
* \/' V to instruct man by precedent, to 
enliven the mental faculties, and 
to waft down the river of time a 
safe vessel in which the names and actions of the 
people who contributed to raise this country from its 
primitive state may be preserved. Surely and rapidly 
the great and aged men, who in their prime entered 
tiie wilderness and claimed the virgin soil as their 
heritage, are passing to their graves. The number re- 
maining who can relate the incidents of the first days 
il settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an 
actual necessity exists for the collection and preser- 
vation of events without delay, before all the early 
settlers are cut down by the scythe of Time. 

To be forgotten has been the great dread of mankind 
from remotest ages. All will be forgotten soon enough, 
in spite of their best works and the most earnest 
efforts of their friends to perserve the memory of 
lives. The means employed to prevent oblivion 



their I 



and to perpetuate their memory has been in propor- 
tion to the amount of intelligence they possessed. 
Th ! pyramids of Egypt were built to perpetuate the 
names and deeds of their great rulers. The exhu- 
mations made by the archeologists of Egypt from 
buried Memphis indicate a desire of those people 



to perpetuate the memory of their achievements. 
The erection of the great obelisks were for the same 
purpose. Coming down to a later period, we find tht 
Greeks and Romans erecting mausoleums and monu- 
ments, and carving out statues to chronicle their 
great achievements and carry them down the ages. 
It is also evident that the Mound-builders, in piling 
up their great mounds of earth, had but this idea — 
to leave something to show that they had lived. All 
these works, though many of them costly in the ex- 
treme, give but a faint idea of the lives and charac- 
ters of those whose memory they were intended to 
perpetuate, and scarcely anything of the masses of 
the people that then lived. The great pyramids and 
some of the obelisks remain objects only of curiosity ; 
the mausoleums, monuments and statues are crum- 
bling into dust. 

It was left to modern ages to establish an intelli- 
gent, undecaying, immutable method of perpetuating 
a full history — immutable in that it is almost un- 
limited in extent and perpetual in its action; and 
this is through the art of printing. 

To the present generation, however, we are in- 
debted for the introduction of the admirable system 
of local biography. By this system every man, thougr 
he has not achieved what the world calls greatness, 
has the means to perpetuate his life, his history, 
through the coming ages. 

The scythe of Time cuts down all ; nothing of the 
physical man is left. The monument which h's chil- 
dren or friends may erect to his memory in the ceme- 
tery will crumble into dust and pass away; but his 
life, his achievements, the work lie has accomplished, 
which otherwise would be forgotten, is perpetuated 
by a record of this kind. 

To preserve the lineaments of our companions we 
eng'ave their portraits, for the same reason we col- 
lect the attainable facts of their history. Nor do we 
think it necessary, as we speak only truth of them, to 
wait until they are dead, or until those who know 
them are gone: to do this we are ashamed only to 
publish to the world the history of those whose live* 
are unworthy of public record. 



PORTRAIT AND l'.K )( .RAl'IIK !AL RECORD. 



I HI 





-v^T^, 



-E=~~ 



OX. .IOI IN R. EDEN, who 
resides in Sullivan, was 




bora « > 1 1 the banks of the 
Licking River, eight miles 
from Owingsville, Bath 
County, Ky., February 1. 
1820. His father, John Raul Eden, 
wasborain Baltimore, Md., in 1796, 
e^^jy^O iU "l Jeremiah Eden, the grandfa- 
ther was a native of England, who 
came when a young man to Amer- 
ica and settled in Maryland. From 
that State he removed to Kentucky 
about the year 1800, and became a 
fanner in Bath County. Then' he 
bought a tract of timber land, which he cleared and 
turned into a rich and productive farm, making it 
his home until death called him away. 

The father of our subject was reared and mar- 
ried in Hath County, and resided there until 1831, 
when with his wife and four children he removed 
to Indiana. The removal was made with teams, 
and the far-famed prairie schooners, in which were 
all their household goods. Traveling by slow stages 
and camping by the way. the I'amiU reached In- 
diana and settled in Rush County. Having en- 
tered a tract of Government land, they built a 
Cabin in the wilderness and commenced to ■•lear a 



farm. The maiden name of the mother of our Sub- 
ject was Catherine ('an. and she was horn in Ken- 
tucky in the year 1800, being a daughter of Joseph 
Can. In 1835 she was left a widow with six chil- 
dren to care for and she had a hard struggle to 
maintain them and keep them together. In 1Ho2 
she removed from Indiana to Illinois, and spent 
her last years here with a son Joseph, dying in 
1870. 

The subject of our sketch commenced when very 
young to assist upon the farm where his services 
were much needed, in his younger days there 
were no railroads, and Cincinnati was the nearest 
market and depot for supplies. The products of 
the farm formed the principal living of the family, 
and the mother made all the cloth which was used 
in the family, carding, spinning and weaving the 
raw material into the needed fabrics. 

The first school which Mr. Eden attended, was 
in a cabin built of round logs. The chimney was 
made of sticks and clay, and the fireplace occupied 
nearly one end of the building. The only window 
was produced by a log being taken out through 
nearly the entire length of the building, and it had 
no covering of glass, but in cold weather greased 
paper was used to cover the aperture to keep out 
the wind. The benches were made of puncheon 
with wooden pins for legs. Holes were bored in 



1H2 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tlic logs under the window. and^pegs_supported a 
smooth puncheon which served as a writing desk 
for the older scholars. He was very studious, mak- 
ing the most of the opportunities afforded him and 
at the age of eighteen commenced teaching, receiv- 
ing the usual salary of *2H a month and his hoard. 
He taught during the fall and winter for seven 
years, occupying the remainder of the year in farm- 
ing, and using every fragment of time not other- 
wise absorbed, to study law. 

In 1K.V2 Mr. Eden came to Illinois, traveling by 
railroad to Terre Haute, Ind., and thence by stage 
to Shelliyville, and a few days later was admitted 
to the bar and commenced practice. He practiced 
there until the fall of 1853, when he came to Sulli- 
van and since that time has made this place the 
main field of his work except when absent upon 
official duty. 

A happy and congenial matrimonial alliance was 
made by our subject in 1856, when he chose as his 
wile Roxaima Meeker, a native of Bennington 
Township, Delaware (now Morrow) County. Ohio. 
This lady is a daughter of Ambrose and Hannah 
(Hart well) Meckel', and a sister of the lion. Jona- 
than Meeker. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Eden 
comprises five living children, namely: Emma, 
Ko>e. Walter. Belle and Blanche. Rose is now Mrs. 
J. Martin, of whom a sketch will be found else- 
where in this volume. 

Ex-Congressman Eden has always espoused the 
political views which bad their ablest advocate in 
the author of the Declaration of Independence, 
and he cast his first vote for Lewis Cass. Ever 
since he came here he has been a prominent man in 
his district, as his natural abilities and well cul- 
tured mind have given him a commanding in- 
fluence. In 1856 he was elected States Attorney 
for the Seventh Judicial District, which office he 
filled for tour years. He represented the Seventh 

District in the Thirty-eighth Congress, being elected 
thereto in 1862. This was followed by his re-elec- 
tion and service in the Forty-third. Forty-fourth. 
Fortv-lifth and Forty-ninth Congresses. During 
this Ion"' period the boundaries, and numbers of 
the Congressional Districts were changed, and he 
represented the following counties: Moultrie. Ma- 
con. Piatt, Champaign, Ford. Iroquois, Vermilion, 



Douglas, Coles, Edgar, Clark, Cumberland. Effing- 
ham, Shelby. Jasper. Crawford. Lawrence. Fayette. 
Montgomery and Macoupin. 

The most important committees of which this 
honorable gentleman was a member during the 
various sessions, were as follows: During the Thirty- 
eighth Congress the Committee on Accounts and 
Revolutionary Pensions; in the Forty-third the 
Committee on Claims and the Freedmen Affairs; 
in the Forty-fourth he was Chairman of the Com- 
mittee on War Complaints, and a member of the 
one appointed to investigate the Presidential elec- 
tion; during the next Congress he was again Chair- 
man of the same Committee, and during the Forty- 
ninth he belonged to the Committee on the Judi- 
ciary and Revision of Laws. In 1868 he was a 
Democratic candidate for Governor of Illinois. 

In every sphere of life, either professional or as 
a public servant, the Hon. John R. Eden has proved 
himself well-equipped and able to meet the serious 
emergencies which come before a man of affairs. 
As an attorney he has been successful in his prac- 
tice, and has built up an extensive clientage, and 
as a member of Congress he worked honestly and 
honorably for the prosperity of the entire country 
and the interests of his constituents. 

A portrait of the Hon. Mr. Eden accompanies 
this biographical notice. 




>EORGE WVLONGENBAUGH is one of the 

old settlers in Pickaway Township, being 
v ^^i the owner of a farm located on section 20. 
at Longenbaugh corners, lie early learned the trade 
of a blacksmith and on his settlement here estab- 
lished his smithy in the fall of L858. He owns a 
fine little home on forty acres of land. This he 
operates in connection with his business. He is a 
genial, whole-hearted fellow, necessarily well- 
known throughout the township, and justly popu- 
lar with his fellow-men. 

Our subject Mist came to the county in IK."),"), 
and for two years worked as a journeyman at Prai- 
rie Bird, and later he spent a little more than a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1 98 



year with a partner in Moweaqua. lie sold < ml 
however, his share of the establishment, and came 

to Pickaway Township and has here ever since 
been engaged, having done all the work in his line. 
On his advent into this county our subject was n 
single man. He was horn in Pickaway County, 
Ohio, October 21. 1834, and is the son of Jacob 
and Catherine (Yantis) Longenbaugh, natives of 
Ohio, who there lived and spent their last days in 
Pickaway County, passing away at the age of sixty- 
eight years. Our subject's father, like himself, was 
a blacksmith and farmer. Mrs. Longenbaugh was 
a member of the German Reformed Church. 

( )nr subject is the second son and third child of 
seven children, four of whom are yet living, he of 
whom we write being (he only one residing in Illi- 
nois, lie grew up at home, learning his trade 
at his father's smithy. About the time when 
he became of age he determined to start out in 
life for himself and came to this State, where he 
has ever since lived. Politically our subject is a 
Democrat, using his vote and influence for that 
party. He has since coming here, been Highway 
Commissioner and Justice of the Peace for a good 
many years, and is now Notary Public, having 
filled that office for several years. 

Our subject was married in Flat Branch Town- 
ship, March 11. 1858, to Miss Eliza Cockrain. She 
was born in Tennessee and came to Illinois when a 
young woman with her parents, Robert and Mary 
(Ray) Cockrain. On coining to the county they 
settled in Flat Branch Township, there procuring 
a farm, where a few years later the husband and 
father died while yet in middle life. His wife sur- 
vived him for several years, finally passing awaj 
on the old farm, being quite advanced in years. 
They were members of the Presbyterian Church. 
Mrs. Longenbaugh was one of eight children, three 
of whom are now deceased. She was educated in 
her native State in the county schools, and had al- 
most reached womanhood when her parents re- 
moved to Illinois. She and her husband are attend- 
ants upon the Baptist Church. 

Eight children have come to bless the home of 
the affectionate parents. Of these one died in in- 
fancy. The living children are: Mary C, Sophro- 
nia ,1. and Samuel, who are twins, Anthony B., 



Sarah E., William W. and Joseph E. The eldest 
daughter is the wife of Charles Pogue, who is a 
farmer in this township. Samuel is a blacksmith at 
Prairie Bird. His twin si>ter. Sophronia, is the 
wife of Rolierl Hunter, who is a real estate dealer 
and insurance agent in Decatur, this State. An- 
thony B. look lo wife Miss Julia Pogue. and is the 
proprietor of a farm in this township. Sarah E. 
is a teacher here, as have been the other daughters 
before their marriage. William W. and Joseph E. 
are still at home and assist their father on the farm. 
Our subject has given his children every educa- 
tional advantage that his means would allow. 
They are naturally bright and easily assimilate the 
progressive ideas of the day. 



^ 



OSFPH II. VOILES is the Superintendent of 
the Shelby County Poor House, which is lo- 
cated on section 4. Rose Township. His 
father was Giles Y. Voiles, and he was born 
in Decatur County. Ind. He was united in mar- 
riage with Lucinda Merritt, a native of Kentucky, 
and settled in his native county where he spent his 
days, and passed away in l.H(>;3. His wife afterward 
came to Shelby County where shedied in January, 
1885. They had a family of ten children of whom 
our subject was the eldest. 

Joseph Voiles was born in Decatur County, lnd., 
December 2K. lHJ.'i. His father was a shoemaker 
by trade, but Owned and operated a farm besides 
following his trade. Our subject grew toman- 
hood on his father's farm. Upon September 15, 
1864. this young man who had barely reached his 
majority, took to wife Miss Maria J. Gentry, who 
was born in Franklin County. Ind., and who became 
the mother of ten children. Those who grew to 
maturity were as follows: Mary L.; Chloe, who 
died when about eighteen years old; Rosa E., who 
is the wife of Henry Sherwood; Franklin A.. 
< (scar M., William II. and Perley. Three who died 
young bore the names of Henry. Aha and Cathe- 
rine. Mrs. Maria Voiles died in Rose Township, 
February 12. l*M. 



i:m 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



When Mr. Voiles was first married he settled in 
Decatur County, hid.. and engaged in farming. 
which business he still carried on after coming from 
there to Shelby County in 1870. He was married 
a second time in Oconee, this county, December 
27. 1887, to Miss Anna M. Gould, daughter of 
Stephen and Jerusha (Read) Gould. Mr. Gould 
died in Shelby County. February 7. IMS"). Of a 
family of seven children Mrs. Voiles is the eldest, 
and she was horn in Union County. Ind.. June 7. 
I*.">7. She is the mother of one child. Leland C. 

In September, 1881, Mr. Voiles was appointed 
Superintendent of the Shelby County Poor House, 
in which rapacity he has gained the good opinion 
of every one who understands the workings of the 
institution. The house is noted for its cleanliness 
throughout and for its good management. Much 
credit is due both Mr. and Mrs. Voiles f or their ex- 
cellent care of its inmates; ami in their gentle and 
kindly treatment of them they have truly evinced 
the genuine Christian character which is theirs. 
They are both connected with the Methodist Church 
and All-. Voiles has always taken an active part in 
religious work, being Class-Leader, Steward and 
Trustee. His political views have led him to affil- 
iate with tlie Democratic party, in whose policy he 
firmly believes. 



—5- 



^€>*<< 



ifi>-^ 



^HOMAS WOOD. To In' an honorable 
/mj§S^ and cllicient agriculturist in the State of 
v^S*' Illinois, where the soil responds so gener- 
ously to the hand of him who cultivates it. is to 
bi' almost ensured in having a comfortable home 
and happy and congenial surroundings. The in- 
telligent and praiseworthy people who settled in 
this Stale in its early days brought with them such 
conditions and such institutions as tended to 
gather about them the best class of emigrants, and 
the\ and their descendants have built up such so- 
cial conditions as have tended to the prosperity 
and happiness of all. 

We tind upon section 8, Oconee Township, 
Shelby County, a prosperous farmer and stock- 
raiser in the person of Thomas II. Wood, who was 



bom in Woodbum, Macoupin County, this State. 
September 11. 1862. He is a son of J. M. and 
Elizabeth M. ( Milliard) Wood, the former being 
born in Sangamon County, 111., in 1823, and the 

mother in the same State in l*2t>. The mother, who 
became a widow in May. 1887, after her removal to 
this county, still resides on her farm in Oconee 
Township. The Wood family is pleased to count 
itself as descended from the sturdy English stock 
which is representative of the people who de- 
manded from King John that noble instrument — 
the Magna Charta. 

Eight sons and four daughters were born to the 
parents of our subject, namely: Perminda. now 
Mrs. I.. Howell, of Dodge City. Kan.; Mary, who 
has been twice married, first to .lames Coffee and 
after her widowhood to J. C. Lemav. and now lives 
at Gillespie, Macoupin County: Jennie, the wife of 
J. S. March, of Oconee; John II.. who lives with 
his wife, Ella Brennan, in Woodburn, Macoupin 
County; William J., who has been an invalid for 
the last fifteen years, resides with his mother; 
Leonard I)., who i> farming iii Gaudy, Neb., and 
is married to Clarissa Holbrook; Luther and Abbie. 
who died in early childhood; Weston, who resides 
in Oconee Township with his wife. Sadie Doyle; 
Thomas, our subject; James M.. who married Gilla 
Combest and resides on a farm in Oconee Town- 
ship; Walter 1>.. who married Blanche Brown and 
lives upon the parental homestead. 

The subject of this brief life review came to 
Oconee Township with his parents when a young 
lad of Mime twelve years, anil here he grew to 
manhood and has made his home from that day to 
this. He obtained his education in the district 
schools of Illinois, which gave him an excellent 
preparation for his life work, and received thor- 
ough training upon the home farm in the practical 
work of agriculture. . February 28, lKK.'S. was the 
day of days in the life of this young man as it 
united him in marriage with tin' lady of his choice. 
Miss Clara 11. Speaker, daughter of David and 

Abbie Speaker, of ( Iconce. She was horn Novem- 
ber 27. 1861, in this township, of Rhode Island 
parentage. She lost her father when a little child 
and her mother took a second husband, whose 
name is Combest. She had three daughters by her 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



195 



first marriage, Mrs. Wood being the second in age, 
and tin' others being I<la M.. now Mrs. Bowmer, of 
Providence, R. I., and Celia A., now Mrs. Murray, 
of Pana, 111. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Wood two sons were born — 
Joseph, who came to them December 17. 1883, and 
the youngest, who was horn March 5, 1891, is 
Cecil. Mr. Wood has always taken an active in- 
terest in political affairs and voted with the Demo- 
cratic party until quite recently when he joined 
the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association and now 
works heartily with them for the benefit of the 
farming community. He holds no church connec- 
tion, but is an active promoter of all movements 
which look to the prosperity and improvement of 
the township, in which he owns two hundred acres 
of rich and productive land, most of which is >itu- 
ated on section 8, where he makes his home. His 
farm is finely improved and he lives in compara- 
tive ease, reaping the rich reward of the efforts of 
his earlier years. 



■:• •:• 



/p^EORGE W. RICHARDSON, of Shelbyville, 

||[ ,— -, has for many years been closely identified 
^^J^l with the agricultural interests of Shelby 
County, and is regarded as one of its most, honor- 
able and reliable citizens. He i> descended from 
good old Revolutionary and pioneer stock, and 
is a native of the State of Indiana, horn in Warren 
County August 13, 1836. His father, .lames Rich- 
ardson, was also an Indianian by birth, born in 
Parke County, of which hi* father, John Richard- 
son, was a very early settler. 

The grandfather of our subject was a native of 
North Carolina and the son of a Revolutionary 
soldier who lost his life in battle while lighting 
for the freedom of his country. John Richardson 
passed hi* boyhood in North Carolina, and was 
there married to Mary Salers. also a native of that 
State. In 1800 he left his old home with his fam- 
ily to establish a new one in the forest primeval of 
the Northwestern Territory. He penetrated to the 
wilds of what i> now Indiana, and was one of the 



firsl white men to settle in that territory, locating 
in what is now Parke County. When the land was 
surveyed and came into the market lie purchased 
a tract heavily timbered, from which by hard labor 
he cleared a farm. lie was a resident of Indiana 

until 1834, when he sold his property there and 
again became a pioneer, coming to this countj and 
buying Govemmeni land in what is now Windsor 

Township, lie improved a large farm, upon which 
he- lived some years, and he then once more changed 
his residence to still another state, going to Mis- 
souri, where In 1 remained a few \ ears ere he returned 
to this county, where his earthly pilgrimage was at 
length brought to a close December 31, 1865, lie 
having attained a ripe old age. His venerable wife 
Survived him until 1875, when she died in Big 

Spring Township. 

The father of our subject was reared in Indiana, 
and in due time took unto himself a wife, marry- 
ing in Warren County, that State. Delilah Small, 
a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Knight and 
I.ydia Small. He bought a tract of land in that 
county and farmed it until 1839, when he. too. 
imbued with the same spirit that bad characterized 
his ancestry, became a pioneer, coming to this 
State with his wife and two children, making the 
entire journey by land, bringing his household 
goods, and camping by the wayside at night, lie 
settled in what is now Windsor Township, where 
he entered Government land, besides buying other 
land, which he has since improved into a line farm, 
which is >till his home. He and his family first 
lived in a log house that Mood on the land when 
he bought it. but some years later he replaced that 
humble abode by a more commodious frame struc- 
ture, and erected other suitable farm buildings. 
He is held in great respect by his fellow-citizens 
as one of tin' pioneers of the county who has ma- 
terially contributed to its growth. Death has de- 
prived him of the companionship of the wife of 
his early manhood. They reared two children — 
our subject and his brother John, the latter of 
whom occupies a part of his father's old home- 
stead. 

George W. Richardson was but three years old 
when his parents brought him to Illinois, and it 
may be said that he grew with the growth of the 



196 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county which has ever since been his home, as at 
that time it boo was in its infancy. The country 
round about their new home was almost in its 
primitive condition, and the land was mostly in 
the hands of the Government, which has since dis- 
posed of it at $1.25 an acre, or at a smaller price. 
Our subject attended the first schools opened in 
the county, that were taught in log houses. The 
M'.-its were made of slabs or logs split and one side 
hewed smooth, and wooden pins were inserted for 
legs, and there were no hacks to the scats. The 
schoolrooms were lighted by an aperture made by 
the removal of a log, greased paper serving in- 
stead of glass. A slab laid on pegs driven into 
holes that had been bored into a log in the side of 
the building was the primitive arrangement for a 
writing desk for the older pupils. When the fam- 
ily first came to the county deer, wild turkeys and 
other game in abundance roamed where are now 
finely cultivated farms and busy towns. St. Louis. 
one hundred and twenty miles away, was the near- 
est market to the settlers of this region, nine days 
being consumed in making the round trip. The 
people lived mostly on the products of their farms 
and the women spun and wove the cloth in which 
their children were clothed. 

Our subject remained an inmate of the parental 
home until he married and established one of his 
own. After attaining manhood he worked a part 
of his father's farm a few years and then bought a 
farm for himself in the same township. In the 
busy years thai followed he greatly increased its 
value by judicious cultivation ami by the many 
line improvements that he made, and under his 

thrifty care it hecanu e of the choicest farms in 

the township of Windsor. In 1888 he took up his 
residence at Shelby ville. though he- still owns anil 
superintends his farm. 

That 0U1' Subject has a happy home replete with 

comfort is partly due to the active co-operation of 
his estimable wife, from whom he has always re- 
ceived a cheerful assistance and helpful counsel. 
They were united in marriage in 1 *.">.">. Mrs. Rich- 
ardson was in her maiden days Mary E. Bland. 
She was born in Licking County, Ohio, and is a 
daughter of .loci and Harriet ( Dittenhauer) Bland. 
Her marriage with our subject has been blessed 



with children, of whom these three are living: 
Ebenezer A., Palmyra and Stephen. The latter is 
a prosperous farmer in Windsor Township. Eben- 
ezer, the eldest son. is one of the leading lawyers 
of the county. He received his early education in 
the district school and subsequently attended the 
Weslevan University at Blooming-ton. He studied 
law with Judge Ames and II. .1. Hamlin, was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1883, and has since practiced 
his profession at Shelbyville. 

Mr. Richardson is a man of solid worth, possess- 
ing those traits that command respect in the busi- 
ness world and win esteem among his neighbors 
and associates. He and his wife are sincere Chris- 
tian people as is attested by their every day con- 
duct in all the relations of life that they sustain 
towards each other, towards their children and all 
about them. They and two of their children are 
members in high standing of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. In his political views our subject is 
a decided Democrat. He has held important public 
positions with credit to himself and to the benefit 
of the community. While a resident of Windsor 
Township he represented it as a member of the 
County Hoard of Supervisors, and he was also Jus- 
tice of thi' Peace while he lived there. He has 

likewise been an incumbent of that office since he 
came to Shelbyville. having been appointed to it 
in 1889, and he was re-elected to the same position 
in 1890. 

II.I.IAM .1. CLARK. To the city-bred man 
oi' woman who from childhood lias heard 
\V?"^ of the remarkable progress of the Central 
States and has been constantly reading of the won- 
derful improvements made by various pioneers 
whose names wander promiscuously through the 
alphabet from A to X Y Z, it seems almost incred- 
ible that as late as 1871 large tracts of prairie land 
were taken up. the land being :it that time in a 
perfectly wild and Uncultivated state. While the 
progress of our country and especially the im- 
provements in its agricultural districts are unques- 
tionable, the fact also remains that the Country is 




PORTRAIT AND BI(>< .RAl'IIK AI. RECORD. 



19; 



one of such magnificent distances that here are 
vet opportunities for bright and energetic young 
men to experience pioneer life, although mil. per- 
haps, in tin' sense in which the settlers of the '30s 
and 'Ills experienced it. with its privations, make- 
shifts and entire absence of congenial society. 

Our subject located on his present farm on sec- 
tions 21, 28 and 29, of flat Branch Township, in 
1871. It comprises one hundred and sixty acres. 
and at the time of his purchase was in a crude, un- 
developed, uncultivated state, its must luxurious 
product being that enemy of the farmers — field 
daisies, with a multitude of other prairie flowers. 
Before securing this farm he had improved one on 
section 21, having come to the township and county 
in 1854, with his father. The latter purchased and 
improved a new farm, upon which he died. 

Our subject was born in Warren County, Ohio, 
on the 29th of October, 1836. He is a son of William 
R. Clark, who was bora in Hamilton County. His 
early training was that of a farmer lad. and when 
he reached manhood, like a majority of young 
men, he took the most important step of his life, 
that of marriage, his wife's maiden name being 
Miss Nancy Berger. They were married about 
1830. The lady is a native of Virginia although of 
German parentage and ancestry. She had come 
to Ohio with her father and mother when quite 
young and was reared in Warren County. 

The original of our sketch, with ten brothers 
and sisters, came by the overland route with his 
parents to Illinois in 1854. Their home during 
the journey hither was in the old-time prairie 
schooner, and it was after a long and tedious jour- 
ney that they landed here. They began making 
their home in the new State on section 21. where 
the father and mother both afterward died, the 
former passing away in September, 1X8!), at the 
age of eighty-seven years. He was a Democrat in 
politics and a hearty co-worker in all progressive 
causes. His wife died four years before her hus- 
band, at the age of seventy-nine years. 

Our subject is one of a pair of twins. He be- 
came of. age after coining to this township, and 
was here married to Ann E. Scott, his marriage 
taking place in December, lMfil. The lady was 
born in Knox County, I ml.. February l. 1835. She 



is a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Weidner) 
Scott, natives of Indiana and Virginia respectively. 
They met and married in Indiana, where they 
spent the whole of their married lives. Mr. Scott 
died in 1844, at the age of fifty-Six. Mrs. Scott 

survived her husband by a good many years, pass- 
ing away in 1*77. She was horn in 1796. Both 
she and her husband were members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 

Mrs. Clark is one of a large family of eleven 
children. She was reared to womanhood in her 
county, and there enjoyed very good educational 
advantages, finishing her school course at Lebanon, 
Ind. She is the mother of hut one child. Charles 
S., who was graduated at the Valparaiso (Ind.) 
Normal School, and was later connected with the 
count\ offices, holding successively positions in 
the County Clerk's office, that of County Treas- 
urer and also with the Circuit Clerk. He is now 
engaged as the operator of a farm, in which he is 
very successful. 

Mr. Clark has for some years pa-t devoted him- 
self chiefly to the raising of horses, mainly road- 
sters, and has acquired quite a reputation through- 
out the county for breeding line animals. Mrs. 
Clark is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Mr. Clark and son are Democrats in poli- 
tics. 



^HEODORE F. DOVE, who is practicing law 
at Shelbyville, Shelby Count v. has grained 

_y distinction in his profession in thecourtsof 
this county, where, at one time, he occupied a prom- 
inent position as an educator, and during his resi- 
dence here hi- name has ever been closely associated 
with the best efforts of the citizens of Central Illi- 
nois to promote its social and religious advance- 
ment, and its well-being generally. 

Among the pioneers of Ohio who were active in 
its early development was the Dove family, of 
whom Henry Dove, the grandfather of oursubject, 
was then the head. He was horn in Rockingham 
County, Va.. February 7. 1765, coming of one of 
the old Colonial families of that State, and there 



198 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



he grew I" manhood and married, taking as bis 
wit'*- Mary Magdalina Altarfer, who was also born 
in the old Dominion, January 1. 177.">. the date of 
her birth. Grandfather Dove lived in his native 
State until 1804, and he then took his wife and 
the five children that had been bom to them across 
the border into Ohio, making the journey over the 
mountains and through the intervening rough 
country with pack horses, and there founded a new 

I le in the primeval forests of Fairfield County, of 

which he was one of the earliest settlers. lie had 
previously visited that locality in search of a suit- 
able location, journeying on horseback and carry- 
ing his silver for the purchase of land in his sad- 
dle bags, lie invested in a tract of heavily wooded 
laud in what is now Bloom Township, paying there- 
for at the rate of $2.50 an acre. There was a log 
cabin on the land, in which the father of our sub- 
ject was subsequently horn. His father replaced it 
after a few years by a more substantial hewn log 
house, 20x30 feet in dimensions, which is still 
standing ami is used as a dwelling. For many years 
there were no markets for produce nearer than Cin- 
cinnati, and consequently stock was very cheap, 
and horses, cattle and hogs were driven to Balti- 
more to he disposed of. The highest priced horses 
would bring bul $40 a1 Fairfield, large hogs sold 
there for $1, and steers were sold from $6 to $8 

each. The people raised their own food, varying the 
fare occasionally by a haunch of venison or bear 
meat, or wild turkey, for all kinds of game then 
abounded. By years of faithful toil the grandfather 
cleared a farm, on which he passed his closing years 
serenely, dying a1 a good old agein 1856. His wife 
preceded him in death many years, dying in 1817. 
She was a notable housewife, was expert in spin- 
ning and weaving, and clad her children in gar- 
ments of homespun. 

The father of our subject grew to a stalwart 
manhood under the pioneer influence that he ob- 
tained in his native county in the days when he 
was young. The school that he attended was taught 
in a log house, rudely furnished with slabs for seats, 
which weri' without hacks, and there were no desks 
SUCh as arc in use at the present day. Holes were 
bored in Logs, into which wooden pins were inserted, 
and a wide plank placed upon them answered the 



purpose of a more elaborate writing desk for the 
large scholars. Mr. Dove resided with his parents 
until he attained his majority, and he then began 
his independent career as a farmer by renting the old 
family homestead. He afterward purchased the in- 
terest of the other heirs, and still retains the farm. 
although he ceased to occupy it in lxx.'i. when he 
came to Shelbyville, and is living here in retire- 
ment at a venerable age. lie has always been a de- 
voted adherent of the Democratic party since he 
cast his first Presidential vote for Gen. Jackson 
more than half a century ago. Religiously, he is a 
faithful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
which he joined in 1 829. 

Mr. Dove was first married May 21. 1835 to 
Mary Small, who was born in York County. Pa.. 
March 18, 1814, ami was the eldest daughter of 
John and Elizabeth (Lou'cks) Small, who were also 
Pennsylvanians by birth. The mother of our sub- 
ject died September 1. 1X77. leaving behind her the 
record of a life spent in well-doing, and the blessed 
memory of a true womanhood. She was reared in 
the faith of theGerman Reformed Church, but after 
her marriage united with the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, to which her husband belonged. Of that 
marriage eighl sons and seven daughters were 
reared to maturity, of whom twelve are living. 
April 19, 1883 the father of Oursubject was married 
toa sister of his first wife. Tarry Hall Small, and in 
her he finds a devoted companion. 

Theodore F. Dove, of whom this sketch is prin- 
cipally written was born on a farm in Bloom Town- 
ship, ten miles northwest of Lancaster. Fairfield 
County. Ohio, April 22. 1846, said faun being also 
the birthplace of his father. Elijah Dove, who was 
born there July 27. 1X11. Theodore gained the 
preliminaries of his education in the local district 
schools, and afterward pursued a liberal course of 
study at the Fairfield Union Academy, from which 
he was graduated in 1869, his proficiency in math- 
ematics having won him the compliment of being 
selected to teach a class in that branch while a stu- 
dent in that institution. lie subsequently entered 
the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, 
and in due time graduated from that with a high 
standing for scholarship, lie first turned to teach- 
ing after he left college, and was thus engaged in 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



199 



his native State until 1874, when lie came to Shel- 
byville to accepl the position of Superintendent of 
the city schools. 

Our subject's work as an educator was, however, 
but a means to an end, as he purposed to adopt the 
legal profession, and in preparation therefor he de- 
voted his spare time to the study of law. At the 
close of the school year in 1875 he returned toOhio, 
and was admitted to the bar in Delaware County. 

He came back to Shelbyville and resumed the 
charge <>f the schools,which flourished under his care, 
and lie held his office until 18.76. In that year he 
again returned to the State of his nativity. and Cur 
three months practiced law at Columbus, lie next 
opened an office at Danville. 111., ami was in that 
city until April. 1*77. when he came to Shelby ville 
to enter into a partnership for law practice with 
W. .1. Henry, lie severed his connect ion with that 
gentleman in August, 1879, and since then has car- 
ried on his legal business alone, lie enjoys a good 
praclice.and has an enviable reputation as one of our 
most trustworthy lawyers, and his clients feel sat- 
isfied thai he will use his best efforts in their be- 
half, knowing also that he is well versed in all the 
technicalities of the common law. and understands 
thoroughly how to employ his knowledge to the 
best advantage so as to impress the jury. 

The marriage of Theodore Dove with Miss Alia 
\Y. Clark was consummated December 27.in77.and 
the home that they have established in this city is 
a cheerful, cozy abiding place, its pleasant hospital- 
ities being one of the social features of the commu- 
nity, where host and hostess have made many 
friendships during their residence here. Their two 
sons, Theodore C. and Frank Roy, complete their 
household. Mrs. Dove is. like her husband, a na- 
tive of Ohio, her birthplace at Mechaniesburg, 
and she is a daughter of Dr. John and Elnora (Will- 
iams) Clark. 

In local affairs, our subject has done good service 
as a member of the Shelbyville School Board, lie 
is unswerving in his allegiance to the Democratic 

party, as he believes its policy the best for the 

guidance of the nation. He i< prominent socially 
asa member of various organizations, the Masonic 
Lodge of Carroll. Ohio; Modem Woodmen of 
America: and of Iiii: Four Lodge, No. 136, Order 



of Tonti. He and his wife are members of tin 
Methodist Episcopal Church, their names being as- 
sociated with those who are most liberal in its sup- 
port, and who by the daily example of lives guided 
by Christian principles have contributed to raise 
the moral standard of their community. 



■=- ' 



c-f->i 



e_ 




EANDEE A. STORM. Less than thirty years 
have passed over the head of our subject 
and yet he has made himself a place and 
recognized position in commercial life, which speaks 
well for the inherent qualities that he possesses. 
There is nothing petty about Mr. storm's methods 
of dealing, and we predict that the future will 
bring him opportunities which he will seize, and 
which will carry him on the highway to prosperity. 
Making his headquarters in Strasburg, Shelby 
County, he is constantly making excursions into 
whatever part of the State promises a fine return 
in the staples in which he deals — hay and grain, and 
thus he obtains not only a perfect acquaintance 
with his own line of business, but a broad intelli- 
gence of the general aspect and condition of the 
agricultural class in this State. 

Leander Storm is a son of Harrison .1. Storm. 
Hi- mother was in her maiden days. Harriet Kan- 
kin. They were both natives of Shelby County 
ami experienced the vicissitudes of pioneer life. 
For a further history of Mr. storm Sr. seesketch of 
.1. N. Storm in another part of this volume. Our 
subject was born in Ash Grove Township. Shelbj 
County, this state May 15, 1863, and astrologers 
would doubtless tell us that his personal and busi- 
ness success and the peace which the country at 
large is at present enjoying, arise from one and the 
same cause, the conjunction of certain astral 
bodies at that momentous period in the history 
of the war. 

The original of our sketch was reared to man- 
hood in Ash Grove and Big Spring Township. 
He received his education in the common schools. 
When eighteen years of age, he left home and 
went to California and was there employed in 
different ways, lie remained, however, in that 



200 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



State only about ten months and then returned to 
Big Spring Township, where he stayed until the 
completion of his twentieth year. He then was 
united in marriage i<> .Miss AnnieCox, after which 
he settled in Big Spring Township, and was en- 
gaged in farming until the fall of 1888 when he 
came to Strasburg, where he has since been a res- 
ilient. 

Mr. Storm is now engaged in buying and ship- 
ping hay and has given his attention to this busi- 
ness since 1889. His marriage took place in Shelby 
Township. Two children have come to the young 
people, Raymond, who died in infancy, and a 
bright little one who is the joy and pride of her 
fond parents, and who bears the pretty child name, 
Flossie. In his political preference our subject is 
a Democrat. He is the owner of a farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres, that is very valuable 
land. He is an enterprising young business man 
who is sure to make his mark in the world. 






1 — 7 KEDERICK DOEHRING. The owner of 
\\_Jff 

the farm located on section 3<i, of Richland 




Township, is a most loyal and appreciative 
German-American citizen. Full of energy and vi- 
tality Mr. Doehring has not allowed himself to be 
distanced in his agricultural efforts by any of his 
neighbors. He was born in Germany, September 
21, l«21. and he has now arrived at a point where 
he can look hack upon the changes of his own life 
in relation to the changes that, as a whole, have 
taken place during nearly three-quarters of a cen- 
tury. He was reared on a farm in his native land 
and there remained until he was twenty-three years 
of age when he came to America. He landed in 

New York and from there went to Ohio. 

The Bohemian spiril seemed to have possessed 
our subject at this period of his life, for from < >hio, 
he removed in quick succession to Kentucky. Indi- 
ana, remaining a while in St Louis. Mo., thence 
came to Madison County, this Mate, where he set- 
tled and began the serious business of life, remain- 
ing there twenty-six years, during which time he 
was engaged in the business of farming. In the 



spring of 1869 he came to Shelby County and set- 
tled in Richland Township, where he has ever since 
been a resident, and to which he has given the ef- 
forts and results of his mature and ripened years. 

Mr. Doehring has erected a good set of buildings 
upon his farm which comprises three hundred and 
twenty acres. He was married in Madison County, 
this State, about 1848, to Dora Broekmeier, who was 
born in Germany. By her he became the father of 
six children, three of whom are living. They are 
Frederick. Herman and Dora, all names that are as- 
sociated with some of the greatest productions in 
German literature. The daughter is now the wife 
of Lewis Miller. 

Mrs. Dora Doehring died January 1 1. 1889. She 
was a good and capable housewife, a tender help- 
mate and fond mother, ambitious for her children, 
and self-sacrificing to any degree that they might 
have every advantage. What better eulogy can we 
give the mother than that she made home pleasant? 
Mr. Doehring has always followed the calling of 
farming, in which he has been reasonably success- 
ful. In his political relations he is a Democrat, 
believing that that party works more for the inter- 
est and advantages of the people at large than any 
Other. 

Mr. Doehring has filled several public offices in 
the township gift. While in Madison County he 
held the office of Supervisor for one year, and dis- 
charged its duties satisfactorily to its constituents. 
He, with his family, is a member of the Lutheran 
Church. The farm upon which he at present lives 
bears evidence of careful attention, thoroughly 
well cultivated, its buildings are in excellent order 
and our subject's home residence is the epitome of 
comfort and neatness. He is a gorxl man and a 
good citizen. 



A. STEWARDS* >N. of the firm of Ilamm 
J iv Slewaiilson, of Strasburg. Shelby County. 
is an enterprising and able young business 
y*J man. The Mini of which he is junior member 
deals in hardware, agricultural implements and fur- 
niture, stoves and tinware. Although not vet 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



201 



thirty years of age lie is the owner of some fine 
land in this county, aside from the position that 
he holds iii thf firm, and in which he is building 
up a reputation for business; tact and talent, and a 
keen foresight in financial matters that make him 
rank already with the best business men in the 
township. Mr. Stewardson comes from a good 
family who are noted among their acquaintances 
for their practical and common-sense views of the 
affairs of daily life. 

.Mr. Stewardson's father was Thomas Stewardson, 
who is now a resident of Shelhyville Township. 
His mother in her maiden days was Sarah C. Brady. 
They were the parents of thirteen children, and of 
these our subject was the fourth ill order of birth 
Of the second sel of children. He wasborn in Shel- 
hyville Township November 25, 1862. (For a 
fuller history of his parents see sketch of Thomas 
Stewardson in another part of this volume.) Our 
subject grew to manhood in his native county. 
He reeived a good common-school education in the 
schools of the vicinity, and he passed his early life 
in a divided attention to school duties and assis(_ 
ill ii" with the work of the farm until he was twentv- 
one years of age, remaining during that time 
under his father's roof. He then for a period of 
a year and a half engaged in farm labor for other 
farmers in the neighborhood. At the end of that 
time he came to Strasburg and was employed h\ 
.1. N. Storm as clerk in his store for a period of 
about six years. 

On leaving Mr. Storm's employ our subject was 
for six months engaged in farming and August 1, 
1890, he formed a partnership with Martin llamm, 
to engage in the business of which they are now 
proprietors. He has ever since devoted himself to 
the interests of the linn, which can ies a tine stock 
of implements, and which isdoinga good business. 
He is besides the owner of forty acres of land in 
Richland Township, which is well cultivated and 
valuable land. The calling of agriculture, how- 
ever, is not the one to which onr subject feels him- 
self best adapted, preferring to deal more intimately 
with men. 

Our subject left the rank and tile of bachelors 
February 24, 1886, and was united in marriage to 
Elnora Davis, who was Lorn in this county. Their 



wedding was solemnized in Windsor. The young 

COuple have had three children, whose names are 
Ethel, Mamie and Myrtle. The second child. 
Mamie, is deceased. Politically he of whom we 
write affiliates with the Democratic party. He has 
been Justice of the Peace for about two years and 
is well qualified to fill any position in the gift of 

the township. When a man has made such a suc- 
cess u f life at Mr. Stewardson's age, the world has 
reason to expect of him unqualified success in the 
future. Having already shown his ability, he will 
he given prominent positions both in public and 
private affairs. 



j i i ' i'i ij 



-^-<-r»»T»- 



1 olIX W. MIDDLESWORTH. Somebody 

has saiil that the most desirable thing in 
life is to he well horn, hut there is a differ- 
ent way of construing the expression among 
different classes ,,f people. The writer's idea of 
good birth is the endowment of a line physical 
constitution, crowned and sanctified by high men- 
tal and moral faculties, and having parents in 
whom shine "high erected thoughts, seated in 
hearts of courtesy." As Oliver Wendell Holmes 
says in his charming conversations over the tea- 
cups, the selection of parents should he attended 
to several years before one's coming into the 
world, and all sociological questions should he 
carefully balanced. In the case of our subject this 
last consideration happened naturally and without 
his interference, lie is a son of A. Middlesworth. 
of Shelby ville, an honorable, upright and worthy 
man. to whom his son is much indebted, both phys- 
ically and mentally. A sketch of the gentleman 
may be found in another part of this volume. 

Our subject was born in Shelby County. 111.. 
September 11. 1860, when the country was in the 
throes of secession and discussion was ripe over the 
decision of the Dred Scott affair. However, when 
he was old enough to understand these matters the 
strife was ended and the country was resuming its 
normal condition. Farmers who had left the plow- 
share to lake the rifle and sabre hail returned u, 
their homes and resumed the duties of agricultural 



202 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



life. When John Middlesworth was eleven years 
old his father removed t<> Shelbyville in order to 
give his children better educational advantages. 
There our subject received his education and con- 
tinued living under his father'sroof until his mar- 
riage, which occurred October 10, ixs:5. His wife's 
maiden name was Alice Stewart; with her he ex- 
perienced but one year of domestic bliss as her de- 
cease took place July 10, 1884. 

Later our subject was united in marriage with 
Atloe Brooks, their nuptials being' celebrated Sep- 
tember 28, 1885. The present Mrs. Middlesworth 
is a pleasing and attractive lady. She is a daugh- 
ter of Josias W. and .Martha 1). (Selby) Brooks and 
one of seven children, there having been three 
sons and four daughters in her parents' family. 
Mrs. Middlesworth being the youngest daughter. 
She was born in Moweaqua, 111., January 28,' 1867= 
Her interest centers in her home and family, which 
includes three bright and attractive children. Their 
names are: Raymond 1!.. William W. and Glen S. 
lie has long followed the calling of farming and 
i- now the owner of four hundred and sixty-six 
acres of finely improved land. Many valuable im- 
provements have been made upon his farm. 

He of wl l we write has long taken an active 

part in political affairs and has be< nan office-holder 
in the town-hip in which he lias lived. He is an 
adherent of the Republican party. His townsmen 
have shown their confidence in his executive abil- 
ity and sound judgment by giving him one of the 
most important offices in the township gift, that of 
School Director. He and his wife are earnest Chris- 
tian people and members of the Presbyterian 
( lunch. 




ANIEL KESLER, one of the prominent 
business men of Cowden, Shelby County, 
carries a full line of agricultural imple- 
ments and deals extensively in grain. 
He was born in Fairfield County. Ohio. February 
20, 1845, his father, John, being a native of the 

3ame county, and hi- ther, Marj (Lear) Kesler, 

being born in Lancaster, Pa. They were happily 



united in marriage in Fairfield County, Ohio, June 
1. 1843, and became the proud parents of seven 

sons and two daughters, six of whom were horn in 
the county just named and the three youngesl 
came to them in Shelby County, this State. 

Among the children of John and Mary Kesler. 
our subject was the first-horn. Following him came 
Isaac who is engaged in the lumber business in 
Cowden; Samuel who carries on farming in Dry 
Point Township; Simon who is an invalid and re- 
sides with his brother, our subject; John who farm- 
in the township just named, as does also Charles, 
the next son in age; Laura, now the wife of Albert 
I.. Crumley, who resides in Cowden and whose 
husband is associated with her brother Daniel in 
the grain and implement business; William is a 
telegraph operator and station agent in Edna. Kan., 
and Alice died at the age of twenty-one after hav- 
ing married Albert 1.. Crumley who later became 
the husband of Laura. 

The father of this family, with Daniel and Isaac, 
was a soldier during the Civil War. He was a 
member Of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry and 
died of typhoid fever at Louisville, Ky.. June IX. 
1865. His wife is still living at Cowden. Daniel 
enlisted in Company O. One Hundred and Forty- 
third Illinois Infantry and served bravely for seven 
months. Most of his time was spent in the South- 
west, as he was assigned to duty in Arkansas. 
Isaac belonged to the same regiment as his father 
and served gallantly for nine months, being then 
discharged on account of peace being declared. 

Daniel Kesler chose as his partner to share life's 
joy- and sorrows, Miss Elizabeth Thompson, a 
daughter of John Thompson, of Ohio. She was 
bom in Pickaway County, that State, where she 
lost her parents by death previous to coming to 
Illinois. The marriage took place March 1 1. 1865, 
and proved lo be a true union and one which led 
up to a life Qf more than ordinary domestic happi- 
ness and prosperity. They are both earnest anil 
active members of the Free Methodist Church and 
they find in its communion and duties comfort in 
the trial- of life and broad opportunity for use- 
fulness. 

To Mr. and Mr-. Kesler have been bom eight 
children. -ix of whom are now living. Marv Nettie 





r 




\ 




£.& 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



205 



is married to Lincoln Bechtel and resides on a farm 
in Dry Point Township; Elmer and Charles who 
are both unmarried and r re.-idc at Pullman. 111., 
near Chicago, are in the employ of the Pullman 
Palace Car Company. The next daughter. Annie, 
makes her home with her parents, and the younger 
ones. Harry and Bessie, are still at hone. Two 
lovely infants. John ami Lola Belle, were snatched 
from their parents' arms by death. 

lie of whom we write is well known throughout 
the length and breadth of Shelby County as an 
honorable business man. possessing the esteem and 
confidence of all with whom he is associated in 
business. He deals in grain, stock and agricultural 
implements and has at present the control of the 
stoek business at Cowden. Thisisa patriotic fam- 
ily who did not hesitate when the call came for 
volunteers to defend the old flag and the eternal 
principles of liberty in which they had been 
brought up. Political matters with them are based 
upon moral issues and a hatred of slavery and a 
love for their country became a controlling influ- 
ence. They cheerfully sacrificed the comforts of 
home and yielded with resignation to the loss of 
their father when the time came. During all Mr. 
Kcsler's earlier years In- was a Republican in his 
sentiments and vote, hut a few years ago became a 
Prohibitionist and has since voted with that party 
on legislative and national issue.-. 



J ON. EDWARD ROESSLER. [n this sketch 

we present to the attention of our reader- 
a short record of the life history of a man 
who i- well known in Shelby County, not 
only on account of his honorable war record, but 
also as the former representative of this district in 
the Legislature of the State of Illinois. We also 
invite the attention of the reader to his portrail 
on the opposite page. His father. Christian Roes- 
sler. was horn in Wurtemburg, Germany, and came 
to America in 1815, locating in Lancaster. Fair- 
field County. Ohio. He learned the trade of a 
wagon-maker in the Old Country and pursued that 



business at different place- in Europe. A skilled 
and competent workman, he earned an excellent 
reputation for thoroughness and efficiency. Upon 

i ling to Lancaster. Ohio, he engaged in business 

for himself, and his work was noted far and wide 
for its excellence and completeness. He continued 
thus employed in Lancaster until 1882, when he 
-old out and purchased a farm in Fairfield County, 
where he turned his attention to farming anil made 
it his home until 1S49. 

During the year just mentioned Christian Roo- 
ster sold his farm in Ohio and emigrated to Illi- 
nois, settling in what is now Rose Township. 
Shelbi County. There he continued to live until 
his demise, which occurred in September, 1861. 
His marriage in Lancaster united him with Eliz- 
abeth Miller, who was born in Hesse-Cassel, Ger- 
many, in the year 1799. She lived until duly. 
1871, when she passed away in Rose Township. 
Loth Christian Roessler and his wife were earnest 
ill their religious life as members of the Lutheran 
Church. He ever took an active part in local 
affairs and was efficient in helping to build the 
old Indianapolis & St. Louis Railroad when it 
passed through Shelby County, and was a stock- 
holder in that company. He had a family of four 
sons and two daughters — Reuben. Edward; Re- 
gina, who is the wife of 15. Christman; Andrew; 
Philip, and Elizabeth, who is the wife of Charles 
Pfeiffer. 

Lancaster. Fairfield County. Ohio, is the native 
town of our subject, who was born January 13, 
1*2."). In that town his early years were passed. 
and he was about nine years old when his father 
removed to the farm, where the boy grew to man- 
hood, alternating hi- attendance at the district 
school with the healthful pursuits of farm life. He 
continued to remain at home until he had reached 
hi- majority and then enlisted, in lX-lti. with his 
brother Reuben, in the United State- Army for 
service in the Mexican War. Edward became a 
member of Company B. Fourth Ohio Infantry, and 
was in service all through the war. The most im- 
portant engagement in which he took part was the 
battle of Monterey. He was mustered out of the 
service at Cincinnati. Ohio, and returned to Lan- 
caster, the same State. 



206 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



The young man had determined to come West, 
and in the spring of 1849 lie removed to Shelby 
County, 111., with hi* father's family. He bought 
about two hundred and forty acres and his father 
some five hundred acres, all of it in Rose Town- 
ship. During the season he set about improving 
his land and preparing to establish his home in the 
new country. During the latter part of the sum- 
mer he returned to the old home in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, and was there married August •'>. 
1K4'.i. to Anna Stumpf, who was horn in Verden, 
Hanover, Germany, her birth occurring February 
14, 1831. She was two years old when she came 
with her parents to ( )hio, her father being < S-earhart 
Stumpf, and her mother's maiden name being Cath- 
erina Luehrs. The mother died of cholera in Cin- 
cinnati. Ohio, in ISIS, and the father did not long 
tarry, but passed away after leaching Hose Town- 
ship in 18.V2. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roessler are the parents of twelve 
children, namely: Reuben, who died in infancy: 
David, who married Charlotte Wetzel; Solomon. 
who married Susie Kellogg, and is a military en- 
gineer in the Regular Army: Charles, a farmer, 
who married Emma Wetzel, now deceased: John, 
who took to wife Anna Harbour and is a professor 
in Valparaiso Normal School; Anna, now the wife 
of George Wendling; Amelia, who married Ed- 
ward Wagoner; Clara, who is Mrs. Adolph Reiss; 
Charlotte', the wife of William Zollinger; Minnie, 
who is engaged in the Hoopeston College, of 
Hoopeston, III., as a teacher of vocal and instru- 
mental music, in which she is very proficient; 
( reorge and Henry. 

On the breaking oul of the Civil War Mr. R'oes- 
sler took an active part in forwarding enlistments, 
and himself raised an independent company, of 
which he was commissioned Captain. Hisc'ompany 
was assigned to the Fifty-fourth Illinois [nfantry, 
and he afterward raised twocompanies, which were 
asssgned to the same regiment. In consequence of 
his energy and zeal he filled the office of Colonel. 
although not regularly commissioned, and re- 
mained in that position until he resigned in No- 
vember. L862. 

In the fall of I870the subject of this sketch was 

elected to the Twenty-seventh General Assembly 



of the Slate of Illinois. He tilled this responsible 
position with ability and satisfaction to his con- 
stituents, and has continued to lake an interest in 
political matters, especially in local movements. 
lie was elected the first Supervisor of Rose Town- 
ship, after the organization of that township, and 
served in that capacity for about ten years, and 
for several years was Chairman of the Hoard. 

Both Mr. and Mis. Roessler are prominent mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church and are active workers 
in its schemes of benevolence. They are liberal 
contributors to all church purposes and helped 
generously in the project of constructing a new- 
house of worship. Our subject's chief business in 
life has been the pursuit of agriculture and he is 
now the owner of two hundred and forty acres, 
upon which he has placed good improvements, in- 
cluding excellent anil commodious buildings. 




BIA CHTPPS. Located in the fertile val- 
ley of Jonathan Creek, is a farm of four 
hundred acres, located on section 15, of 
(2/ the township which take- its name from 

the water supply. Picturesque anil beautiful are 
the meadows, pasture, orchard and wood lot of the 
farm, and happy should lie the owner of so line a 
place. The fortunate man who is possessor of this 
land, is he whose name is at the head of this sketcll. 
lie settled in the county in the fall. November '2d. 
18.58. and since that time, has here made his resi- 
dence, applying his time and attention to the up- 
building and cultivation not only of his own pos- 
sessions, but also to tin' improvement and the 

elevation in tone, of the whole Community. 

Abia Chipps was born in Harrison County, W. 
Va., June 8, 1852, and is a son of Asa W. and Mel- 

\ ina E. (Duvall) Chipps. natives respectively of 
Morgan and Harrison Counties, W. \ a. They were 
married in their native State, ill 1851. The fam- 
ily came to this county in 1858, and purchased 
eightj acres of raw land. This is now beautified 
and made valuable by a line walnut grove which 
was planted by our subject. The mother of the 



PORTRAIT AND I'.K )( IRAIMIK AI. RECORD. 



20i 



family died April 1. 1863. she had six children, 
of whom four lived to be grown. They are Abia, 
Kate, Addie and Jefferson K. Kate is now the 
widow of John Landers; Addie is the wife of R. 
I). Curd, and resides in Dos Moines. Iowa: Jeffer- 
son E. operates a farm of Ids own. 

Our subject's father was a second time married, 
this union being with Mrs. Mary S. Adams nee Bar- 
ton, and in 1877, he removed with his family to 
Columbia, Mo., remaining there for fourteen years 
and then returned to this county. By her previous 
marriage, Mrs. Chipps, Sr., was the mother of one 
son. whose name was .lames Williams. Politically 
the father wa> a Democrat, and held local office. 

Our subject was reared on a farm and educated 
at the Academy of Mount Zion, III. A thoughtful 
young man, fond of study and of original research. 
he developed a liking for pedagogic work, and en- 
gaged for some time in teaching, in which he con- 
tinued even two years after his marriage, which 
was solemnized January 1. 1*77. his bride being 
Miss America K. Lilly, who was horn in this county. 
After marriage our subject purchased eighty acres 
of land, and this amount with its proceeds, he so 
carefully husbanded, that he is now the owner of 
four hundred acres of land. He is engaged in the 
business of stock raising, which he finds very profit- 
able, bringing much of his stock to the metropoli- 
tan markets. 

Our subject and his wife are the parents of seven 
children, whose names are as follows: Ilallie. Wil- 
lis; Clifford, who is deceased: Raymond, Karl. 
Alta and Paul. Politically our subject is a mem- 
ber of the Democratic part \ . lie has been Super- 
visor of the township for live terms, anil has held 
various minor local offices. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of the Independent Order of Odd fellows. 



— 5- 



—<&. 



1>^<B 



-S— 



LESLEY M. METSKER. A large and weli- 

\ / improved farm in Tower Hill Township. 




■y^ Shelby County, is owned anil occupied 
by Mi\ Metsker. and its possession gives conclusive 
evidence of the ability with which he has prose- 
cuted his calling. It consists of two hundred acres 



on section 17. and is embellished with substantial 
buildings for the shelter of stock and storage of 
grain. A passer-by will note with pleasure the 
orderly arrangement and neatness characterizing 
the place and the evidences of a pleasant home 
life that are seen about the residence. 

The family of which our subject is an honored 
representative originally came from Germany. The 
immediate progenitors of Mr. Metsker were John 
and Sarah (Mowan) Metsker, natives <>f Pennsyl- 
vania and Ohio respectively. There were born to 
them six children, our subject being the second. The 
father died in staik County, Ohio, a1 the age of 
seventy-two years; he was an honorable man. whose 
memory is revered in the hearts of his children. 
The mother died at the residence of our subject in 
Tower Hill Township in 1885. 

The gentleman whose name introduces these 
paragraphs was born in Tuscarawas County. Ohio. 
September II. 1834 and was reared to manhood in 
his native place. He lived on a farm although his 
father followed the occupation of an engineer in a 

blast furnace. He attended the district schools, 
where he became practically well informed in ordi- 
nary branches of study. Upon attaining to the 
Opening years of a stalwart manhood Mr. Metsker 
in a few years earned enough to admit of his 
establishing a home, and accordingly he was mar- 
ried in Canton, Ohio, in November, 1858, to 
Catherine Heck, a native of Tuscarawas County, 
( )hio. and born about 1836. 

The young couple settled in that county where 
they continued to reside until 1865. In that year 
they removed to Illinois, choosing as their home 
section 17, Tower Hill Township. Shelby County, 
ami here Mr. Metsker has since resided. Six chil- 
dren came to bios the home, a record of whom we 
give below: John \\ .. married Miss Nellie Dean 
and is a farmer in Colorado; Martha; Mary, is the 
wife of Charles W. Wolf, a farmer of Tower Hill 
Town-hip; Alice married .lames Bottsford; Km ma 
and Lewis are still at home. The wife and mother 
died at her I ic November \. 1871. 

Mr. Metsker was again married, choosing as his 
bride Miss Elizabeth Heck, the sister of his former 

wife, and they have three children — Fred. Augus- 
tus and Perry. Mr. Metsker has always been en- 



208 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



gaged in agricultural pursuits and has embellished 

hi- farm with g 1 buildings. Politically he casts 

his ballot for the candidates of the United Labor 
party, the principles of which he believes will best 
subserve the welfare of the Government. He has 
held the important office of School Director and 
has in other ways been closely identified with the 
progress <>f the community. Mrs. Metsker is a faith- 
ful member of the Lutheran Church and enjoys the 
esteem of her large circle of acquaintances. 



\ 



*=*=* J 



()1 IN P. GLASSCOCK. The agricultural 
community of Whitley Township, Moultrie 
County, is one of the prime elements in the 
industrial and financial success of the 
county. It is notable as being of ;i superior order, 
both in intelligence and enterprise and nowhere 
can be found more efficient farmers or finer-look- 
ing farms. Among these capable agriculturists we 
name with pleasure and pride the gentleman of 
whom we are now writing. 

Asa Glasscock, the father of our subject, was a 
uative of Virginia and his mother, Mary (Pen- 
quite) Glasscock was a Pennsylvanian by birth. 
The Old Dominion was the scene of their marriage 
and they shortly afterward emigrated to Kentucky 
settling in Fleming County in IKK! and living 
there for a number of years. Asa Glasscock finally 
died ill Mason County. Ky.. and his wife passed 
away in Warren County. Ohio. They had eleven 
children of whom our subject was the youngest. 

Fleming County. Ky.. is the native home of 
John P. Glasscock and April 22. 1825 was his natal 
day. In this county he passed his early years, B 
little later emigrating to Mason County and after- 
ward to Warren County. Ohio, where he grew to 
manhood. The varied experiences of his early 
years and the thorough drill which he received 
upon the farm added to his natural ability, pro- 
ducing a line and vigorous young manl d. well 

equipped to undergo the struggles of lite. 

In Warren County, Ohio, this young man met 
the lady whom he chose from all the world to be 



his life companion, ami he was married in 1845 to 
Catherine Crosson, by whom he had live children, 
namely: Man - C, Sarilda. Margaret E., Catherine 
S. and one who died in infancy. The lovely 
mother of thee children died while the family 
still resided in Ohio and somewhat later our sub- 
ject was married in Warren County to Elizabeth 
Mount, who also became the mother of five chil- 
dren — George (•.. Ruth A.. Martha A.. Fiances 
Anna and F. s. Mrs. Elizabeth Glasscock died in 
Whitley Township in 1887 upon the 12tb of Sep- 
tember. 

It was in 1869 that Mr. Glasscock determined to 
remove from Ohio to Moultrie County, 111., and 
here he settled upon section Hi. Whitley Town- 
ship, where he has ever since been a resilient. Upon 
his farm here he has placed excellent buildings 
and his home is not only attractively located but 
i- also a place where friendly and social gatherings 
are held and where neighbors ever feel that they 
are welcome. Mr. Glasscock has been Highway 
Commissioner, having filled that office with satis- 
faction and profit to his township. He has ever 
taken a fair degree of interest in local polities and 
is considered one of the sound Republicans of that 
section of the county. 



^^te®3[HP^~ 



SAAC HORN. An honorable citizen and a 
thorough business man. a practical mechanic, 
and the representative of a worthy family is to 
lie found in Isaac Horn, who is now a farmer and 
stock-grower residing on section 29, Sullivan Town- 
ship. He was born in Washington County. Pa., 
.Iul\ 30, 1832. His parent- John and Mary M. 
(Gantz) Horn, as well as his paternal grandparents 
uerc Datives of Pennsylvania, while the great- 
grandparents on that side came from Germany. 

The subject of this sketch worked with his father 
upon the farm in Pennsylvania until he reached 
the age of nineteen years, when he worked at the 
Carpenter's trade until 1870, at which time he made 
his permanent home mi a farm in Moultrie County. 
III. It wa- in 1865 when he came to Illinois and 
mi account of failing health being obliged to stop 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



209 



his mechanical work he decided to settle' upon a 
farm. For several years past he has done hut little 
more than to superintend his various interests in 
Moultrie County. 

The marriage of Mr. Horn, February 13, 1870, 
united him with Miss Barbara A. Hudson, a daugh- 
ter of J. J. Hudson, for whose family history, the 
reader will please see the sketch of Isaac Hudson 
upon another page. Of the Horn family there 
were twelve children horn, seven sons and five 
daughters, namely: Martin, who resides on a farm 
in Knox County, Ohio; George C, who lives on 
the old homestead in Washington County, Pa., 
which was entered from the Government by the 
great-grandfather of our subject; two girls who 
died in early childhood; Hugh X., who resides in 
Henry County. Iowa and is engaged in farming; 
our subject; Mary M.. the widow of W. M. 1>. 
Price, who resides in California; Hannah, who 
married first Eleven Alva, who died in 1868, and 
is now Mrs. Squire Woodruff: Jacob, who enlisted 
in a cavalry organization afterward known as the 
Ringold Cavalry, and having served three years 
died a few days after the expiration of Ids term of 
service, passing away in Clarysville Hospital. Md.; 
John, who died in Pennsylvania when sixteen 
years old; Sarah Maria, wife of George Coogle 
who resides in her native county and William M. 
who owns a portion of the old homestead in Penn- 
sylvania a tine tract of three hundred and four 
acres which was divided between George and 
William. 

Isaac Horn was the financier of the family and 
in his carh days undertook the difficult task of 
saving the old homestead from the relentless hand 
of a security debt which was contracted by the 
father. By dint of a tremendous effort and the 
sacrifice of years of his early manhood the prop- 
erty was saved and he afterward soid his interest, 
a- did the other heirs, to tin- two brothers. The 
parents passed awaj in Pennsylvania. 
To oursubjeel and his estimable wife six children 

came: the eldest, a son. died in early infancy; the 
second a girl died when nine months old; Leslie 

C, was horn August '■'<. 1*77: Doy O., February 3. 
ism': Karl A.. April 12. 1884; and Chester July 3. 
1886. When Mr. Horn came to Illinois in l!sli."i 



he brought with him the results of his savings at 
the carpenter's bench anil his share from the sale 
of the old homestead, making in all about $7,000. 
This he invested in lands and improvements ill 
Sullivan Township. Mrs. Horn had inherited two 
hundred and seventeen acres and to this her hus- 
band has added at different times by purchase until 
they now own eight hundred and sixty-two acres 
of tine farming and timber lands. Fine improve- 
ments and good buildings are upon the place. One 
of their farms, a tract of three hundred and live 
acres, located near Sullivan, is usually rented out 
on shares. 

This gentleman has ever taken a thoroughly in- 
telligent interest in public affairs and his political 
convictions have led him to ally himself with the 
Republican party, but office he has never sought 
and has often declined, as he prefers home-life and 
the quiet pursuit of agriculture to the turmoil of 
the political arena. He has accumulated a line 
property, the income from which will afford him 
and his family a good living during their lives. 



•& Op 1 - 



<£» 



olIX R. MrCLliiK.a successful general groc- 
ery man. doing business on the east side of 
the public square at Sullivan. Moultrie 
County, has recently erected a tine, t wo-story 
brick building, 70x25^ feet with a basement, where 
he is carrying on an extensive business. lli> first 

store was opened in January. 1857, since which 
time hi' has been a successful merchant, with the ex- 
ception of fourteen years, during which time he 
engaged in farming in Sullivan Township. He has 
lived in this count\ since October, 1853, making 
his home either in Sullivan or vicinity, and ever 
showing himself an energet ic and public-spirited cit- 
izen. 

Mr. McClure is active in local politics, being 
warmly attached to the Democratic party, and was 
at one I hue an Alderman of the city. lie is deepl\ 
interested in schools and a promoter of the cause of 
education, tlewasborn in Franklin County. Ind.. 
August 8, 1835. His father. Lewi- I). McClure be- 
ing al-o a native of that county and a son of Will- 



2 III 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



i ; i iii McClure, a Keiitiickia.il who came of Scotch- 
Irish descent, bill whose parents were born in Vir- 
ginia. They came to Kentucky in the time of 
Daniel Boone and became pioneers near Lexington. 

William McClure became a farmer and was mar- 
ried in Butler County, Ohio, to .Miss Phebe Fads. 
an aunt of the late Capt. Eads who built the great 
bridge at St. Louis, and also the builder of the 
Mississippi River jetties. Some years after marriage 
this couple, about the beginning of this century, 
removed to Franklin County,Ind., and there spent 
the remainder of their days, being past middle life 
at tin- time of their decease. They were consistent 
and earnest members of the old-school Baptist 
Church. Lewis I). McClure, the father of our sub- 
ject, was born and reared in Franklin County. hid., 
and learned tin 1 trade of a blacksmith which lie fol- 
lowed for a number of years, after which he under- 
took farming. He was married in Franklin County 
to Miss Elizabeth Rockefellar, a kinswoman of the 
great oil speculator. Her parents, John and Mary 
(Thorp) Rockefellar, were early settlers in Franklin 
County, coming there in 1 805 from Trenton, N. •!.. 
and there remaining through life. They were 
Methodists in their religious convictions. 

After the birth of three children Lewis I). Mc- 
Clure and wife left Indiana with a team and wagon 
and after a long and tedious journey landed in 
( lark County. 111., where they settled upon the farm 
where they now reside. Ml". McClure having reached 
the age of seventy-eight years and his wife being 
now eighty-two. They have both been active 
workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church through- 
out life and they are enjoying a quiet and peaceful 
old age. 

John R. McClure i~ the eldest of six children, all 
lull one of whom are slill living. When eighteen 
years old he set out for himself, coming to Sullivan 
County, where lie began life as a poor boy with 
but little means, and has now accumulated a com- 
fortable but modest fortune. His marriage to Miss 
Sophronia Tichenor. a Dative of Sullivan County, 
Ind.. occurred in this county. She died in the 
prime <>f lift 1 , leaving two children —Edgar who is 
at home and :i-~ is-t - lii- lather; and William, who 
look to wife Laura Mat tcrson. and lives in Sullivan 
City, although he also assists his father a part of 



the time, but is :i printer by trade. Mr. McClure 
was the second time married in Sullivan. Miss 
Julia Calkins, who was horn in Licking County. 
Ohio, becoming his wife. Her father. Uranius 
Calkins, lived to the age of four-score years, and 
her mother is still living in Licking County, being 
now about three-score and ten. Mr. and Mrs. 
Calkins were efficient and consistent members of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. McClure. 
like her husband, is a member of the .Methodist 
Church, and is a true and good woman. She is 
bringing up her five children in the Christian faith 
and giving them the best advantages possible for 
an educational and domestic training. Their names 
are Charlie. Ida, Cora. Flora and Elmer. Mr. Mc 
dure is a charter member of the lodge of Odd 
Fellows, and also of the Masonic lodgeat Sullivan. 



<"- 



~S) 



£+£ 



r=> 



[= 




EV. ELIJAH GOLLOGHER, The work 
of a minister in the Western States hasever 
entailed a great degree of severe labor and 
privation, and the brave men who have 
undertaken the work of the preacher among new 
settlements have had abundant opportunity to em- 
ulate apostolic self denial and zeal, and have many 
of them quite undermined their health by the severe 
efforts which they passed through. Such an one is 
our subject who now resides in Stewardson, Shelby- 
County, and who was born in Holland Township. 
March 21. 1841. 

Mr. Gollogher is the son of Wesley and Sarah 
( Middlesworth ) Gollogher, who were natives of 
Fairfield County. Ohio. The paternal grandfather 
pf our subject, Thomas Gollogher, was horn in Ire- 
land and came to the United States while a young 
man. While living in Pennsylvania, he was united 
in mai riage to a lady of < lerman birth and soon re- 
moved to Fairfield County. ( >hio, where they reared 
a pioneer family of eight sons and two daughters. 
Wesley Gollogher was the seventh son iii that fam- 
ily, anil he like his father, became a farmer by oc- 
cupation and in 1K.'57 removed to Indiana. 

In 1839 the father of our subject came to Shelby 
( ounty, III., and settled in Holland Township, pur- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



211 



chasing :i small claim and entering some three hun- 
dred acres of land. Here he made his home until 
L878, when lie removed to Shelbyville, where he 
died January 28, 1880. He and his affectionate 
and faithful wife had been most harmoniously re- 
lated in their wedded life and their separation by 
death was brief, as her passage to the other world 
took place February 28, 1880, just one month after 
his. In their religious life they had been connected 
with the Methodist Church and were valuable and 
valued workers therein. 

The children of this worthy couple are Mrs. Mary 
J. Allen who resides in Wallace, Neb.; Sarah A. 
who is now Mrs. S. "'. Wilson ami resides near 
Shelbyville; Elijah, our subject; Louisa M., mar- 
ried the Rev. David Gay and makes her home in 
Decatur; Minerva, whose husband, X. 1'. Smith, 
is a physician in Paris, 111.; Thomas J. who resides in 
Shelby County, and Lucy M. who married II. B. 
Smith M. D. Of Shelbyville. 

Farm training and the life of a school boy in 
the common schools of Shelby County, tilled up 
the early years of our subject, but he did not take 
all of his education by any means in the school- 
house, for he has carried it on through life as he is 
an extensive reader and a man who delights in the 
pursuits of literature which is broadening and im- 
proving in its effects upon his mind. In 1866 he 
left the rami and for six years was in the grocery 
trade at Shelbyville, after which he returned to 
the farm for live years. 

Elijah Gollogher was but sixteen years old when 
he gave himself to Christ and became a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Being a nominal 
member of the church did not satiisfy him as he be- 
came at once an active worker in both church and 
Sabbath-school, and for many years devoted him 
self to the work of a local preacher. 

It was in 1 S 7 « > when this earnest man became a 
member of tin' Illinois Conference, alter which he 
located as pastor at Oconee for two years, at Lov- 
ington for two years and one year at Stewardson. 
Not having had the advantages of ,-i thorough edu- 
cation in his bo\ hood, he endeavored to supplement 
this \\ hi It- carr\ ing on his pastoral work, and owing 
to over exertion his health failed. This obliged him 
to devote himself again tor four years to the culti- 



vation of his farm, after which he became pastor 
for one year at Bismarck, then for three years at 
Murdock, and one year at Lerna, but on account 
of throat trouble lie was obliged to leave the min- 
istry permanently and in the fall of 1890 he erected 

a beautiful residence at Stewardson where he hopes 
to make his home for life. He owns eighty acres 
of land in Prairie Township, upon which he is car- 
rying on fruit raising. 

The Rev. Mr.Gollogher was married May 22,1862, 
to Rebecca I-'.. Young, a daughter of Thomas and 
Sarah (Wertman) Young, who has proved a faith- 
ful and true-hearted companion. This lady was 
bom in Christian County. 111. The Democratic 
party commanded the respect and vote of our sub- 
ject in his early life but it was not long before he 
decided to ally himself with the Organization which 
placed Abraham Lincoln in the Presidental chair. 
His deep and serious interest in the cause of tem- 
perance leads him now to vote for prohibition 
and to work for its success in both the moral and 
political field. 



J -i«;—I-*j. ; 






IIOMAS PORTER was born in one of the 
/, \ early pioneer home> of Central Illinois, on 
' a farm fifteen miles southwesl of Spring- 
field, April 14,1831, and consequently has wit- 
uessed much of the development of this part of the 

state fr a wilderness. And not only that, but 

he has aided in its growth by his work as a prac- 
tical tanner in Shelby County, where he now owns 
a valuable farm, finely located in Moweaqua 
Township. 

Our subject's father. Henry Porter, was bom in 

Maryland, and came fr there to Illinois in 1826. 

He was one of the first settlers oi Sangamon 

County, and fora few years resided on Lick Creek, 
where he busied himself in fanning the virgin soil. 
lie then became a pioneer of Christian Count \ . and 

with his limited means he bought forty acres of 
timber that was partly grown, and after he had 
built a log house to shelter his family, he com- 
menced to clear his laud. He remained a resident 
of that county man\ years, living to see it well 



212 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



developed, and died there at the venerable age of 

ninety years. In early 111:111 li 1 he married Nancy 

Bowles, who was likewise a native of Maryland, 
and she died on the home farm in Sangamon 

County. 

Our subject was but three years old when his 
parents removed to Christian County, and he was 
brought up amid pioneer surroundings, as at that 
time the country was very sparsely inhabited, deer. 
wild turkeys and other kinds of game being very 
plentiful where there are now productive farms 
and busy towns. There were no railways, and the 
nearest dour mill was in Sangamon County, fifty- 
five miles distant. People lived off the products 
of their farms, their limited fare being occasionally 
varied by the addition of game, and corn meal 
was the principal breadstuff. 

When Mr. Porter was eight years old he went to 
live with .John Campbell on the hanks of Lick 
Creek, and remained with him three years. The 
Sturdy, independent little lad then cared for him- 
self after that, and used to earn his living by 
working out by the month or day. For some 
years he was employed in a saw-mill, and in due 
time he was enabled to marry and establish a home. 
After marriage he turned his attention to farming 
in Shelby County, on a farm owned by his father- 
in-law in Flat Branch Township. He farmed there 
sixteen years, and at the end of that time bought 
his present farm, which is classed among the finest 
in all Moweaqua Township. Its two hundred and 
eighty a< res are admirably tilled ami yield large 
harvests in repayment for the care expended upon 
them, while its improvements are of a good order. 
including three sets of commodious frame build- 
ings. 

In January, 1857, .Mr. Porter was married to 
Miss Julia Ann Stombaugh, and in her lie found 
all that a true wife can be to her husband. She 
was a lender mother to their children, of whom 
there are five living: Mary Catherine, wife of John 
T. Ilaslain; Eliza A., wife of George I">. Carrington; 
Sarah Isabelle, wife of Wesley Snell; Dudley, who 
married Mary Prescott; and Mat;., wifeof Eugene 
Harper. Mrs. Porter who was a daughter of Mai- 
tin and Catherine (Traughber) Stombaugh, was 
born in Tennessee July 27. 1828, and died in the 



home in this township that she had blessed so many 
years March 1."). 1891. She was a Christian in 
word and deed, and was a devoted member of the 
Protestant Methodist Church. 

In this summary of the life of our subject it is 
shown that he is a self-made man. who began to 
make his own way in the world at a much earlier 
age than is usual with boys, and with down-right 
hard labor, seconded by thrift and prudent man- 
agement, has become possessed of a comfortable 
property, so that he is well fortified against pov- 
erty, and can pas> his remaining years free from 
the necessity of incessant toil, lie is a thoroughly 
good citizen, a man of sterling honesty, and has 
led a consistent Christian life since he joined the 
Protestant Methodist Church in 1861 with his wife. 
In politics he is a Democrat, tried and true. 






So 



-J 



^IIO.MAS 



LEGGITT. This successful 



farmer and old soldier who resides on ,-ec- 
<^J tion 7, Whitley Township. i> the son of 
Thomas X. Leggitt, who was born in Licking 
County, Ohio, and of Evaline E. Kliver, a native 
of the same place. There they were married and 
made their first home and thence removed in course 
of time to VigO County. Ind.. where they resided 
a year before coming to Edgar County. There 
they settled and remained permanently for eleven 
years, after which they returned to Indiana and 
purchased a farm in Vigo County where they lived 
for five years. Thomas X. Leggitt then sold out 
his Indiana farm and removed to Kansas, settling 
near Independence where he died in 1889. His 
bereaved widow survives him and is making her 
home with her children in Kansas City. 

Of the fourteen children of this worthy couple 
our subject was the third in order of age, being 
bom in Licking County, Ohio, August !•. 1*12. 
lie was still residing under the parental roof when 
the Civil War broke out and President Lincoln 
made his first call for troops, our young man 
promptly enlisted in the service of his country, the 
date of his enlistment being April 2(1. 1861. lie 
joined ( 'ompany < ;. Forty-third Indiana Regiment, 



PORTRAIT AND Bit KJRAIMIICAL RECORD. 



2 1 5 



mid served until August 29, 1862, when lie was 
mustered out of service. 

Bu1 this short period of warfare did not satisfy 
the young soldier and he recruited and was mus- 
tered in again in Company I!. Seventy-first Indi- 
ana Regiment, or Sixth Cavalry, serving' in that 
company until September, 1865, with the exception 
of three months during which lie was in Company 
E, of the same regiment, lie was wounded at 
Moore's Landing, Ark., the hall going through his 
left hand. All through this period of conflict he 
was the same brave, unflinching, intrepid soldier, 
worthy of trust and relianeeand full of enthusiasm 
for the old Hag and the Union. He never felt that 
he diil or could do too much Cor his native country 
and its institutions of liberty. 

When the war was over our young hero returned 
to his father's home in Edgar County. III., hut re- 
mained with him only a few months as he had now 
resolved to strike out for himself. In March. 1866 
he came to Moultrie County and began work by 
the month, afterward going to the home of an 
uncle and remaining two years. 

In Moultrie County this young man found the 
lady who was to be his companion through life and 
was united with her in marriage April 20. 1871. 
She was a widow at the time of her marriage with 
him, her name being Mrs. Julia A. Whitfield, nee 
Reed. She was a native of Moultrie County, hav- 
ing been born here November 11. 1844. After 
marriage they settled in Whitley Township where 
he has since been a resident. 

The six children who have been granted to Mr. 
and Mrs. I.cggitt arc Thomas I.. Clara .1.. Mary E., 
Julia E., William A. and Olive A. William A. 
died when only nine months old but the other 
children have lived to be the joy and comfort of 
their affectionate ami judicious parents. Mr. I.cg- 
gitt has always been engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits and is a successful man in his work. One 
hundred and fifteen acres of rich soil constitutes 
his farm, upon which he has made excellent im- 
provements. Of his war record he may truly feel 
proud as it proved the stuff of which he was made 
and all who knew him in that relation arc proud 
to say that he did good service and his full duty 
by his country in her hour of need. At the time 



he was mustered out he had the rank of First Cor- 
poral. The buildings upon his farm arc lirst-class 
and his home is a delightful one. within the walls 
of which he and his amiable wife extend toward 
their friends a gracious hospitality. 



,+ k.^ . ^, i, i , , > 



f i ' i i i i | i 



ELEAZAR A. PYATT, M. D. To attain dis- 
tinction in any one of the learned profes- 
j sions is the proud ambition of many a man 

who is struggling through the early portion of his 
career, but it, is looked forward to as the prize to 
be gained toward the end of the race, and when 
then gained it may well be accounted as having 
been worth a struggle. We occasionally, however, 
know of an instance when a man still young has 
attained to this high position, and his success is 
certainly worthy of applause and emulation. Such 
was the success of Dr. I'yatt, of Bethany, Moultrie 
County, during the early days of the Civil War, 
when he was placed in a position of responsibility 
and trust which established his reputation for all 
time. 

Dr. I'yatt. who located in this county in 1868, 
and is therefore the oldest physician in Bethany, 
was born in Yancey County. N. C. October it. 1832, 
and is a son of Joseph and Jane (Brooks) Pyatt, 
both of North Carolina, the latter being of Scotch 
descent. The grandfather of Joseph Pyatt was 
born in Coventry, England, of French parentage 
and came to the United States when only sixteen 
years of age. just before the breaking out of the 
Revolutionary War. lie immediately attached 
himself to the cause of political liberty and served 
all through that period of conflict and shared in 
the struggles and hardships of Washington's army. 
At the conclusion of the war he settled in l'.urke 
County. N. ('.. and engaged in farming, though he 
was a hatter by trade. 

The father of our subject was reared a farmer, 
and having married in his native state. North Car- 
olina, resided tin re during his entire life, and dying 
at the age of seventy-four years, lie and his wor- 
thy wife reared two sons and four daughters and 
our subject is the fourth in order of birth. He was 



2 1 6 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the only one to choose a profession, as the others 
have all been abundantly satisfied with the pursuit 
of agriculture. Burusville Academy in his native 
county gave to him a thorough education and pre- 
pared li 1111 excellently forthe pursuit of his profes- 
sional studies which he began at a very early age. 

When only twenty-five years old the Doctor was 
prepared to commence practice and located al Poor 
Hill. Tenn. He subsequently entered Jefferson 
Medical College al Philadelphia, and took his di- 
ploma from that institution in 1861, soon after 
which he entered the Confederate army. He was 
mustered in as a private but as soon as hi> talents 
and his professional skill became known he was 
made Assistant Surgeon-General, having charge of 
the Eastern Department of the Tennessee during 
the formation of those forces, some twenty thou- 
sand men being mustered into service in that de- 
partment. After the duties of thai position was 
discharged Dr. Pyatl was appointed Regimental 
Surgeon of the Nineteenth Tennessee Infantry, 
where he remained until the close of the war. being 
especially active during the engagements at Shiloh 
and Stone River. 

After the war Dr. Pyatl went to Virginia and 
was married October 16, 1865, iii Washington 
County, that State, to Ann E. Mahaffey, daughter 
of Hugh Mahaffey. She was a native of the county 
in which her marriage took place, having been born 
there July 20, 1845. After marriage the young 
couple settled in Hancock County. Tenn.. whence 
in 1867 they came to Illinois and foreight months 
were located at Ml. Zion, from which point they 
removed to Bethany. Dr. and Mrs. Pyatt have 
had six children. One of whom died in infancy and 
aimt her. Mary ( Srace, married Warren A. Wilkinson 
and died April 23, 1891, leaving one son. Walter 
A., who is no« deceased. Those who are living of the 
Doctor's family are: Edward ('., a druggisl at 
Brownsville, Ore.; George A., who is now attend- 
ing Lincoln University; Lulu Pearl and Anna 
I >orothy. 

Dr. Pyatt is a Democrat in his political views, 
but is not extremely partisan, notwithstanding the 
fact that he was connected with the Confederate 
service, but he esteems it his duty to take enougll 

interest in local matters to cast his vote on election 



day. Iii regard to his large ami lucrative practice 
and the handsome property which he has accumu- 
lated, he may truly be styled a self-made man, for 
he had but $3.00 and a horse when he made his 
home ill Tennessee after leaving his native State, 
and he was obliged to pawn his horse for six months' 
board. This, however, was only the beginning, as 
he at once commanded an extensive practice and 
was never again in straightened circumstances. 
He has easily accumulated property, as he has both 
the professional and business qualities which lead 
to success, and henow has over nine hundred acres 
of finely improved fanning land, upon which he 
has placed over $9,000 worth of tiling. His land 
is all in Marrowbone Township, near Bethany, and 
i^ considered one of the best farms in the township. 
His residence is said to lie the finest iii Moultrie 
County and it is not only beautiful in the exterior 
and delightfully located, but it i- also furnished 

throughout with good taste and i> the scene of cor- 
dial hospitality and domestic happiness. He is 
connected with the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church, which he has joined since coming to this 
county, as lie had formerly belonged to the Old 
School Presbyterian Church. 

A lithographic portrait of the Doctor accompan- 
ies this sketch. 




•IIOMAS II. GRAHAM, Circuit Clerk of 
Shelby County, is a native of this State and 
a representative of one of the early pioneer 
families of Illinois. He is a veteran of the late 

war. ami he is well known and honored as one of 
Shelby ville's most worthy citizens. lie was born 

in Coles County. April 20, 1839. His father, Mar- 
tillas Graham, was born at Ft. Harrison. Inch. 
November 25, 1811. lie was a son of Jonathan 
Graham, who was born in North Carolina, January 

12. I7H.S. He was one of the pioneers of Indiana, 
where he located in territorial days on a tract of 
limber land in the viciniU of Ft. Harrison, and 
he cleared a farm from the wilderness. At the 
time of his settlement there Indians were more 
numerous than the whites, and were oftentimes 



PORTRAIT AM) 1JM )( ill A l'l I It Al, RECORD. 



2i; 



troublesome, and during the War of 1812 lie ac- 
cepted tin- advice of Gen. Harrison to retire to the 
fort. lie left the most of his belongings in his 
cabin, ami that night after he had removed to the 
fort his Inline was ransacked by the Indians and 
the block house was tired. He continued to reside 
at the fort until 1831, when he sold his farm to 
Thomas Springer, father of the lion. William 
Springer, and removed to Illinois. He spent one 
year in Coles County, and then coming to Shelby 
County, bought a farm one mile above town on 
the river. There was a gristmill on the place 
operated by horse power, and he managed that, 
while hi> sons carried on his farm. A few years 
later he sold that property, and returning to Coles 
County, bought a home seven miles north of Mat- 
toon and later entered Governnent land in the 
same loeality. He lived there some years but after 
the death of his second wife lie spent the rest of 
hi- life with his children. The maiden name of his 
first wife, grandmother of our subject, was Annie 
Hill. She was horn November 20, L786, and .she 
died on the farm in Shelby County. 

The father of our subject was reared and edu- 
cated amid the primitive scenes of the pioneer days 
of hi- aative Mate. Later he accompanied his 
parent- to their new home in the wilderness in 
this state, and followed farming with his father in 
this county until the family returned to Coles 
( ounty, when he entered a tract of land from the 
Government, his claim being located seven miles 
from Mattoon on the line of Moultrie County, lie 
built a frame house on the place, and at once began 
the hard work of reclaiming his land from its nat- 
ural wild condition. There were no railways, and 
as there wa- 110 market for grain he fed his to his 
stock, which he drove to St. Louis or Chicago to 
-ell. After living there tw.i year- he returned to 
this county, and became prominently identified 
with its manufactures, purchasing a carding-mill at 

Shelliy ville. which was operated by horse and ox 
power. He liuilt an addition to the mill, and at 
the time of hi- death, which occurred January •-'.">. 
1851, he had just introduced machinery to start a 
fulling-mill. He was a man of much energj of 
character and enterprise, ami his removal while yet 
in life's prime was a serious loss to the interests of 



the county, where his name is Mill cherished as that 
of an honored pioneer who helped to lay the 
foundations of it- prosperity. 

The parent- of our subject were married August 
.">. 1835, and the maiden name of hi- mother was 
l'hananda William-. She was horn in Pulaski 
County. Ky.. December .">. 1813. Her father was 
the Rev. Baylis Williams, a native of Virginia, 
coming from one of the wealthy old families of 

that State. lie inherited slaves, hut as he was op- 
posed to the institution of slavery, he liberated 

them and removed to a free State. lie resided in 
Pulaski County, Ky.. of which he was a pioneer, 
until 1830, when he came to Illinois with his wife 
and seven children, journeying thither with teams. 
bringing along household goods, and driving his 
stock. For four weeks the family traveled, camp- 
ing and cooking by the wayside al night and on 
Sunday.-, and at length arrived in this county, and 
settled one mile south of Shelliyvillc. The grand- 
father boughl six hundred and forty acre- of land 
in that vicinity, three miles south of the town. and 
there his mortal career was brought to a close in 
1831. Thus early the influence of this good man 
was lo.-t to his community. He was of a strong, 
versatile character, and besides being a practicing 
physician, was a preacher of much local fame in 
the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and often- 
times he preached to his fellow-pioneers in the log 
court house. His mortal remains were deposited 
in the Ridge Cemetery. The maiden name of his 
first wife, the maternal grandmother of our sub- 
ject, "a- Elizabeth Bowen. She died in Kentucky 
in 1X17. The venerable mother of our subject 
>till resides in Shelbyville. She retains in a re- 
markable degree her mental faculties, and is greatly 
respected for the genuine worth of her character. 
She has been a consistent member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church since 1832. Her husband joined 
in his youthful days, and was an earnest Christian 
and supporter of the church until the day of his 
death. Ill his politic- he was an old-line Whig, 
and was opposed to slaverj . 

The subject of this biographical review laid the 
foundation of his education in the public schools 
of this State, and at the age of twelve years en- 
tered a printing office to learn to set type. His 



218 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



employer soon suspended, and the ensuing two 
years the lad was engaged at various kinds of 
work, and attended school during the winter ses- 
sions. At the age of fourteen he again entered a 
printing office, and worked therein until ls.">7. He 
then accepted a position a- clerk in the Circuit 
Clerk's otliee at Shelbyville and acted in that ca- 
pacity until 1S."i!». when he started for the Terri- 
tory of Kansas, going by rail to St. Joseph, Mo., 
and thence by stage to Lawrence, which was then 
a village of about two thousand people. The 
ensuing year he was engaged there as manager of 
a sawmill, hut in the fall of I860 In- gave up that 
position to resume his old trade ina printing office, 
where he was employed until .Inly, 1861. In that 
month he started with others for the Rocky Moun- 
tains, making the journey across the plains with 
six yoke of oxen. At that time there were hut 
very few white settlers between St. Joseph and the 
Rockies, and buffaloes and other wild animals 
roamed in large herds across the sterile plains 
known as the "Great American Desert." 

Mr. Graham roughed it as a frontier-man in the 
mountains nearly a year, and then retraced his 
footsteps to Kansas, where in July. 1862, he en- 
listed in Company li. Twelfth Kansas Cavalry. He 
was soon detailed to serve in the Commissary De- 
partment, and rendered valuable aid in that im- 
po]i:iui branch of the service until after the close 

of the war. lie was honorably discharged with 

his regiment at Ft. Leavenworth in July. 1865, and 
returning to Lawrence, he continued his residence 

ill Kansas until 1868, when lie came back to his 

old home at Shelbyville. From that time until 
1881 he was a clerk in different law offices, and in 
that year was appointed Deputy County Clerk. He 
retained that position until 1886, and was after 
that clerk in a law office until he was elected to li is 
present office as Circuit Clerk in 1888, for a term 
of four years. Ili> selection for tin- important 
position was a wise one in point of qualification 
and experience, and he i- performing the work 
connected with it with characteristic zeal and de- 
votion to his duty. 

Asa gentleman of unimpeachable integrity and 
high Standing in the county where so many years 
of his life have been passed, our subject is looked 



upon with consideration and genuine respect by all 
who know him. lie i> sound in his political views, 
which are in accordance with the tenets of the 
Democratic party, which has in him an earnest 
supporter. Socially, he is allied with the Black 
Hawk Lodge, No. 183, K. of P. He is a Director 
in the Laborers' Loan Association, and has helped 
to make it a success. 

EPHRAIM H. COOK, of Shelbyville. is one of 
the most popular, keen and wide-awake of 
the men whose liberal, progressive and far- 
sighted methods have been potent in the making of 
this county. He ha- in various ways borne a part 
in its upbuilding and in the extension of its indus- 
trial interests for more than thirty years, and to- 
day is widely known as one who ha- been influen- 
tial in the introduction and bleeding of tine horse- 
in this section of the state. 

In Washington County. Md., is the birthplace of 
our subject, two miles from Hagerstown, and he 
first Opened his eye,- to the familiar scenes of his 
boyhood October 2. 1834. His father. John Cook, 
was a native of Franklin County. Pa. He was 
married at Greencastle, his native state, to Miss 
Hannah Hoffman, who was born in Baltimore 
County. Md. and died in Funkstown, the same 
state, in 1848, leaving five children — Fohn, George, 
Ephraim II., Eliza and William. The lather was a 
blacksmith, and removing from Greencastle to 

Funkstown. lie followed his trade there Tor a time 
and then Opened a hotel. Ih' resided there until 
his death in I857,and his conimuiiit \ was thus de- 
prived of one of it> most substantial citizens who 
was greatly respected. 

lie of whom this brief life-record is written was 
educated in hi- native town, and at the age of 
seventeen the energetic, -elf-reliant youth began an 
apprenticeship at Hagerstown to learn the trade of 

a carpenter and joiner. lb' served two year-, ami 

having gained an accurate knowledge of hi- calling 

he worked at it on hi- own a < -count :it Greencastle, 

l'a. one season, and at Baltimore, Md.. for the same 

length of time. With characteristic foresight and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2 1 9 



business acumen In- judged that the inure newly 
settled regions of the great Prairie State offered a 

wider Held tn men in hi- line than the older por- 
tions of the country that had long been inhabited, 
and lie resolved to take advantage of such oppor- 
tunities as lie might seize here to build up his for- 
tunes, and in 1855 we find him located at Mt. 
Morris, in OgleCounty. He was actively employed 
at his trade there until 1859, and in that year took 
an important step in life in then making I hi- county 
his future residence, which has accrued to his ben- 
efit as well as to that of the community at large. 
He has ever since made Shelby ville his home. He 
earned on the business of contractor and builder 
for some years, was instrumental in introducing a 
style of architecture useful as well as ornamental, 
and sonic of the best buildings here, including the 
Methodist Episcopaland Presbyterian Churches are 
monuments to his skill, lie is a man of large en- 
terprise and by no means confined his attention 
wholly to his work as a contractor, but branched 
out in other directions, and at the same time was 
interested in a flouring mill at Windsor and in a 
saw-mill ten miles south of the city, also engaged 
in the lumber business and farming, and for a time 
was interested in the foundry. 

Soon after coming here Mr. Cook bought his 
farm, which is a valuable and well improved prop- 
erty, advantageously located three miles east of the 
city. It is admirably adapted to stock-raising 
purposes, and Mr. Cook devotes it principally to 

the business of breeding horses, and with such 
success that he is the owner of some of the finest 
thorough-breds, draft and trotting horses in the 
country. At the present time he has four stallions, 
one of them an imported English draft horse and 
one an imported Clydesdale, lie is the owner of 
the celebrated "Hazel X.." of the Hambletonian and 
Meinbrino stock, registered number 11,600. He is 
a handsome bay with black points, and is consid- 
ered one of the finest horse- in the State. ''Cuya- 
hoga Chief", another of his fine horses, is a handsome 
black, of the Blackhawk, Morgan and Membrino 

Chief strains. 

Mr. Cook was married in 1858 to Ellen Virginia 
Fouke, a native of Shepherd-town. \'a.. and a 
daughter of .lames and Angelina (livers) Fouke. 



They are ver\ pleasantly Situated in one of the 

well-appointed residences of Shelbyville, whose 
furnishings and surroundings arc luxurious, and 

the cordiality and good will exercised by it- gen- 
erous host and hostess and others of the household 
toward all who enter therein is something to be 

remembered with pleasure. .Mr. and Mrs. Cook 
have seven children, namely: Wilbur; Eva, wife of 
Charles E. Ilavdon; John II.. Nellie. Harry. Walter 
and Charles. 

Our subject has not stooped to query whether or 
no "life is worth living", but has made it so by 
sheer force of an active spirit and an indomitable 
will, guided by sound sense and high principles 
and seconded by a judgment in business matters 
that is unerringand bya masterly ability to accom- 
plish whatever he sets his hand to. He i- a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, is liberal in his 
contributions for its support, and exercises true 
public spirit in all things that will in anyway en- 
hance the well-being of the community. He is a 
Republican in politics and is devoted to his party. 



ACOBGALSTER As his name would in- 
dicate, our subject i- of Ccrman descent. 
although bom in the United States. His 
, J' birthplace was Tuscarawas County. Ohio, 
and his natal day was April 1. 1843. He is now a 
resident on section 27. and also owns land on sec- 
tion- 22 and 28, Rural Township, having made a 
settlement in Shelby County in the fall of 1864. 
I lis parents were the Rev. Mathias and Ko-anna 
( Ilaller) ( ralster, who were natives of < rermany, and 
coming to the United States, were married in Tus- 
carawas County. Ohio, and there resided until 1853, 
when they removed to Huntington County, hid., 
whence in I si! I. they came to Illinois and settled 
in Rural Township. 

Mathias Galster, the father of the original of 
our sketch was a minister of the Evangelical 
Church for some forty years. He was a zealous 
worker, and had a special tact and talent in organ- 
ization, having organized fourchurehes in Illinois, 



220 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



located respectively at Pana, Taylorsville, Oconee 
and Rural Township; also several in Ohio and in 
Indiana. He was born November 2. lull, in the 
the Kingdom of Wurtemburg, Germany, and came 
!o America with his parents when eighteen years 
of age. He was converted at the age of twenty- 
two years, and felt that hi> mission in life was to 
preach the Gospel to the edification and sanctifica- 
tion of his hearers. The first services that he eon- 
ducted were held in private houses. In Ohio, he 
founded eight new churches, and at Huntington, 
Ind.. four churches. 

On coming into Rural Township, our subject's 
father purchased a half section of land, and here 
resided until his death, which occurred March 25, 
1KH7. His wife had preceded him by several years, 
having died March 8, 1880. He of whom we write, 
is one of five children, all of whom are grown up. 
Their name- are Mathias, Jacob, our subject; Will- 
iam F.. Christina and Mary. Mathais fought as a 
soldier in the Forty-seventh Indiana, and died 
while in service; Christina is now Mrs. August 
Postkner; .Mary married William Stanger, and died 
in 1885. Our subject's maternal grandfather emi- 
grated at an early day from his native land and 
died ill Shelby County. 

Our subject came to Shelby County with his fam- 
ily, and May li. 1869, was united in marriage to 
Elizabeth K. Mautz, a daughter of George G. 
Mautz, for a history of whom see sketch of Philip 
A. Mautz in another part of this volume. After 
marriage our subject settled with his wife on the 
place where he now resides. Heowns and operates 
one hundred and forty-two acres of land, which is 
in first class condition, hearing excellent improve- 
ments. 

Mr. and Mis. Galster have had nine children, 
eight of whom are living. They are Rosene M.. 
George M., Barbara, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Jacob 1'. 
l-\. Anna ('. \V.. John William and Samuel !•',. C. 
The children are all vigorous and intelligent voting 
people, who promise to he the pride and comfort 
of their parents in their declining years. Politi- 
cal ly our subject is a Democrat. lie has held the 
office of Town Collector for five years, and the con- 
fidence that hi- townsmen have in hi- judgment 
and ability, i> e\ inced by the fact that he has been 



V 



elected to the position of School Director for sev- 
eral years. Mr. Galster was. some years ago, the 
victim of an accident which has made him a crip- 
ple for life. While riding he was thrown from his 
horse, and his foot being SO firmly lixed in the stir- 
rup.as to prevent his shaking it loose, he was dragged 
for some distance and broke his leg in two places. 
lie with his wife and family arc members of the 
Evangelical Church. 



I LI. I AM PATTERSON, a general farmer 
and stock-raiser living near the city of 
"ty^J Sullivan. Moultrie County, which place 
has grown from an unbroken prairie to its present 
populous condition since he came here in the spring 
of 1836, is one of the old timers of the county, and 
was a merchant for several years in Sullivan. He 
came here prior to the winter which is so famous 
in the annals of the county as being marked b\ the 
"sudden change"' in temperature, when ice froze 
several inches thick in fifteen minutes according to 
the traditions of the old inhabitants. 

Mr. Patterson took his farm when it was mostly 
unbroken prairie, and has achieved success, although 
at one time he lost a modest fortune, lie still owns 
an excellent farm of more than one hundred acres 
which i> well improved, hut most of his property is 
within the city limits. While he was engaged in 
the mercantile business he was unfortunate and met 
with heavy losses, hut has recovered from them. 
He was here before the county was changed from 
Shelby to Moultrie, and in the early days wild game 
was abundant, and he says that he has seen as many 
as forty deer together at one time. 

Mr. Patterson is a native of this State, being born 
in Union County. August 6, 1817. His father. 
Levi Patterson, was a native of Kentucky, and his 
grandfather, .lame- Patterson, wa- a Virginian by 
birth, and prominent ill the War of 1812, lighting 
with Jackson at the battle of New Orleans, and be- 
ing one of the regiment- that met. defeated anil 
-lew Gen. l'ackingham. He is now interred in the 
soil of Sullivan County, having spent his last years 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



221 



in this region and dying in old age. His religious 
belief had led him to connect himself with the 
Baptist Church, and his political opinions allied 
1 1 i in with the Democratic party. 

Levi Patterson was reared in Kentucky, and 
there married .lane Penrod, a Tennesseean hy birth 
and education, and the young couple soon emi- 
grated to Illinois, settling at an early day in Union 
County, where all their children were bora. In 
IK.'it; the whole household removed to what is now 
Moultrie County, traveling a distance of just two 
hundred miles, which trip, at that time traveling' 
with team and covered wagon, occupied one month. 
Levi Patterson entered a large tract of Govern- 
ment land which was at that time known as the 
••Lost Land." the Government's first survey hav- 
ing been lost. Here he lived and died, passing 
away at tin' age of fifty-five years, an earnest mem- 
ber of the Christian Church in his religious belief. 
and a stanch Democrat in polities. lie was twice 
married and both wives brought to him children, 
and died in this county. 

Our subject is the second child by his father's 
firsl marriage, and lie has all the experience of a 
pioneer, and loves to tell the story of the log 
sehoolhouse with its stick chimney, puncheon floor 
and rough seats. After reaching his majority, he 
returned to Union County to claim his bride in the 
person of .Miss Margaret Carriker, a native of that 
county where her parents had settled at an early 
date, coming then' from North Carolina. They 
came of Dutch stock, and belonged to old and 
highly esteemed North Carolina families and, died 
in Union County full of years. 

For more than half a century Mr. Patterson and 
his, faithful and devoted wife have labored together 
and she is now in rather poor health, while Mr. 
Patterson is still robust and active. They were 
both members of the Christian Church, and helped 
to organize that body here, being among its char- 
ter members, and Mr. Patterson acting as Deacon 
for year-. lie had held some local offices of trust 
and responsibility, and has always adhered to the 
principles of the Democratic party, and at present 
the Fanners' Mutual I'.enelit Association claims his 
allegiance. 

A truly patriarchal family, is that of Mr. and 



Mrs. Patterson, six children having passed to the 
other shore, and eight being still upon this side. 
They are as follows: Daniel, who took to wife 
Ellen Hoke, and now farms in Sullivan Township; 
William .1.. who is in the same line of work, and 
married Rebecca Lynder: Bushrod, who married 
Miss Kate Blackwell, who has died, and who now 
makes his home with his father while managing a 
farm in this township: George, who took to wife 
Mis~ Lyda ( ilabrook. and now lives on a farm in 
Whitley Township, this county; Belle, wiio lives at 
home; Maggie, who is the wife of Stephen Under- 
wood, and lives on a farm in this township; and 
Sarah, is the wife of Richard Palmer, and lives in 
Nelson Township: and Sue A., wife of John Ham. 
and lives in Washington State. 



_j-<& 



§>*«$ 




Qy- 



NTIIONY GILLESPIE. A country with- 
out a nation, a people without a nag. it is 
IS not surprising that so many, of the warm- 
QJ hearted, sunny tempered. Celtic race should 

rally under the stars and stripes, and ally them- 
selves to the American people as loyal and trut- 
hearted citizens of the land in which they are 
granted, not only freedom, but opportunity for ex- 
ercising their native keenness and of rising to the 
positions in both civil and political life for which 
they are so eminently fitted. Our subject, who is 
a native of the Emerald Isle, and was early at- 
tracted to the United States by the superior advan- 
tages that it offered to industry and energy, lie 
was born in County Mayo. Ireland, March 2.">. 

is;;;,. 

Our subject grew to manhood in his native 
county and emigrated to the United states. His 
landing in New York was made May 15, 1857, 
and there he remained until the following spring, 
when he came to this county and was engaged at 
farm labor by the month for a period of four or 
five years, lie then rented land in Rose Town- 
ship, which he was engaged in cultivating thor- 
oughly for some six years, after which he purchased 
a farm in Tower Hill Township, where he has since 
been a resident. The place of which he is the 



222 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



happy possessor^ comprises two hundred and fortj 
acres of good land upon which our subject has 
placed valuable and numerous improvements, lie 
has erected good buildings on liis farm, and has a 
very comfortable and attractive residence. 

He of whom we write, was married in Shelby- 
ville, this State, April 7. 1861, to Miss Anna Feeny, 
who is a countrywoman of his own. having been 
born in County .Mayo. Ireland. Their life to- 
gether has been very happy, as each endeavors to 
suit the other. Three children have grown up 
around them. They are John, William and Mary 
Ann. In his political preferences oursubject allili- 
ates with the Democratic party, and under this 
party he has been awarded several township offices, 
having held the important position of Highway 
Commissioner and School Trustee. Religiously he 
with his wife and family are adherents of the 
Catholic Church, and are among the most devoted 
and loyal members of that religious body. Our 
subject has always tjeen engaged in farming and 
agricultural pursuits, and is well up in the progress 
and science of his calling. 

The father of our subject was Patrick Gillespie. 
His mother was Ann Clark Gillespie. They were 
botll natives of the county in which our subject 
was horn and there they departed this life. The\ 
were the parents of six children, and of these An- 
thony was the youngest. 



W Y.MAX A. GOULD, who is one of the firm 
I (©I of Gould Brothers, dealers in grain and also 
J 1 — ^v-, Vice-President of the Commercial state 
Bank of Windsor. Shelby County, is one of the 
representative men of the place, having lirst class 
business ability, and known as a practical, far-see- 
ing manager whose judgment of commercial affairs 
may lie depended upon. His linn is recognized 
throughout the county :i> one in whom implicit 
confidence may be placed, and it may be said of 
liim of whom we write, thai he has cultivated "high 
erected thoughts, seated in a heart of courtesy." 
Lyman < lould is a son of David < ion hi. who was 



born in Drummondsville, Canada West in 1802. 
His mother was Sarah (Symonds) Gould, a native 
of Windsor, Conn. David Could was a fanner by 
occupation. He had removed from his native place 
to Niagara County, N. Y., with his parents when 
about two years old, and there he spent his life, his 
decease taking place in the county in which he had 
lived for so many years, in 1880. The mother still 
survives (181(1) at the age of eighty-one. Nine 
children entered the home circle, and of these our 
subject was the fifth in order of birth. He was 
born in Cambria. Niagara County. N. Y.. August 
30, 1X41. Reared on his father's farm, he remained 
under the home roof until the spring of l*7o. 

lie early enjoyed the advantages of a good com- 
mon-school education in the State that prides her- 
self on the thoroughness of her district school sys- 
tem, lie was thus fitted for practical commercial 
life, his native shrewdness and wit helping him out 
in emergencies. In the spring of 1870 he came to 
Decatur, this State, and was in the employ of the 
Wabash Railroad Company for about eight months. 
In the fall of that year, however, he came to Wind- 
sor, and was with his brother, of whom a sketch 
may be found in another part of this volume, and 
was engaged in buying grain for the linn of E. & 
I. Jennings. He was thus engaged for one yew, 
and in the following spring, 1872. in company 
with his brother, George F.Gould, he built the ele- 
vator at Windsor, and since that lime, they have 
been large dealers in the cereals. Ill 1883, they 
dissolved partnership, George F. disposing of his 
interest to another brother. F. D. Could, and since 
that lime the firm lias been known as Could Broth- 
ers. They enjoy the distinction of being the chief 
grain buyers in Windsor, and indeed, there are not 
many who deal so extensively in this article of 
commerce south of Chicago. 

lie of whom we write is the possessor of a line 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres, located in 
Richland Township. This he rents. He lias been 

Vice-President of the Commercial state Hank since 
the autumn of 1890. Mr. Gould's domestic life is 
:ill that could be desired. His wife is a Cleveland. 
Ohio. lady. They were there married October 15, 
1873. The lady's name in her maiden days was 
Miss Clara A. Ford. They are the parents of four 




MRS. M. SCHNEIDER. 




MICHAEL SCHNEIDER 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



227 



children, whose names are as follows: Horatio 
Clark, Kate C. Mary A. and Lyman A.. Jr. Mr. 
Gould lias been a member of the City Council for 
several years and also School Director, in which 
position he has done efficient work. In Ins politi- 
cal preference he is a staunch Democrat. The Free 
Tariff plank in thai platform is such as appeals 
most directly to his business interests. Both Mr. 
and Mrs. Gould are deeply interested in religious 
work, our subject having been a member of the 
church since 1866. First a Congregationalist, 
since coming to this Slate he has been connected 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife 
ha- heen a member of the Congregational Church 
from girlhood. 



*^^1 




LCHAEL SCHNEIDER, the honored foun- 
der of the city of Moweaqua, Shelby 
County, who i- now living in retirement 
in this beautiful locality, is one of theearly 
pioneers of Central Illinois, and his name is indis- 
BOlubly linked with its rise and growth. His pro- 
gressive public spirit and generous benefactions, 
bestowed with rare judgment and critical discern- 
ment as to the future needs of the community and 
the best way to promote it- highest interest, have 
heen instrumental in pushing forward various en- 
terprises that have been of greatbenefit to this sec- 
tion of the State. 

<)n the hank- of the beautiful river Rhine, in 
Germany, our subject was horn in September, 1813. 
Hi- father, who bore the same name a-him-elf, was 
born in the same Rhenish province, and was there 
reared on a farm, lie married Mary liauer. who 
was a native of that part of Germany, and died 

therein 1820. In 1 82 I . the father of Our subject 
resolved to emigrate to America, where he hoped 
to better his condition. He came to this country 
accompanied by five of his seven children,and lir-t 
settled at Bethlehem, Pa. In 1827 he removed to 
Ohio, and for a time resided near ( incinnati. He 
subsequently identified himself with the pioneers 
of Brown Count v. in the same State, and on the 



farm that he boughl (here pa— ed the remainder of 
hi- life. 

Michael Schneider, of whom these line-are writ- 
ten, was a lad of eleven years when li is father came 

to this country, and he anil a sister were at that 

time left in charge of an uncle, hut two years later 

the father sent for them, and they set -ail from 

Hamburg in May, 1826, landing at New York eighty 

days later. Our subjeel went to Ohio with his 
father, and for a time lived with him near (incin- 
nati. which was then only a good-sized village. 
He was a strong, self-reliant, manly hoy. and at 
once commenced to earn hi- own living, finding 
employment with Andrew llcredcs. with whom he 
remained some years, and in I8.'!;> hi' came with 
him to Illinois, making the journey hither over 
those great highways of pioneer travel, the Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers. He located with his em- 
ployer on Lick Creek, in Sangamon County, and 
there Mr. Heredes erected one of the first -team 
grist mill- ever operated in the State. 

In 18.'!,") Mr. Schneider borrowed $50 of Esq. 

Campbell, and entered forty acres of Government 
land in what is now Christian County, his purchase 
adjoining the present site of Moweaqua. He boughl 
the claim of Mrs. Denton, and live acres of it were 
cleared, and a log house Stood on the place. There 
were no railway- here for many years after he set- 
tled on his land in 1837, and he had to draw all 
his grain to St. Louis with OX-teams, where he sold 
it for thirty-seven and a half cents a bushel, and 
his hogs only brought him $1.25 to $1.50 a hun- 
dred pound-. Deer were plentiful, and with prairie 
chickens and wild turkey-, formed a welcome addi- 
tion to the fare of the pioneers. 

Mr. Schneider worked early and late in the up- 
building of hi- new home, being greatly assisted by 
the active co-opera lion of his wife, and he prospered 
exceedingly in his efforts to secure a competency. 
He invested his money judiciously, continually 
entering and buying other land near his original 
purchase until he had two thousand acres, all told. 
of land of surpassing fertility. This included the 
land upon which the thriving city of Moweaqua 
now stands. Attracted by the unrivalled beauty 
of the spot, and the natural advantages forthe-itc 
of a town, our subject determined to plat the land. 



228 



PORTRAIT AND BIOG1 . ilCAL RECORD. 



and afterward carried < >n( his plans, which have 
given in this county one of its brightest ornaments, 
one iif "the prettiest villages oftheState," toquote 
from an enthusiastic admirer, and here center many 
lovely homes and happy firesides in dwellings of 
.•< modern and attractive style of architecture. Its 
people are cultured, thrifty, prosperous and enter- 
prising; its church privileges and educational ad- 
vantages arc exceptional; its varied industries and 
business enterprises are ably conducted under sound 
financial methods. One attraction of the city, 
though it may be a negative one, is eminently 
worthy of mention, and that is the tact that there 
have been no saloons fur the sale of liquor here for 
years, which speak- well tor the temperance and so- 
briety of the citizens. 

In 1HH2 Mr. Schneider removed from Mowea- 
qua, and has since lived retired from active busi- 
ni"--. I le has ahvay- taken a deep interest in all 
that concerns this city, which owes its origin to him. 
and no man has done more to established il on a 
solid basis of enduring piosperity than lie. or has 
been more influential in raising its moral and relig- 
ious status. All scheme- to add to its beauty have 
met with his hearty approval, and his generous gift 
of land for a public park in Imk^ has greatly in- 
creased the attractiveness of the place. He encour- 
aged the building of the railway through here by 
a liberal donation of land and lots, and to Mr. 
Eastman he gave land on condition that lie would 
built a mill within the corporation limits of the 
city. 

The blessings of a happ^ married life have been 
vouchsafed to our subject, as by his marriage in 
October, 1833, with M iss Margarel Rant/, he secured 
a true and loving wife, and they have lived 
in peace and harmony lor nearly fifty-seven 
years. They have reared these seven children to 
honorable and useful lives. — Michael. Christopher, 
Margaret, William, Valentine, Adam and Caroline. 
Mrs. Schneider wa- iiornin Baden, Germany, March 
21, 1811, and is a daughter of Christopher and Car- 
oline (Lichtenberger) Kant/., who were also natives 

of Baden. Her lather -pent his entire life there, 
while her mother came to America in the latter 

part of her life and died in Brown County, Ohio. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schneider are people of earnest re- 



ligious convictions, who lead exemplary Christian 
lives. Their parent- were members of the Lutheran 
( hurch, and they were reared in that faith, hut 
early in their married life they united with the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and for more than 
half a ceiitiir\ have been consistent and devoted in 
their membership with that church, and have borne 
a prominent part in it- upbuilding in this section 
of the country. In their early life here when they 
lived in a log cabin, their humble abode was always 
opi n to preaehi r- of all denominations, and meet- 
ings were frequently held within its walls. They 
contributed liberally of their means towards the 
erection of the present house of worship of the 
Methodist-, and arc generous in their support of 

the Gospel. On another page of this volume the 
lithographic portraits of Mr. and .Mrs. Schneider 
are presented, and it is a pleasure to thus perpet- 
uate the lineaments of this worths couple. 



*ej- 



EXRY RICIIMAX. The enterprising little 
) village of Fancher counts among it-s inhab- 




itants some first-class business men. and 
among them we are gratified to note the 
Postmaster and merchant whose name appears in 
connection with this sketch, and who i- one of 
the really enterprising men of Shelby County, His 
birth took place in Butler County, Ohio, October 
21. 1843. His parents were Samuel and Susan 
(Hill) Richmond. The father was born in New 
Jersey, and went to Ohio when he wa- sixteen 
years old. going on foot all the way from his na- 
tive State to Butler County, Ohio. In that latter 
named county his mother wa- born, although -he 
was of Southern parentage, her parents being na- 
1 1 \ es of Ball iiiiorc. Md. 

The parents of our subject had eight children 

gathered about their fireside and our subject was 

next to the youngest of this number. After the 
death of the mother the father again married and 
had two children b\ his second union. It was in 
1858 thai Henry came to Illinois with his father, 
and located in Shelby County, where the latter 

died some five years ago. Farming Occupied the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



229 



young man for about seven years after attaining 
his majority, bul later he engaged in the meat busi- 
ness, owning and operating a meat market at Wind- 
sor for live 01" six years. 

About this time Mr. Ricbman moved on to a 
farm near Stewardson, in Prairie Township, and 
remained there about five years and in L887 lie 
made bis final removal to Fancher and entered the 
mercantile business with William Hilsabeck. This 
partnership continued for about one year when our 
subject withdrew from the connection and opened 
a store in an adjoining building. Mr. Hilsabeck 
operated his store for about a year after which his 
stock was sold out and he removed from the place, 
leaving Air. Richman in possession of the only 
store in that line of goods in the place. 

This enterprising merchant carried a full line of 
general merchandise, consisting of dry-goods, groce- 
ries, provisions, clothing, bootsand shoes, hats and 
caps, hardware, tinware, patent medicines, notions 
and millinery. He has a handsome storeroom and 
it is well stocked with a well selected line of goods 
and he is doing a very satisfactory business. When 
he began his capital did not exceed $400 and his 
stock is now worth at least $5,000. 

The firsl marriage of Mr. Richman was his union I 
with Miss Ella Fitzgerald, whodied two years after 
marriage. She had one child which died in infancy. 
His second wife was. before her marriage to him. a 
widow. Mrs. Lizzie White, whose maiden name was 
Hilsabeck. She was horn in this county, and has 
one daughter by her marriage with Mr. Richman, 
Gertie, now eleven years old. Mr. Richman is the 
Postmaster at Fancher and has held this position 
through most of the present administration. 

The military record of our subject is of interesl 
to every one who loves his country, as he was a 
soldier dining the Civil War, belonging to Com- 
pany II. Fifty-fourth Illinois Infantry. This regi- 
ment was assigned to the Department of the South- 
wesl under Gen. Banks. He participated in all the 
labor- required of the Fifty-fourth, although his 
company escaped at the time the resl of the regi- 
lnent were taken prisoners at Ashley Station. Ark. 

The Republican party is the political organi- 
zation with which Mr. Richman affiliates and In 1 
takes a lively interest in political affairs, being 



public spirited and enterprising, lie is a thorough 
business man. Inning the confidence and esteem of 
all with whom he is associated either in business or 
in social life. His efficient ami interesting com- 
panion is an earnest worker in the Methodist Epis- 
eopal Church. 



_=} 



-^) 



^f^i 



E_ 



- 




R. PATTERSON, of the Arm of Meeker & 

U Patterson, altorneys-atdaw and real estate 
and insurance agents of Sullivan, was horn 
in Moultrie County. December 18, 1849. 
The family has been prominently connected with 
this county for many years. The grandfather of 
our subject, Levi Patterson, was horn in Shelby 
County, Tenn., of American parentage and was one 
of a large family which was well represented in 
the War of 1812. One of the brothers was wounded 
while fighting under Jackson at the battle of New 
Orleans. Levi Patterson was a young man when 
he removed to Illinois, locating in Union County, 
where he grew to manhood on a farm. He married 
Mrs. .lane Pernod, nee Beggs, a native of Tennes- 
see, who had lost her first husband in *his State. 
After his marriage Levi Patterson settled on a 
new farm in Union County which he cultivated 
and improved and which is yet known a> the old 
Patterson homestead. In 1836 he came with his 
family to Moultrie County, locating in Sullivan 
Township where he entered Government land and 
upon the farm which he there developed made his 
home until his death on the 1 0th of June, 1849. 
His first wife dieil soon alter they came to this 
county and he married a lady of Irish birth, Miss 
Anna Patterson. After his death she became tin' 
wife of a Mr. Simmons and was called to her final 
rest in 1875 at the age of fifty years. Levi Patter- 
son was a Methodist in early life hut later joined 
the Christian Church and was one of it> original 
founders in this county. Honest and upright, he 

had tin respect anil confidence of all who knew 
him and well deserves mention among the pioneers 
of this locality. 

Jonathan Patterson or "Donty" Patterson, as he 
was commonly known, was the father of our sub- 



230 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, 



ject. When a youth of fourteen years he accom- 
panied hi- parents to Moultrie County, and in 

Sullivan Township spenl hi- boy] <1 days. His 

scliool privileges were limited and he bore the 
usual experiences of pioneer life. Having attained 
to mature years he determined to make a home for 
himself and on horseback returned to Union 
County. 111., where he married l'earlina Carriker. 
With hi> bride lie returned, traveling a distance of 
two hundred miles on horseback and in true fron- 
tier style they began their domestic life but by 
c i Tgy, perseverance and good business ability he 
became one of the wealthiest men in the county. 
Public spirited and progressive, Mr. Patterson 
was a valued citizen and did much the best inter- 
ests of the community. He built one of the finest 
homes in the county, erected a large mill in Sulli- 
van, sunk a coal shaft at that place ami afterward 
became a director in a proposed railroad which. 
however,was never built, lie alsoaided in sinking 
an artesian well on the square and in those two 
enterprises losl $20,000. Any industry calculated 
to benefit the community received his support. 
He loved to aid in every good work of improve- 
ment and did wlial he could toward the promotion 
of every reform. The cause of temperance found 
in him a warm friend and his labors to suppress 
the saloons were untiring, lie canvassed Central 
Illinois, making speeches in favor of prohibition 
and cast his last vote for the Prohibition party. 
lie had previously voted with the Democracy. 
Some years he'ore his death he became an invalid 
but as far, as possible hecontinued his works for the 
hest interests of the community. For some years 
he wa- Deacon in the Christian Church anil died 
in that faith September 13, 1*78. 

As before stated Mr. Patter-on wedded Miss 

Carriker, who was born in I'nion County, [11., Jan- 
uary \~2. 1824, and there resided until her marriage. 
She still lives on a farm near Sullivan and i- will 

preserved for a lady of her years. She. t is a 

member of the Christian Church and has many 
warm friends in this locality. I). IJ. Patterson was 
educated in tin- public Schools and for some years 
engaged in farming. On the 1st of January, 1880, 
he began reading Blackstone in Judge Meeker's 
office, where he i- now a partner, and altera year 



was elected Police Magistrate, which office he yet 
tills. In the meantime he practiced law in a small 
way until November, 1890, when he was admitted 
to the bar. since which time he has devoted his en- 
lire energies to the profession. The firm was es- 
tablished in January, 1891, and ranks high at the 
county bar. Combined with the experience of the 
older member is the energy and activity of the 
younger one which insures their success. 

Mr. Patterson wedded Miss Ruth Leatherman, 
who was born in Lawrence County. Ind.. in 1843, 
and when seven years old was brought by her fa- 
ther. Peter Leatherman, to Douglas County. 111. 
Her mother had died in Indiana. After following 
farming for a number of years her father removed 
to Kansas in February. L878, and a year later was 
called to his ftnalrest. Mrs. Patterson became a suc- 
cessful teacher,having passed three years as a teacher 
in Sullivan Academy, and at one time numbered 
among Inn- pupils the gentleman to whom she has 
since given her hand iii marriage. Their children 
are: Oscar I.. .who was graduated from the Sullivan 
schools at the age of sixteen years; Harvey and 
Ernest at home, and Nathan I)., now deceased. Mr. 

and Mrs. Patterson and their children are members 
of the Christian Church and the family are promi- 
nent in public and social affairs. 






c<§ 



A MPS s. WF.I.CH. M., D.. deceased. Sulli- 
van. .Moultrie County, is proud to name 
those in her foremost rank who have fallen 
in tin- conflict of life, but who have fallen 
honorably and whose past record makes them lie- 
low d and respected by those who knew them and 
whosi example is worthy of emulation by the ris- 
ing generation. Among such names we presenl 
Dr. -lames S. Welch who died at his home in Sulli- 
van. September I. 1884. He had lived in the 
county for a good main years and wa- formerly a 
residenl of Shelbyville, where for some time he 

wa- ill the merchant ile business. Sangamon County, 
this State, had been his home previous to his com- 
ing to Shelbyville. 

Dr. Welch was born in Sangamon County, 111., 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



23 I 



February '■>. 1840, and as he had lost his father 
when quite young he had been reared to manhood 
by his mother who has since died in Sangamon 
County, full of years and in the enjoyment of 
the respect and affection of all who knew her. Our 
subjeel was a student at Ann Arbor, Midi., and 
Later was graduated from the St. Louis Medical 
College. He practiced his profession for a short 
time only and t lu-n became a druggist, in which 
line of business he was very successful. 

Our subject wasprominent in political and social 

circle-, was active in pr ting the success of the 

Democratic party and was identified with the order 
of i »dd Fellows at Sullivan. This order took charge 
of the funeral ceremonies after his death and he 
was buried with the honors of the lodge. His in- 
telligence and affability brought him many friends 
and his business ability commanded the respect 
of all. 

Miss Anna Reeder became the wife of Dr. Welch 
in Sullivan. She is a native of Warren County. 
Ohio, and a daughter of George \V. and Jane 
(Thompson) Reeder, natives of Ohio who came of 
Eastern parentage, being descended respectivelj 
from families of Virginia and New Jersey. Mr. 
and Mrs. Reeder were married in Warren County, 
Ohio, and at once went to Wisconsin, becoming 
earh settlers near Monroe, Green County, in the 
day- when the Indians were much more numerous 
than whites. They traveled from Ohio by way of 
water, taking the river at Cincinnati, going down 
the ( )hio and up the Mississippi to ( i-alena, Ilk. and 
thence with teams to Green County. Wis., where 
they lived for nine years, transforming the raw 
prairie into a productive farm which lies two and 
one-half miles from the present city of Monroe. 
That city was at one time located upon their land 
hut during a county-seat war was removed an an- 
other site. On leaving Wisconsin they returned t<> 
Warren County, Ohio, and in the spring of 1865 
they came to Illinois, settling in Coles County near 
Mattoon. where thc\ lived for two years and then 
came to Shelby County, six years later they re- 
moved to Normal. McLean County, and there Mr. 
Reeder, died in 1881, being then nearly seventy- 
two years of age. 

Mr. Reeder was a strong Republican in politics 



and a leader among men. and was a successful 
farmer all his life. His wife, who survives hill), is 

now seventy-two years of age ami make- her home 
with her daughter, Mrs. Welch. She is the mother 
of seventeen children, ten of whom are yet living. 
Four of her sons, Joseph 11.. Allen B., Caleb T. and 
.lame- ( .. were soldiers during the War of tin' Re- 
bellion. The eldest of these fell at the battle of 
Ft. Donelson by a shot from the enemy's anus. 
He was a member of the Eleventh Indiana Zouaves; 

the second -on mentioned died from typhoid fever 
upon a hospital boat after the battle of Franklin, 
in which he took part; he was a Sergeant in an Ohio 
regiment. The- last two named fought through 
the war and escaped unhurt, James being now a 
Kansas farmer, while Caleb F. is a general mer- 
chant at Stewardson, Shelby County. 

Prof. Rudolph Reeder, another son of this emi- 
nent family, is successfully filling the Chair of 
Training in the Normal School at Normal, Ilk. 
while another, Prof. George W. Reeder, has been 
Principal of various school- in Kansas and Colo- 
rado; their sister. Mrs. Welch, was carefully reared 
and well educated, completing her course in the 
Normal University at Normal. Ilk. and was for 
twelve years a teacher, serving both in Mattoon and 
Sullivan, having keen only sixteen years old when 
she began teaching. She is a Methodist in her re- 
ligious belief and her mother belongs to the Bap- 
tist Chinch. She i- an earnest temperance worker 
ami is active in promoting every movement which 
will lead to the prohibition of the sale of alcoholic 
drinks in her town and country. 



<IM!^3®§*I 



OIIN DIFFERS. The name at the head of 
this sketch is that of a practical farmer and 
stock-raiser residing on sections 17 and is. 

of Pickaway Township, where he settled in 
1851. Since that time he has put a great number 
of fine improvements upon the place so that it i- 
now a most comfortable and desirable home. He 
came to ShelbyCounty in I846and since that time 
he has lived hen 1 and in flat Branch Township. 
Our subject began life here as a pom man and 



TM 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RI-XORD. 



has since made all thai he now possesses, and is :it 
the present time looked up to as one of the meal 
successful men in the county. He is worth at 
least $20,000 and pays annually from 180 to 1100 
in taxes. His farm, which consists of one hundred 
and forty acre-, is in very good condition, lie is 
noted throughout the county for his industry and 
lionesty. 

Our subject is of German birth and parentage, 
having first seen the light of day in the Kingdom 
of Hanover, Germany, January 6, 1 S2<!. His par- 
ent-, who are Germans, were poor but worthy peo- 
ple and they lived and died in their native king- 
dom at quite an advanced age. They were George 
and Ellen Luffersand were small farmers, the father 
adding a carpenter's trade to his stock in store to 
aid in the support of his family. They were mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. Our subject is one 
of four children, there being three sons and one 
daughter, all of whom are now in this country. 
A sister died at an early age in .Madison County. 
111. Mr. 1. niters was the first of the family to come 
to the United states, being only eighteen years of 
age when he left his native land. He took passage 
on a sailing vessel called the "Little Competitor," 
and after eight weeks and three days spent on the 
ocean he landed in New Orleans, coming thence to 
St. Louis. This little trip occupied ten days. It 

eai w be aee plished in a little over one day. 

The delay was caused by the ice blockade on the 
river, for our subject came northward by boat, 
lie then came to Kdwardsville. Madison County, 
this State, where he spent his first year. Here he was 
married in the township of Pickaway, in October, 

1 H.V.I, to Miss Louisa Smith. She was horn in 
Madison County in 1828, and was a daughter of 
Thomas and Mary (Tolly) Smith, natives of Ken- 
tucky, who came to Illinois in an early day and 
settled in Madison County, where both parents 
died while yet in middle life. Mrs. LufferS spent 
the greater part of her life before her marriage in 
hei native county, she hasever been a true help- 
mate to her husband and is no small factor in his 
successful career. 

< >ur subject and hi- wife have had no children 
of their own but they have been the loving foster 
parents of several children. These are Laura Car- 



barn, who is now the wife of M. V. Cutler, a farmer 
in this township; Kate ( rOOdwin and Thomas ( i-ood- 
win. the latter of whom is deceased. Kate married 
llerm Mcthias and they live on a farm in Flat 
Branch Township. 

Our subject came to his present location from 
Madison County. 111., where he had arrived in 
1845. spending about twelve mouths in that place 
doing what he could in the way of earning money 
for self support. His wages were but *7 or $8 
per month at that time. Soon after marriage, 
however, he obtained the nucleus of his present 
farm, and since that time has been steadily ad- 
vancing in his financial position. Politically 
Mr. Luffers affiliates with the Democratic party. 
He has held the position of Commissioner of High- 
ways and satisfactorily discharged its duties. He 
and his wife are charming people, having attained 
the mellow age at which life is no longer a strife 
but a waiting period for the better thing that is to 
come after. They are both attendants upon the 
Baptist Church and are liberal supporters of the 
same. 



wttmyimt i > » l w >- p * ■ 



t i ' i ' i ' i 



AMKS BARTON. Shelby County has an 
excellent reputation throughout the State 
for good farms and excellent stock, and 
those who an' carrying on the industries 
connected with farming and stock-raising, have in 
almost every case achieved a creditable and satis- 
factory success. Among the independent farmers 

iii Dry Point Township, we find on section 15, the 
home of .lame- Barton, a native of the county, 
born June 7. 1853, in Okaw Township. 

David and Mary (Craig) Barton, the parents of 
our subject, were natives of Bedford, Ya.. the la- 
ther being bom in 18 18 and the mother in 1813. 
Tin' former passed away from life on the farm 
where our subject now resides in 1886, and the 

mother make- her I le with her -on .lames. Their 

family consists of four stalwart sons and three beau- 
tiful daughters. William, the eldest, married Mary 
.1. Dihel and resides on an adjoining farm; Rhoda 
has been twice married, as after the death of her 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



238 



first husband, John T. Jones, she married ('. R. 
Barton, and resides in this township; Elizabeth 
died iii I860 at the age of nineteen years, and 
Charles passed away at the same age in 1867; 
David married for his first wife Mary A. Reynolds, 
who died in 1882, and his second marriage was 
with .Mary L. Flanders, and lie now resides in ihi- 
township; the next child in order of age is our 
subject, and the youngest is Mary E. who married 
Y. L. Dihel and died in this township in 1881. 

Our subject received his education in the com- 
mon schools of the country districts and in the 
graded schools at Shelbyville, He early undertook 
the profession of a teacher, which work he began 
in 1876 and continued for twelve years. In 1890 
he gave 11)1 hi> place at the teacher's desk and de- 
voted himself entirely to agricultural pursuits. 

The happy union by marriage of James Barton 
and Mary V. Einks, occurred May 2. 1878. This 
lady is :i native of tin- township, of Southern 
parentage mid was here brought up to young 
womanhood. She was born October \'l. 1859, and 
is .'i daughter of C. L. and Alpha Einks, natives of 
Virginia, who became residents of Shelby County, 
thi> State, in the early days of the history of its 
settlement. 

Mrs. Barton is the second child in a family of six, 
her brothera and sisters being James II.. who died 
in this township in 1890; C. W. who married and 
resided on a farm here; J. M.. who married, but 
died in IH'.HI of typhoid fever; Silas \Y. who i,s 
married and living in the same township, and 
Annie, wife of II. I/. Austin who :dso resides iii 
Dry Point Township. 

Mr. Barton was elected Supervisor of Dry Point 
Township in 1888 and has twice succeeded himself 
in that honorable position, being now on his fourth 
year in that office, which he has filled to the satis- 
faction of his constituents. Eor two years he served 
as Township Tax Collector and is now serving his 
eleventh successive year in performing the duties 
of School Trustee of the township. His beautiful 
'arm of one hundred and sixty acres i- in a fine 
state of cultivation and it> chief product is ha\. 

The household of our subject has been blessed 
lv\ the birth of two daughters and three sons: Liz- 
zie, bora March 9. 1879, John D., March 22,1882; 



Thaddeus W., February 15, 1884; Allie Ella, Feb- 
ruary Hi. 1886, and Chester Roswell, February 5, 
1888. These affectionate and judicious parents 
have the great happiness of still keeping all their 

Little is aboul them and seeing them preserved 

in life and health. They are both earnest and con- 
scientious members of the Separate Baptist Church. 
The subject of this lite sketch has been a life- 
long Republican and is pleased to boast that he has 
never cast any other ballot than that which i.- en- 
dorsed by the Republican party. He i> well-known 
as one of the most public-spirited and enterprising 
citizens of the township and takes an active part 
not only in political affaire, but also in all move- 
ments which are intended to promote the social 
and financial prosperity of the community. His 
In-other William foughl in the Union army during 
the Civil War. Mr. Barton has been a member of 
the Masonic order but at present is not affiliated. 
Both he and his estimable wife are very active in 
church and Sunday-school work, taking great in- 
terest in the advancement of the cause of relig- 
ion through thai worthy ally of the church, the 
Sunday-school. One peculiar feature of the Bar- 
Ion family is that every male member of the 
family for two generations has married a woman 
whose fust 11:1111c was Mary, and even those who 
have twice married have observed this rule. 



? T. HAIL. Among the most activeand use- 
ful citizens of Sullivan are a class of men 
i -> who now are able to employ their energies 

more directly in the line of public improvements 
than they could in the days when they were more 
heavily burdened with work. These are the retired 
farmer- who having gained wealth and insured 
their last days in comfort and competence, have 
withdrawn from active work and given themselves 
and their faithful companions the luxury of rest 
and ease in their declining days. 

Mr. l'.aii. whose name appears at the head of thi>' 

sketch left his farm in East Nelson Township in 
1890. To that tract of land he had come in \X. r >2 



23 I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and there lie grew to manhood, married and began 
farming. He now owns three hundred and sixty 
acres of as fine land as is ti> be found in Moultrie 
County and it i> all under cultivation. He placed 
upon it a fine set of farm buildings and has made 
it his home from that day until he retired from 
service. 

Our subject was born in Pike County, Ohio, No- 
vember 19, 1842, bis father being Joseph Hail, a 
native of Virginia, and son of a Welshman who 
died in the Old Dominion. Joseph was still quite 
a young man when he came to Ohio and was mar- 
ried in Pike County to Miss Elizabeth Divens, a 
native of Pennsylvania of Dutch stock. She had 
come when a child with her parents to Ohio and 
there grew to womanhood. In 1852 the Bail fam- 
ily came to Illinois traveling by team and wagon 
and camping Out on the road. They were some 
four weeks on the way. and reaching East Nelson 
Township took up a farm there. It was on this 
farm they made their home and there Joseph Bail 
died iii November, 1864, having reached the age 
of seventy-one years. He was a Republican in his 
political views and Methodist Episcopal in his 
church connections. His bereaved widow who is 
now eighty-eight years old. is yet as efficient as 
many Ladies a1 sixty and makes her home with her 
son, our subject, she is a great reader, very intel- 
ligent and active and an earnest and conscientious 
Christian, being still counted as one of the pillars 
in the .Methodist Episcopal Church. 

E. T. Had is one of his mother's thirteen chil- 
dren who lived to be grown, and eight are yet living. 
All through hi- early and mature years he devoted 
himself untiringly and persistently to his labors as 
a former. lie was married to Miss Elizabeth Wiley, 
who was bora near Leroy, McLean County, III.. 
July 12, \h\x. She is r daughter of Thomas and 
Margaret (Breau) Wiley who were born of Pro- 
testanl stock in the North of Ireland. They were 
married in their native island anil came soon after- 
ward to the United States, settling in Vermilion 
County, 111., before coming to McLean County and 
afterward, in 1849, to Moultrie County. There 
they look and improved a new farm and there 
lived and died. Mr. Wiley passed away at the age 
of sevent\ years and his wife was taken from him 



when she was only forty years old. They were 
Protestants in their religion as are all of that sturdy 
class who come from the North of Ireland. 

The children who have come to Mr. and Mrs. 
Bail are Albert S.. who died when a little child; 
Anthony L., who is soon to be admitted to the liar 
and who was educated in the law school at Valpar- 
aiso, Ind. and at DePauw University, Greencastle, 
Ind. lie is a hard student and is fitting himself 
liberally for success in his profession. The next is 
Florence, who is the wife of .1. I), (ioddard. a 
farmer in East Nelson Township, and Lulu L., who 
is at home. Both Mr. Bail and his son are earnest 
and ardent Republicans in their political views and 
it is their aim to stand by the party which stood 
by the administration during the Civil War. 



*- 




> II. LI AM McKITTRICK. The name at the 
head of this sketch is that of one who was 
; ' a compatriot with the poet Moore, and 
even yet his heart rebounds at the words of the 
old song, 

-The harp that once thro' Tara's hall 

The soul of music shed 
Now hangs as mute on Tara's wall 

As if that soul were fled — 
So sleeps the pride of former days, 

So glory's thrill is o'er, 
And hearts, that once beat high for praise, 

Now feel that pulse no more." 

However successful a native of that unhappy land 
may be in his adopted country he cannot but be 
saddened at tin- thought that Ireland is no more 
what it was in the days of the Kings. 

Our subject is in the meridian of life and the 
best of his successes are before him. lie is of Irish 
parentage as well as birth, his father having been 
William McKittrick, who was a native of the Em- 
erald Isle, and his mother. Margaret (Quarrel) Mc- 
Kittrick, also of Ireland. They emigrated to the 
United states in 1858, and the father died after 
locating in Moultrie County, this State. The 
mot her passed away in this county. They were 
Hie parents of thirteen children of whom our sub- 
ject was one of t he \ oungest ; he was born in Ire- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2:i." 



[and September 29, 1849, and w;is abuul nine years 
of age when, with liis parents, ke came to America. 
Thej :ii once located in Madison County, this State, 
where our subject lived for seven years and then 
they removed to Shelby County where lie Iims ever 
since been a resident. He has always been engaged 
in farming, and 1ms followed this pursuil with a 
reasonable degree of success. 

The marriage of the original of our sketch took 
place in this county. March 22. 1*77. The lady 
to whom he was united was in her maiden days 
Laura A. Patton, a daugher of .lames II. and Lydia 
(Friezner) Patton, the former a native of Virginia 
and the latter of Ohio. The father's death occurred 
in this county and he left to his bereaved wife leu 
children, of whom Mrs. McKittrick was the third; 
.-he was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, April 15. 
1853. < Mir subject and wife are the parents of six 
living children, whose names are as follows: Lydia 
A.. William ('...lames 1'.. Milo E., Margaret E. and 
and .Mark N. The deceased children were taken 
away in infancy. 

A short period of our subject's earl}' married life 
was spent in Cold Spring Township, after which 
they settled on section 2(1. of Tower Hill Township, 
where they owned two hundred acres of good, 
arable land. Mr. McKittrick is in his political 
tastes and favors a follower of the Republican 
party, lie has been a School Director for some 
time. Neither our subject nor his wife are united 
by membership to any church, being liberal in their 
religious belief, still they do their part toward 
the support of the Gospel and exert and wield a 
good influence in tin' community. 




fsy\ RS. MARTHA A. (WOOD) GOODWIN, a 

native of Shelby County, this State, born 
near the town of Woodburn, Macoupin 
County, comes of the old pioneer stock of 
Illinois, and is a daughter of David 1>. Wood, a 
prominent and well-known citizen of her native 
county. She is Ihe widow of Thomas Goodwin, 
a former prosperous farmer of l'enn Township, and 
she Mill occupies the old farm on sections ;! 1 and 



32, where she helped her husband make a comfort- 
able home in which the mosl of their married life 
was passed. 

Mrs. Goodwin's father was born in Kentucky, 
of which State his father. .lames Wood, was also a 
native and a pioneer. The grandfather of our 
subject came from Kentucky to Illinois and was 
one of the first settlers near the present site of 
Bunker Hill, Macoupin County. At that time the 
Surrounding country contained but few white in- 
habitants, and deer, wild turkeys and other game 
were -till plentiful. There were no railways and 
for several years Alton and St. Louis were the 
nearest markets for the pioneers. Grandfather 
Wood improved a good farm upon which he resided 
until his demise. 

Mrs. Goodwin's father was young when his 
parents left his early Kentucky home to seek an- 
other in the untried wilderness of Illinois. He 
was reared to agricultural pursuits, and the old 
farm south of Woodburn that his father developed 
from a state of nature is now in his possession and 

he still makes it his h e. He has arisen to an 

important place among the fanners and stock-raisers 
of Macoupin County and is known for the integ- 
rity of his character, his sound wisdom and his 
worth as a citizen. The maiden name of his first 
wife, mother of Mrs. Goodwin, was Barbara Davis. 
She died when her daughter was very young. His 
second wife was Mary Clanton. a native of South 
Carolina. 

Mrs. Goodwin was carefully trained in her girl- 
hood in all useful household duties, and among 
OtherthingS learned tocai'd and spin, and after her 
marriage she spun the wool to make her husband 
a suit of clothes. She continued an inmate of her 
father's household until she was wedded in 1865 
to Thomas Goodwin, a most worthy young man 
of English birth and ancestry. Their union was 
one of mutual helpfulness and happiness, anil 
among its blessings were the eight children born 
to them — Jennie. Samuel. Maria. Hattie, John, Rose, 
George and Daisy. Jennie died when young, and 
Maria, who was married to William Wyatt and re- 
sided in Johnson City. Tenn., died August IK. 1891. 
The children occupy the old home with their mother. 
Mrs. Goodwin is a member of the Methodist Epis- 



236 



PORTRAIT AND BI< )( .KAPIIK AL RECORD. 



<-< i] >n I Church and in ;ill things is :i consistent 
( christian. 

Thomas Goodwin was born at Vale Mills. Stoke- 
upon-Trent, England, May 1. 1835. His parents 

\\ ere Thomas ami .lane Goodwin, and they were also 
natives of England. They came to America in 
1844 and located in Madison County, this stale. 
where the father spenl the remainder of his life. 
The mother passed her lasl years in Macoupin 
County whither she removed after the death of 
her husband. 

Mrs. Goodwin's husband wasa hoy of nine years 
when his parents brought him to America. He 
was reared and educated in Madison Comity and 
in early manhood adopted the calling of fanner as 
his life-work. Ill 1867 he came to l'enn Township 
and bought a tract of wild prairie land on sections 
31 and 32, and threw his whole energies into the 
pioneer task of reclaiming it. He was exceedingly 
industrious, working early and late to accomplish 
his undertaking, and in due time his labors were 
rewarded and the change that he wrought made 
him one of the besl farms in the neighborhood. 
He placed his land underline cultivation, erected 
mat and orderly buildings, and planted fruit, 
shade and ornamental trees to make his home more 
attractive. Here he laid down his life ere yet it 
had passed its meridian, closing his eyes in the 
dreamless sleep of death February 21, 1884, leav- 
ing behind him the record of years well-spent and 
a tender memory el' a kind husband, a good father 
and a just and true ueighbor and friend. 



fe^AVID G. SANNER, V. S.. prominent and well- 
known as a wealthy farmer and stock-raiser, 
residing in Penn Township, Shelby County, 
has large landed interests in this. Macon and Moul- 
trie Counties, and has contributed extensively to 
the development of thegreal agricultural resources 

of this sect ion i if his native State as one of the most 

enlightened and advanced men of his class within its 
borders. He is much interested in raising line road 
horses, the Hambletonian strain being his favorite, 



and he also bears a high reputation as one of the 
most intelligent and skillful veterinary surgeons of 
the county. 

May 16, 1842, is the date of the birth of our sub- 
ject, in one of the pioneer homes of Madison ( ounty 
of which his father. Samuel Sanner, who was an 
early settler. The latter was a native of North- 
umberland County. Pa., and in early manhood mar- 
ried Barbara Paul, a native of Proton County. VV. 
Va. In 1833 he came to Illinois with his family 
and located in the wilds of Madison County, nine 
miles north of Edwardsville. During the many 
years that he lived there he applied himself busily to 
pioneer work, and in due time was well rewarded 

by becoming the possessor of a g lly amount of 

property. Inl866 he took up hi> abode in Penn 
Township and there his remaining days were passed 
in tranquillity and comfort until he closed his eyes 
in the dreamless sleep of death. He left behind him 
a good life-record and a memory that is cherished 
with reverence in the hearts of those who knew him. 

Our subject was the eighth child in a large fam- 
ily of children, twelve in number, and in his child- 

1 d he had ample opportunity to acquire habits of 

industry and steady application that have been of 
use to him in his after life, as his father wisely de- 
termined that his hoys should be able to do all kinds 
of work on the farm, while at the same time he de- 
sired they should have an education. Our subject 
was well equipped in that respect, as in his youth 
excellent schools had already hceii established in 
Madison County, and he attended them whenever 
opportunity offered, and gained a sound knowledge 
of mathematics and other common branches. Winn 
the war broke out he was scarcely more than a boy, 
but he was eager to fightin defense of the old Bag. 
( (wing to circumstances over which he had no con- 
trol, however, he was obliged to abandon the 
thought of enlisting until 1864, when In- left the 
parental home September 3. to enroll as a mem- 
ber of ( oinpany A., One Hundred and Forty-fourth 
[llinois Infantry, commanded by Capt. George W 
Carr the regiment being mustered in at Alton. He 
was disappointed that his regimenl was detained at 
Alton to do garrison duty instead of being sen) to 

tin' front, some of the men being sent to Missouri SO 

that he saw no active service in the field, lb- was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



23'i 



soon detailed for service iii the regimental band and 

remained at Alton during the winter of 1864-65. 

■v 
The war closed the following spring, and lie was 

honorably discharged July 1 1. 1865, and mustered 

on! at Springfield. 

Returning to his lather's farm after his exper- 
ience as a soldier Mr. Sanner brought his family 
from his native county to this countj in the spring 
of 18(!(i. lie continued to he an inmate of the par- 
ental household on section 21. Penn Township, 
until he established a home of his own, securing as 
an efficient helpmate to preside over it. Mis-. Mary 
K. Freeland. then a resident of Milan Township. 
Macon County, to whom he was married in April. 
1870. Her father, David J. Freeland, was a native of 
North Carolina whence he came to Moultrie County 
lliir- State, when he was a boy of fifteen years. He 
was engaged in farm work in that and Coles 
County some years, and then took lip his residence 
in Milan Township, of which he is now one of the 
extensive land-holders. He married for his second 
wife Martha Sawyer, a native of Coles Count \. 
and Mrs. Sanner is their eldest child. 

When he married Mr. sanner commenced his in- 
dependent career as a farmer on a half section of 
land in Milan Township, and resided on that place 
for six years. At the expiration of that lime he 
came back to Penn Township to take charge of his 
father's farm on section 21. In 1*77 he took pos- 
session of his present homestead, a beautiful farm 
of three hundred anil twenty acres, finely located 
no section 2:i. Penn Township. He still retains his 
Macon Comity farm of half a section, renting that 
and part of his farm in Penn Township, and he has 
a thousand acres of land in all. including fifteen 
acres of timber in Moultrie County and town prop- 
erty in Bethany. He is extensively engaged in 
general farming, having his farm well stocked, and 
he pays particular attention to breeding line 
roadsters of Hambletonian blood. He has a thorough 
knowledge of the horse, having made a carefuj 
study of the animal for years, and is an acknow- 
ledged authority on all questions pertaining to it 

as but few men observe the g 1 points of a 

horse quicker, or delect its weak parts sooner than 
he. lie is also a successful veterinary surgeon of 
twenty-live years standing. 



A man of an active temperament, and indomi- 
table will and a large nature, our subject has won 
his way to a high place among our valued and use. 
fill citizens. His has been a 1 ill.- \ life. Imt not h\ 
the force of sheer hard work has he acquired his 

property, his labors having been directed by a clear. 
well-balanced intellect, by practical business methods 
and by excellent powers of discrimination and 
judgment. In all his dealings, he has borne him- 
self with unswerving adherence to the principles of 
truth and probity, and his reputation is unblem- 
ished. The Sanner family are noted for their devo- 
tion to the Republican party, and our subject is no 
exception, he being one of the strongest advocates 
of the Republican policy in this part of the State, 
and has been since in early manhood he cast his first 
Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1864. 
Socially, he is identified with William Penn Camp. 
M. W. A., and he is also a member of Prairie Lodge 
K. of H. He is a stock-holder in the Prairie 
Home Building and Loan Association, and all en- 
terprises to promote the growth of the eoiintx find 
in him cordial support. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sanner have been truly happ\ in 
their married life, and their home has been glad- 
dened by the birth of children, of whom they have 
had ten. namely. — Charles Wesley. Carrie Belle, 
Franklin Ellis (who died in infancy), Samuel Wal- 
ter, Cyrus David. Orville Arthur. Lawrence Lester, 
Robert Lincoln. Etta May and .Martha Barbara. 



C^ 



- ^-»-a >-;- — • 




ALCOLM 1). LANE. One of the patriotic 

sons of our country, who in her time of 
peril gladly sprang to her defense and 
spent almost the entire period of the Civil 
War in the army, we are proud to name as the 
brave soldier whose name heads this paragraph. 
He is now dev< tin" 1 imself to the peaceful pur- 
suits of farming U|...:: s sction 19, Ridge Township. 
Shelby County. lie .as born in Fairfield County. 
Ohio, October 26, 1832, and his parents were William 
and Maria (Griswold) Lane. His father was born in 
Ohio, and his paternal grandfather in Westniore- 



238 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



land. Pa., while his mother was a native of Con- 
necticut, whose ancestors came originally to Mary- 
land, and built one of the first houses which was 
erected on the site which is now covered by the 
city of Baltimore. 

Four sons and two daughters, grew up together 
beneath the parental roof, and Malcolm was the eld- 
est Of the uumbcr; Marcus died in this State in 18K0; 
Naomi. Mrs. William Propeck, lives in Denison 
City, Tex.; Rachel, the wife <>f Jesse ( lolumber, lives 
in this county; Henry and .lames M. now reside in 
Marshall County. Kan.; and John died at the age 
of seventeen years. 

Our subject was married December 9, 1855, to 
Miss Melinda Updegraff, of Miami County, Kan., a 
lady who was born in Clarke County. Ohio. .Ian- 
nary .'5. \MX. and went to Kansas with her parents. 
Andrew and Margaret (Lowman) Updegraph, who 
were natives of Ohio, in \H.~>.~>, where she made the 
acquaintance of Mr. Lane. The young couple re- 
sided in that State for live years after marriage, 
and after the war made their home in Shelby 
County, this State. 

Malcolm I). Lane enlisted in Company I. Seven- 
teenth Ohio Infantry, in August, 1861, and was 
made a ( lorporal. lie served with (ien. Thomas in 
Kentucky, and participated in an engagement at 
Wild Cat, Ky.. Mill Spring, stone River. Chicka- 
mauga, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, and the At- 
lanta campaign, finally marching with Gen. Sher- 
man to the sea. His regiment then joined in the 
famous march back through the Carolina- to Wash- 
ington, D. C, and were present at thi' Grand Re- 
view in 1865. The gallant services of this young 
man were the cause of his being promoted, first to 
First Sergeant, then to Sergeant-Major, and finally 
to the rank of First Lieutenant of his company. 
He was mustered out of service at Louisville, Ky., 
July Hi. 1865, and returned to Shelby County, 111., 
where he taught school during the winters for some 
lift ecu years. 

Nine children have blessed the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Fane, namely : Samuel G., Emma A.. Milton 
A. and .1. Monroe (twin-). Minnie R., George A.. 
Katie M.. Ella M. and Walter M. The father of 
these children is wide-awake to all political move- 
ments and earnestly affiliates with the Republican 



paily. He was three time- elected Assessor of ins 
township, and has held the office of Justice of the 
Peace, also that of member of the School Foard as 
well as other minor ollices. The family are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church, in which their re- 
ligious activities find abundant opportunity for 
exercise. 



— J- 



. — -<w 



~*Q' 



i>*-<i^=-*~ 



LNRY CROWL. He whose name is at the 
; head of this sketch resides on section 6, 
Okaw Township, having settled in Shelby 
County in 1861. lie was bora in Knox 
County, Ohio, March 31, 1833, and is a son of John 
and Nancy (Steinmetz) Crowl, natives of Virginia, 
near the old Maryland line: it is uncertain whether 
the mother may not have been born in Maryland. 
The families of both father and mother removed to 
Ohio and settled in Knox County, where they were 
pioneers. John Crowd, the father of our subject. 
was a soldier in the War of 1812. After marriage 
he located in Knox County. Ohio. His first wife, 
the mother of our subject, died in 1844. She was 
the mother of eleven children, nine of whom lived 
to be grown. They were, Mary. John. Catherine, 
Lydia, Henry. George, Hannah. Cordelia and 
Amanda. 

The original of this sketch was the only member 
of his family to come to Illinois. He was reared a 
farmer, his father having followed that pursuit all 
his life, as had his grandfather before him. Our 
subject received his education in the district 
schools of his native place, acquiring a knowledge 
of the branches that an- indispensable to a practical 
business man. He was married Octobei 2."). 1859, 
to Mi-s Sarah Ann Marshall. The lady is a daugh- 
ter of Robert and Nancy Marshall, and was born 
in Ohio, where her parents were pioneer-. 

Mr. Crowl came to Illinois in I860, his first Stop 
being in Livingston County, and in 1861 he came 
hi Shelby County and settled where he now reside? 
Ihe\ having al that lime a -mall tract of unim- 
proved prairie land here. Thej now own one 
hundred and seventy-six acres of well-improved 
land that under the capable management of our 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



239 



subject is made to yield fine crops. He has erected 
upon the place a good residence and barns, Hi* 
place having many of the Latest improvement in 
agricultural implements. 

Mr. and Mrs. Crow] have been the parents of 
seven children. Five of these are now living, viz: 
Henrietta who is the wife of Samuel Turner; John 
M., Arthur W., Emery A. and Loren 1.. lie of 
whom we write is an adherent of the Democratic 
party, believing that the principles of this party 
are those most suited to a Government where free- 
dom ami personal liberty are supposed to he sov- 
ereign. He has held some offices in the gift of the 
township, ha villi; filled the positions of Road ( Com- 
missioner and School Director to the entire satis- 
faction of his constituents. Mr. Crow! is a dest, 

unassuming man. but one who i- universally liked 
by hi- fellow-townsmen and neighbors because of 
his amiability and friendliness. 






LFRED F. ALLEN. County Clerk of 
Shelby County, is one of our most able 
/ ' ami popular civic officials, lie is a native 
y of Indiana, born in Sugar Creek Town- 

ship. Parke County. March 3. 1847. His father, 
.lame- Allen, and his grandfather, Thomas Allen, 
were Virginians by birth. The father of the latter 
who was also named Thomas, served seven years as 
a spy ill the interests of the Colonists during the 
Revolution. He was a man of a hold, resolute 
character, fearless and undaunted in time of peril, 
and his services were invaluable in securing in- 
formation of the movements of the enemj for his 
superior officers. He removed from Virginia to 
Kentucky about 1812, and was a pioneer of that 
State. In 1822 he went to Indiana to spend his 
last years, and made his home with his son in 
Fountain County until death closed his mortal ca- 
reer. His remains were deposited in Wolf Creek 
Cemetery in Park County. 

The grandfather of our subject spent his early 
life iii his native Virginia, and was there married 
in Elizabeth Summers, who was also of Virginian 



birth. In August, 1812, accompanied by his fam- 
ily, he went to Kentucky, and foi sonic years re- 
sided in the wilds of that State. In 1822 lie made 
another move and became a resident of Indiana. 

being among the first to settle the line between 

Parke and Fountain Counties, performing the jour- 
ney thither with teams and pack horses. He entered 
a tract of land in Parke and Fountain Counties, 
and built a house on the Fountain County side of 
the line, in which he lived until his death in Octo- 
ber, is it removed from that locality one of it- 
most useful pioneers. His wife survived him until 
1879, when she too passed away on the home farm 
in Indiana. 

The father of our subject was a lad of twelve 
years when the family sought a new home in the 
forest wilds of Indiana, where he grew to man- 
hood on his father's farm. After marriage he 
settled on a tract of timber land he purchased in 
Sugar Creek Township, he and his bride beginning 
housekeeping in a log house, which was the birth- 
place of our subject. They resided there until 
1K;">7. when Mr. Allen sold that place, and coming 
to Shelby County, boughl a farm in Big Spring 
Township. He lived thereon some years, and then 
sold it, and removing to Strasburg, is passing his 
declining years in retirement, well-earned by a 
long and honorable life of industry, with his chil- 
dren. He was deprived of the companionship of 
his beloved wife by her death in 1879 at Strasburg. 
She was a native of Kentucky and hole the maiden 
name of Elizabeth Nickolls. Her father, John 
Nickolls, a native of North Carolina, was an early 
pioneer of Kentucky, where he spent the remain- 
der of his life. He was a teacher by profession. 
The maiden name of his wife was Elsie Wilson. 
The parents of our subject reared six children, of 
whom the following are the names: Thomas, 
Alexander. James F.. William. Alfred F. and 
Robert H. 

Alfred F. Allen inherited in a good degree those 
fine traits of character of the sturdy Revolution- 
ary and pioneer stock from which he is descended, 
some of our best citizens coming from such an 
ancestry. When he was ten years old his parent- 
brought him from the home of his birth to Shelby 
County, and from that time until his marriage he 



2 1 



PORTRAIT AM) liloORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



was of much assistance to his father in the im- 
provemenl of his farm, lie was a thoughtful, 
studious lad, and in the district schools, which he 
attended quite steadily during his youth, he laid 
the basis of a sound education whereby lie was 
well-equipped for the profession of a teacher, and 
he entered upon its duties at the age of twenty- 
two years, lie taught the greater part of the time 
the ensuing fourteen years, and then abandoned 
that calling to accept a position as clerk in a store 
at Strasburg. lie remained a resident of that vil- 
lage until 1886, and during that time was ap- 
pointed Postmaster at that place, he being the first 
in the county to receive an appointment at the 
hands <>f President Cleveland. He gave every 
satisfaction as an incumbent of that office, as he 
managed its affairs after a most business-like man- 
ner, and was always courteous in his intercourse 
with the people of the village, by whom he was 
well-known, and who appreciated his genial social 
qualities and the worth of his character. 

In lxst; .Mr. Allen removed to Shelbyville to 
assume tin- duties of County Clerk, to which posi- 
tion he had been recently elected. He has ever 

since retained the office, and it is <• -eded on all 

sides, without regard to party, that no man better 
qualified in every way could have been selected, 
as he brings a good understanding of the duties 
required of him. and a clear, well-trained intellect 
to hear upon his work, and his hooks will hear the 
inspection of the most critical. He is an ardent 
Democrat, and has been since he cast his first Pres- 
idential vote for Horace Greeley, always keeping 
himself well-informed in politics. While a resi- 
dent of Strasburg he was an important figure in 
its public and social life, and held several local 
Offices. He served as Justice of the Peace and 
Notary Public of thai village, was at one time 
Town Clerk, and also acted as Assessor and as 
School Treasurer. He is a member of Jackson 
Lodge, No. .vs. A. F. A' A. M.; of Jackson Chapter, 
No. 55, R. A. M.; of Black Hawk Lodge, No. l.s.s. 
K. 1'.. and of the Modern Woodmen of America. 

Mr. Allen was Bret married April 17. L873, to 
Mi^s Mary E. Davis, a native of Moultrie County, 
ami a daughter of Charles Davis, she died in 
1879 after a few brief years of wedded happiness. 



leaving three children. Ida I. and Maggie and one 
since deceased. Mr. Allen was married in 1880 to 
his present estimable wife, formerly Miss Allie .1. 
Storm, a native of Ash Orove Township, this 
county, and a daughter of John ('. Storm. By 
this marriage two children have been horn. Flora 
and one deceased. 



-^^1 



\\& 



i^ 



L=>ON. ANTHONY THORNTON, of Shelby- 
) ville, Shelby County. ex-Judge of the Su- 
preme Court of Illinois, has distinguished 
himself on the bench and before the tri- 
bunals of this State in the course of a long prac- 
tice, extending over fifty-five years, and is to-day 
one of our foremost lawyers, whose learning, per- 
sonality and character have added lustre to the 
har of this county, and have been potent in rais- 
ing it to its present high position in the judiciary 
of this Commonwealth. 

Judge Thornton is of Southern birth and an- 
cestry, coming of Colonial and Revolutionary 
stock. He was horn on a Kentucky plantation, six 
miles from Paris. Bourbon County, November 9, 
1814. His father, who hore the same name as 
himself, was horn in Caroline County, \ a., and 
was a son of Col. Anthony Thornton, who was 
also a native of the ( (Id Dominion, his father being 
a planter and a life-long resident of that state. 
Col. Thornton took an active part in the Revolu- 
tion as Colonel of a body of Virginia State Militia, 
and his commission, which was given him by Pat- 
rick Henry, is now in the possession of our subject. 
Animated by a spirit of adventure, and a desire to 
avail himself of the superior advantages possessed 
by the virgin soil of Kentucky, in 1808 the grand- 
father of our subject pushed forward to the 
frontier, taking with him his family and his slaves, 
the latter about a hundred in number, and journey- 
ing to the new home acros- the mountains with 
teams. His daughter kept a journal, giving the 
details of each day's journey, and the original 
manuscript is now in the Judge's possession. Fora 
time after their arrival in the wilds of Kentucky 
the family lived in Nicholas County, and then the 



. PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



241 



Colonel bought a large trad of land in Bourbon 
and Harrison Counties, and in the dwelling thai 
he erected in the latter county his remaining \ ears 
were passed until his death. 

The father of our subject was reared and mar- 
ried in Virginia, and subsequently accompanied 
his parents and other members of the family in 
their exodus tu the f6res1 wilds of Kentucky. He 
purchased a trad of partly improved land on Cane 
Ridge, six miles from Paris, and gave his attention 
tu agriculture, carrying on lus farming operations 
with slave labor. His life was broughl to an un- 
timely end when scarcely past its prime, Ids death j 
occurring on his plantation in the year 1819. His 
wife survived him only six months, and then she 
ton closed her eyes in that dreamless sleep thai 
knows no waking, she was also a native of Vir- 
ginia, and her maiden name was .Mary Towles. 

Thus sadly bereft of a mother's and father's 
care when lie was but five years of age, our subject 
went to live with his paternal grandparents, who 
reared him tenderly, and he was given every ad- 
vantage to obtain a liberal education. He first 
attended the common schools, which were taught 
on the subscription plan, and at tin age of sixteen 
was sent to Gallatin, Tenn., tu pursue his studies at 
the High School of that town. From there lie went 
to Danville, anil for a time was a student at Centre 
College, lie next entered Oxford College, Oxford, 
Ohio, and so far was he advanced he was enrolled 
as a member of the junior class Of that institution, 
and was graduated with a high standing for 
scholarship in the September Class of '34. 

After leaving college our subject entered upon 
his preparation for the legal profession under the 
instruction of his uncle John R. Thornton, of 
Paris, Ky., and in 1836 he was examined before 
the court of appeals b\ Judge .lames Robertson 
and Judge Marshall, and was admitted to the bar. 
In the fall of the same year he started Westward 
with the intention of settling in Missouri, and 
while on his way came to this county to visit * ten. 
Thornton, traveling by the most expeditious route 
at that time, which was by the Ohio, Mississippi 
and Illinois Rivers to Meredosia, thence by stage 
through Springfield to ShelbyviUe. He found here 
but a small village of about two hundred people. 



living for the most part in log houses, while the 
Surrounding country was but little settled, and the 
land was nearly all owned by the Government. 
With characteristic acumen tin- .luduc soon per- 
ceived that here was a line field for legal talent, 
and he decided to tarry here, and enter upon his 
professional career amid iis pioneer scenes. Ac- 
cordingly he opened an office in the village, and as 
he became known and his ability was recognized, 
clients began to pour in upon him. and his busi- 
ness steadily grew with the growth of the county. 
justifying his anticipations of a good practice 
when he selected this location for a future home. 

In 1848 Judge Thornton entered the political 
arena as a member of the State Constitutional 
Convention that met that year to revise the Con- 
stitution of Illinois, and his legal equipment made 
his services valuable in the work of revision per- 
formed by the members of that convention. In 
1850 he was elected to the state Legislature on the 
Whig ticket, and again he played an important 
part as a member of that most important of all 
committees during that session, the one that had 
charge of raHroad legislation, as then the princi- 
pal railroads of the State were organized and their 
routes defined. In l*<il the Judge was elected to 
Congress, served throughout two sessions, display- 
ing in his career as a national legislator broad 
statesmanship, and so thoroughly satisfying his 
constituents that they paid him the compliment of 
re-nominating him to succeed himself. Then was 
presented the spectacle, lather rare in these days 
of the multifarious seekers after high places, of a 
man resolutely declining a proffered office, to- 
gether with its honors and emoluments. Our sub- 
ject's refusal to make the race again was actuated 
by his desire to retire from political life, and to 
resume once morehis beloved profession. In 1870 
he was elected to the Supreme Bench, a position 
for which he was eminently fitted by experience, 
by his wide and extensive knowledge of law. and 
by the possession of masterly judicial qualities, 
lie administered justice \ igorouslj . equitably, and 
with a clear discernment of the merits of each case 
that came under his jurisdiction. 

Notwithstanding the honor of being at the head 
of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Judge Thornton 



•_' 1 2 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



preferred his old place In-fore the bar as an attor- 
ney, and in l*7.'i his resignation of the judgeship 
was tendered, an act unparalleled in the annals of 
the judiciary of this State, and was received with 
regret, his retirement from the high office he so 
adorned, and where lie so ably conserved the ends 
of justice, being considered a loss to the bench. 
Since that time he has attended strictly to his law 
business, and devotes himself, heart and soul to 
the interests of his extensive clientage. 

The Judge is a man of strong nature, of a fine 
physique and distinguished presence, is popular 
with all classes, and has a firm hold upon the 
hearts of the people among whom the most active 
years Of his life have been passed, and who delight 
to do him honor. He is seen at the best advantage 
amid the pleasant surroundings of his attractive 
home as a genial and courteous host, a devoted 
husband and indulgent father. He has been twice 
married. In 1850 he was wedded to Miss Mildred 
Thornton, a native of Virginia, and a daughter of 
William F. and Ann Thornton. Their married 
life was brief, as the young wife died in 1856, 
leaving two children. William T. and Anthony, 
the latter of whom is dead. In 1866 our subject 
was united in marriage to Miss Kate II. Smith, a 
native of this county, and a daughter of Addison 
and Mary Smith. Two children have been born of 
this union. Catherine 1'. anil Lewis. 




vOI.MADV I'. ROBERTS, a citizen well- 
known in Shelby County (where he has 
lived for many years) as an honorable and 
upright man having the confidence and esteem of 
all who knew him, is always named as one of the 
most enterprising and energetic business men of 
Lakewood, thai pleasanl village situated near what 
was once the shores of Lake M iantowana. He was 
born in Wayne County. Pa., October Hi. 1K-I-L 
his parents, John s. and Mary A. (Friggins) Rob- 
erts, being natives of Cornwall. England. The 
father was born in 1807 and the mother the year 

previous. Their marriage took place in England 
in 1830. 

After twelve years of married life in the old 



country John and Mary Roberts migrated to 

America and located in 1842 in Wayne County. 
Pa., where they remained for seven years. They 
removed to Lafayette County. Wis., in 1849, re- 
maining there till 1856 when they came to Shelby 
County, where they spent the remainder of their 
days. The death of the father, which occurred in 
1878, resulted from a sunstroke and the mother 
passed away in 1HK4. 

Colmady 1'. Roberts received his education in 
the public schools of Wisconsin and of Shelby 
County, supplemented by attendance at the acad- 
emy in Shelbyville. He enlisted in the army un- 
der President Lincoln's last call for volunteers in 
1865 for one year's service and after serving seven 
months received his discharge on account of the 
declaration of peace. He enlisted as Corporal in 
Company K, Fourteenth Illinois ( new organization) 
and was discharged as Orderly-Sergeanl of his 
company, lie took part in the race after Johnston 
with Sherman's army and marched up through the 
Carolinas in Virginia, to Richmond and Washing- 
ton and participated in the Grand Review. The 
regiment gave real service during its short term. 
It was near Ft. Kearney, Neb., when orders came 
to be mustered out. 

To Shelby County our subject returned after hi> 
discharge and engaged in the peaceful pursuits of 
teaching and farming, following these pursuits for 
a number of years. [laving reached the mature 
age of twenty-five years this young man decided 
to agree practically with the scriptural doctrine 
that it is "nol good for man to be alone." and 
chose for himself a wife in the person of Miss El- 
mira Carder, a native of this county, who was born 
here in August. 1H.">0. They were married Novem- 
ber II. 1869. Her parents, Joseph and Frances 
Carder, were early pioneers of Shelby County and 
Mi's. Roberts was the youngest in their family of 
live children, the others being .lames. Henry, fian- 
ces, and one sister who died in early life. Only 
two of this number now survive. Their mother 
dieil in 1M.">1 and the father remarried and had six 
children by the second union, four of whom are 
living. The happy home of Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
has been blessed bythe birth of four children, three 
of whom still make their home under the parental 



' 




(y/^i^a,^6 & J& AsyWL^ 





& jL 



tPLs^-ls-l' 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



217 



roof. The oldest, Edwin A., was born June •'!(). 
1871, and died July 1,1891; Annie B., bora in Jan- 
uary 1 1. 1873, is next in age and Joseph s.. born 
June .'?. 1875, is now attending school at Danville, 
Iiul.. at nu institution under the control of the 
state. Gracie R.,the pet and delighl of the family, 
was bora April 20, 1885. 

In 1*72 .Mr. Roberts engaged in buying grain 
and produce al Lakewood and has continued hand- 
ling grain and stock in connection with merchan- 
dising and farming up to the present date. lie 
and his wife own about six hundred acres of farm- 
ing land in the vicinity of Lakewood and also 
-oine property within the village, lie carries a 
general stock of dry goods, groceries, read\ made 
clothing, hoot> and shoes, provisions, etc. Ili> 
Store is tilled with a well-selected stock and he en- 
joys an excellent share of the trade of the town. 

This gentleman takes a great interest in religious 
work and especially in Sunday-school, being a 
member of the Separate Baptist Church for which 
he often preaches, being ever ready to supply 

vacancies and attend funeral services. His excel- 
lent wife is also an active worker in the same church. 
He i> very useful in the community and is fre- 
quently called upon to settle estates and act as 
guardian for minor children, in both of which 
capacities he has shown himself eminently worthy 
of the confidence which was reposed ill him. He 

has held the office of Justice of the Peace and is at 

the present time a Notary Public. His political 

views are expressed in the declarations of the Re- 
publican party, in the prosperity of which he takes 
great interest. 



"=) 



'-HHM 



f^DWAIM) 



SANNER. The student of 



— «j history finds abundant food for thought in 
__^ the life record of this gentleman who has 



materially added to the wealth and importance of 
Shelby County as one of the leading agricultural 
centers of the great Prairie state since he identified 
himself with its most stirring and enterprising 
farmers and stock-raisers a quarter of a century 
ago. lie lias extensive landed interests both in this 



and Macon County, and a beautiful home in l'enn 
Township, where he has ,-i model farm. He devotes 
this estate largely to stock-raising purposes, hav- 
ing here one of the best herds of llcrefords in this 

section, and several line Cleveland P>a\ horses 

among other valuable stock. A view of this line 

homestead appears on another page of this volume. 

Our. subject was horn April 29, 1839, in one of 

the pioneer homes of Madison County. His fa- 
ther. Samuel Sanner. was an early settler of that 

section of Illinois, who took an active part in its 
development during the thirty -three years that he 
resided there. He was a l'eiinsy Ivanian by birth, 
bora in Northumberland. He married Barbara 
Paul, a native of that pari of Virginia now in- 
cluded in West Virginia, and in 1833 came with 
her from Pennsylvania to this state. In lKtitl he 
removed with his family to this county, and here 
his life was closed in his home in l'enn Township 
in April. 1880, death coming lo him after a long 
and busy career. He left a record worthy of emu- 
lation and an untarnished name that is revered l>\ 
his descendants and by all who knew him. 

Edward Sanner grew to manhood under good 
home influences, and principles of industry and of 
doing well whatever he undertook were early in- 
stilled into his mind and undoubtedly have con- 
tributed much to his prosperity since he began his 
independent career as a farmer. As soon as he was 
old enough he attended the district school and 
continued a student there until he became of age, 
and as he made the best of his opportunities he 
obtained a sound, practical education. His father 
intended to send him to college at Lebanon, hut 
his services were needed at home, and the idea of 
a course at college had to he abandoned. lie was 

living quietly in his father's I e in Madison 

County when the great Civil War between the 
North <ind South broke out, and Bred with patriot- 
ism, he desired to serve his country. But here 
again his wishes had to give way to his sense of 
duty, as some of his brothers had entered the army, 
and he was more than ever needed to help carr\ 
on the farm, so he gave up the thought of enlist- 
ing in a regiment of zouaves as he had contem- 
plated. But the work that he performed at home 
in sowing the seed and harvesting the crops was as 



24K 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



necessary to carrying on the war to a successful issue 
as the hard fighting that the soldiers did at the 
front, for the wheat and corn raised on the broad 
prairies of the Middle and Western States to supply 
the armies with needed food were important fac- 
tors in suppressing the rebellion and preserving 
the Union. 

The removal of the Sanner family, fattier and 
sons with their families, to this county in 1866, 
was an important event in the life of our subject. 
In the fall of that year he located on land bought 
from the Illinois Central Railway Company, com- 
prising the wesl half of section 2o. Township 1 1. 
( 1 Vnn Township), range .'!. east. Penn Township 
then formed a part of Pickaway, and the prairies 
of the northern part had been passed by, with but 
few exceptions, as untit for settlement on account 
of the swampy character of the soil. This proved 
to be a mistaken idea, as since some of the finest 
farms of the county have been improved here, our 
subject's among others. With characteristic energy 
he entered upon the hard task before him of re- 
deeming his land from its wild condition by drain- 
ing it and placing it under careful cultivation, and 
to-day there is not a more desirable farm through- 
out the Length and breadth of Shelby County than 
his, with its well-tilled fields yielding abundant 
harvests, and its commodious, conveniently ar- 
ranged frame buildings, including a large and 
handsome residence of a modern style of architec- 
ture, with pleasant surroundings. He has added 
to his original purchase, and now has one thou- 
sand and ninety acres of well-improved prairie 
land, two hundred and ninety acres of it lying in 
Mai on County, and the remainder in this county. 
Carrying on an extensive business as a general 
farmer, Mi-. Sanner gives much attention to stock- 
raising, Hereford-, of which he has a valuable herd, 
being his favorite breed of cattle, and in horses, 
Cleveland Bays stand first with him. and he has 

SOme line specimens of that hi 1. 

The ceremony which made .Miss Naomi I'ierson. 
Of Bunker Hill, the wife of our subject was per- 
formed November 15, 1865, and in her he has 
found one of life's choicest blessings. Their 
wedded life has heen productive to them of nine 
children, named Willie. Albert, llattie. Clifford, 



Ruth. Fanny. Samuel, (^iiintus and Naomi. Fanny 
died al the age of twelve weeks. Mrs. Sanner is a 
native of Jacksonville, Morgan County. 111., born 
in 1840, and is a daughter of Dr. Daniel C. and 
Naomi C. (Nixon) Pierson, natives of New Jersey. 
Her father practiced medicine in his native State 
several years prior to his removal to Illinois in 
1833, when he became a pioneer physician of 
Jacksonville. 

Nature has dealt generously with our subject 
and has not only endowed him with a line physi- 
que, but has given him a keen, discerning, well- 
poised mind, and with these as capital, seconded 
by decision of character and tenacity of purpose, 
he could not fail to make life worth living and to 
achieve whatever he desired to accomplish. He is 
of an open-minded, fair, generous disposition, and 
has gathered around himself many warm friends. 
whom he is ever ready to oblige, and in times of 
trouble or need they are sure of his sympathy 
and assistance. Nurtured in the faith of the Re- 
publican party, which was organized in his boy- 
hood, and taught to believe that its tenets were 
the only true ones for the conduct of the Govern- 
ment, Mr. Sanner has always been a devoted fol- 
lower of the party ever since he began to exercise 
the right of suffrage by casting his first Presidential 
vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860. 

The attention of the reader is invited to the 
lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Sanner. pre- 
sented in this connection. 






T OHN HENDRICKS. Among the prominent 

families who have helped to make the local 
history of Shelby County, we take pleasure 
in Darning again the one of which our subject 
is a representative. John Hendricks resides on sec- 
tion 22. Okaw Township. and is a son of Samuel and 
Mary E. Hendricks. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject, who bore the name of George Hendricks. 
Came to this State from North Carolina, and set- 
tling in Okaw Township, made his home there with 
his worthy wife and there they resided until they 
were called from earth by the call which no man 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



24!» 



disregards. His death occurred some years previ- 
ous to thai of his faithful companion. He was 
bom in North Carolina, January 29, 1799 and died 
July 1 1. 1835, while hi.s wife, who was a native of 
the same State, had her birth October 26, 1798 and 
passed away April 24, 1K72. They reared to use 
fulness three sons and two daughters, namely 
Samuel, John R.. Zimri, Amanda, and Losada. 

Samuel and Mary E. Hendricks were the parents 
of eight children, one of whom died in infancy 
and seven grew to years of maturity, namely: 
Rebecca A. (Mrs. Charles Turney) John, our sub- 
ject, David, deceased, Charles. Lawson, Alonzo 
and Mary E. (Mrs. Lewis Hawk). 

Oursubjecl was reared on the farm and received 
hi- education in the common schools of Shelby 
County. He is the eldest son and second child of 
his parents, being horn January 22. 1850. His 
early choice of an occupation for life was made in 
favor of farming pursuits, and he was married 
August 21. 1871, to Anna L. Patterson, a daughter 
of .lames and Frances Patterson and a native of 
Shelby County. III., where she was horn October 
2(1. 1851. 

About three years after marriage .Mi', and Mrs. 
Hendricks settled upon the farm of eighty acres 
where they now reside. Their eight children hear 
the names of Minnie F., William E., John E., James 
A.. Carrie F... Rhoda E., Myrtle E., and an infant 
who is yet unnamed. The political views of Mr. 
Hendricks are in accord with the declarations and 
platform of the Republican party hut his interest 
in the welfare of the farming community has in- 
fluenced him of late to vote with the Farmers' Mu- 
tual Benefit Association. He is an active worker 
in the Christian Church and a man whose useful- 
ness therein is accorded hy all who know him. 

David F. Hendricks, deceased, a brother of our 
subject, is worthy of note in connection with this 
sketch, lie was horn .Inly 24, 1853, and died May 
15, 1881. Mr. Hendricks was a graduate of Chi- 
cago Commercial College and was book-keeper for 
a leading firm of contractor- at Shelbyville. For 
five years he was chorister of the Christian Sun da v- 
School and for one year chorister of the Royal 
Purple Temperance Association and also led the 
singing in church for some time. He was an hon- 



ored and beloved member of the Christian Church 
and was also identified with the Independent Or- 
der of Odd Fellows. His death was greatly felt in 
the community where he had made his home from 
childhood. 



r OSEPH E. EDEN, proprietor of the Eden 
House, of Sullivan, Moultrie County, is 
numbered among the honored pioneers of 
' the county. Only seven of those living in 
Sullivan at the time of his arrival are still residents 
of that place. Probably no man in the community 
i- more widely or favorably known than our suh- 
ject, who was born in Hath County. Ky., Septem- 
ber Id. 1S20. His father. John P. Eden, was horn 
in Baltimore, Md., in 1796, and the grandfather, 
Jeremiah Eden, was a native of England. When 
a young man he crossed the Atlantic probably lo- 
cating in Maryland, where he wedded a lady of 
German descent. After living for a time in that 
State, they removed to Bath County. Ky.. where 
they spent the remainder of their lives. Both 
were members of the Methodist Church. The 
father of our subject was a young lad when his 
parents removed to Kentucky where he grew to 
manhood and married Catherine Cann. a native of 
Bath County, where her parents were early settlers. 
Their union was celebrated in 1818, and upon a 
farm in that locality they resided until 1831, when 
they removed to Rush County. Ind.. locating three 
miles from Rushville. Mr. Eden procured land 
upon which he made some improvements and died 
at his home in Indiana in 1835. lie was a sound 
Democrat in politics and twice voted for Andrew 
Jackson. His wife survived him some years and 
died at the home of our subject in 1870, at the 
age of seventy years. In religious belief she was 
a Presbyterian. The family numbered six children, 
of whom Joseph E., John, whose sketch is given 

elsewhere, Mrs. Moore, of Bruce, III., and Mrs. 
Sampson, of Sullivan are yet living. 

Our subject was only fifteen years of age when 
his father died and being one of the older children 

ol the family much care and labor devolved upon 



250 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



him. lie proved the main support of his widowed 
mother and the faithfulness with which he at- 
tended t<> his duties merits the highest praise. His 
school privileges were necessarily limited hut he 
would gather hickory hark to make a torch light 
and during the long winter evenings would rend 
such hooks as lie could get hold of until at length 
he had acquired a good practical knowledge. The 

only school which he attended was a log Cabin 
furnished with puncheon floor and slab seats, but 
SO well did he prepare himself that for ten years he 
was a successful teacher in Rush County, Ind. 

During that time Mr. Eden met and married 
Miss Matilda M. Russell, who was horn two miles 
from Rushville. Ind.. in 1<S2!S. and is a daughter of 
Col. William S. anil Maria (Ward) Russell, who 
were natives of Kentucky. With their respective 
families her parents went to Indiana during child- 
hood. Mi'. Russell served as a Colonel in the 
Black Hawk War and in Indiana occupied the 
Office of County Sheriff. His business was that of 
a merchant and dealer in live-stock. In 1834, he 
started for Georgia, with a large drove of horses 
and while in that State died of spasmodic colic. 
He was then less than fort \ years of age. lie was 
a man of commanding presence, fine-looking and 
his appearance commanded respect. He also served 
as Colonel in the State Militia. His wife survived 
him many years and died at the advanced age of 
eighty-four, in Jasper County, Ind. she was a sec- 
ond time married, becoming the wife of Dr. Knox, 
who died at the home of our subject. 

Mrs. Eden remained with her mother until her 
marriage, which was celebrated May II. 1846. By 
their union have been born four children: William. 

who wedded Rel le Alevi udci and resides i n I'Ycmio. 

Cal.; Susie, wife of Dr. ().('. Link, a successful 
physician of Lincoln. Neb., who was formerly Su- 
perintendent of the Insane Hospital at Yankton. 
S. Dak.: J. F., a leading liveryman of Sulli van. who 
wedded Josie Smi/er; and K. I!., who married 
Elizabeth Beverage. lie resides in Sullivan and is 
engaged in the insurance and real-estate business. 
In the line of his trade, Joseph Eden has become 
widely known. lie began operations in the hold 
business in 1864, and was very successful in his 
undertaking until 1880, when he suffered quite a 



loss by tire. However, on the site of the old hotel 
he elected a new one. which was completed in 
1883, and on the 3d of November of that year 
was opened to the public. It is situated on the 
southwest corner of the square and is a three-story 
brick with basement, containing forty sleeping 
rooms, besides parlors, three sample rooms, commo- 
dious kitchen, dining-room, etc. The house is well 
arranged and is furnished with all modern con- 
veniences for the comfort and entertainment of 
guests. Mr. Eden exerts himself to make his pa- 
trons feel at home and the hotel well deserves its 
popularity. In connection he also had a large and 
line livery which was burned on the sth of August, 
1879, just one year after it was completed. We 
thus sec that he had met with reverses hut with 
characteristic energy he set to work to retrieve his 
losses. Altogether his career has been most pros- 
perous. Previous to his embarking in the hotel 
business he established a general store immediately 
after his arrival March 7. 1853, and for twenty 
years engaged in merchandising. In the meantime 
he purchased land and followed farming and stock- 
raising for fifteen years. His property was near 
the city and he still owns a portion of it. 

Mr. Eden has lived to see almost the entire de- 
velopment of the county and has done much for 
its interests. At the time of his arrival there were 
only about four hundred voters in the county and 
the work of progress seemed scarcely begun. He 
held the office of Postmaster of Sullivan under 
Presidents Pierce and Buchanan, being first ap- 
pointed in 1853 and was superseded when the Re- 
publican part\ came into power. lie was also 
Justice of the Peace for four years and soon after- 
ward was elected County Judge, filling the office 
for a similar period. During that time the old 
county court house was burned and the present 
structure erected. Judge Kden was the prime 
mover in securing the sale of the swamp lands, 
with which funds the new court house was built 
and sufficient left to purchase the present poor 
farm of two hundred acres. In this purchase he 
met with much opposition, a- main wished to use 
the money for school purposes, hut he persevered 

and the poor farm has proved a valuable acquisi- 
tion, being now self-SUStaining and a credit to the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



251 



county. When the agricultural society of the 
county was organized in 1857, Mr. Eden became 
connected with it and for more than twenty years 
has been its President, holding thai position at the 
present time. On the organization of the Building 
and I. nan Association in 1887, he became its high- 
est official and is yet its President. In politics he 
is one of the stanches) advocates of the Democracy 
and is a leader of his party in this portion of the 
state. He has been an honored delegate to the 
state and count \ conventions and for several years 
has been Chairman of the County Central Com- 
mittee. For thirty-seven years he has been an 
odd Fellow and for twenty-four years has lieen a 
member of the Grand Lodge of the state. He is 
one of the charter members of the third lodge of 
Royal Templars in the state, located at Sullivan. 
We thus see how prominent .Indue Eden has been 
in public affairs. His genial, kindly manner has 
won him many friends who esteem him highly for 
his sterling worth. The active part which he has 
taken in the upbuilding of the county entitles 
him to mention among its founder- and best citi- 
zens and it is with pleasure that we present this 
sketch to the readers of the Record. 



,*. f * i > t w ^ 



} i i i i i < i 



/5K IIAKI.KS H. McCOY. Centuries ago, the 
I _ work of an architect only began when the 

Vi/ idea, the plans and specifications for his 
work were impressed upon his mind, and confided 
to parchment. After that In 1 himself, with a myriad 
of workmen went into the forests, hewed down the 
trees that his judgmenttold him were best adapted 
for the work in hand, and set about putting them 
in such shape with his chisel and saw. as could 
he used in his building. To-day. in architect- 
ure, as in every thing else, there are a hundred, 
yes. more. Specialties, to which as many men bring 
the concentrated power of their intelligence, abil- 
ity and skill. Of these Specialists, no one takes a 
more important part than he who furnishes the 
well-seasoned timbers that go to make up the skel- 
eton of a frame work, the odoi'OUS, pine\ -hell, and 

the beautifully grained, marveloush shaded woods 



for the interior finish. The trade of a [umber 
dealer is one in which, if one have any artistic 
instinct, there is large opportunity for the fullest 
enjoyment of color, tone and form. 

Our subject, who has just reached that age when 
success begins to he grateful was horn in Mifflin 
County. Pa., February in. 1851. His father was 
the late Samuel II. McCoy, a farmer by occupation 
and a native of liucks County, Pa. where he was 
horn December 1. 1818. Our subject's mother 
whose maiden name was Rachael .1. Anderson, was 
horn in Mifflin County. Pa. in .Inly. 1882. After 
their marriage, they settled in the bride's native 
county, where together they pursued the course 
of life for many years, and where the father died 
June h. L890. They became the parents of five 
children, our subject being the second in order of 
birth. His birthplace was in Mifflin County. Pa. 
and his natal day was duly 10. 1851. 

Charles II. McCoy was reared to maul I on his 

father's farm, and remained under the parental 
roof until about 1873. After that time and until 
1 XT*;, he was employed in different occupations in 
his native Stale, anil at that date, he came to Piatt 
County. 111., where for a period of two years he 
was employed during the summer months at fann- 
ing and during the winter season lie was engaged 
in teaching in Moultrie County. At this time he 
formed a partnership with .1. C. Met old and 
launched into the grain and lumber business in 
Heinent. This partnership continued until 1881, 
at which time the firm dissolved and for about seven 
months afterward our subject was employed as hook- 
keeper for a coal company in New Mexico. His 
experience in that territory was new and interest- 
ing, hut he was not so attracted that his inclina- 
tions did not urge him to return to the Prairie 
state. Coming hither again he engaged in his 
former occupation, or rather, in the lumber trade. 
at Atwood. remaining there,however, hut for a short 
time, selling out his business and in the spring of 
1883 coming to Lovington, where he resumed the 
business in which he was formerly engaged hut 
thereafter being sole proprietor, although for 
the first two years, that is from 1883 to Ikh.">. he 
was in partnership with his brother. S. E. McCoy. 
The original of this sketch enjoys the reputation 



252 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of being a straightforward business man honor- 
able in all his dealings, and il speaks well for hi* 
credit thai he enjoys to the fullest extent, the con- 
fidence and esteem of his fellow-townsmen. His 
marriage look place in Bement this State, December 
25, 1879. Mrs. McCoy's maiden name was Susan L. 
Tabor. Her parents were Edwin and Nancy A. 
(Boyle) Tallin-, she is a native of Kentucky, being 
born in the metropolis of that state February 25, 
lH.Vi. Their union has been blessed by the advent 
of three children whose names are respectivel}' Ed- 
win T.. Fred II. and Florence L. They are amiable 
and lovable young people endowed with bright 
minds and quick perceptive faculties. Our subject 
affiliates with the Republican party, and although 
he is greatly interested, as all good men must be. 
in local government, he is not in anysensea seeker 
after office. Hchas, however, been elected to some 
local posts, and has filled theimportant position of 
School Director with great appreciation of the re- 
sponsibilities of that office. 

()X. SAMUEL \V. WRIGHT, Jr., repre- 
1 scuts the Thirty-third Senatorial District 
-,/ in the General Assembly. From a local 
(£) standpoint he is an enterprising citizen and 
a liberal supporter of all worthy enterprises. Per- 
sonally he of whom we write is modest and retiring, 
but a thorough business man and a gentleman. He 
lives on a farm, which he oversees, but as the 

greater part of his time is given to outside busi- 
ness the term of "gentleman tanner" might with 
propriety be applied to Mr. Wright. He is the 
owner, however, of a good farm in Sullivan Town 
ship, which, owing to his splendid management, is 
a model of neatness, order and attractiveness. Like 
the majority of farmers who do business on a large 
Scale in the State, he deals extensively in live- 
stock anil is a general trailer. 

The original of our sketch is the only son of 
James M. and Mildred (Dazey) Wright, and was 
born in this county June 30, 1850. The family 
removed, however, to Shelby County in the fall of 

1850, and there the lad passed his boyhood days. 



He was seventeen years old when the family came 
to Sullivan, and the young man finished his edu- 
cation at Bastian College, then a noted institution 
of learning, but now defunct. Like the present 
leader of the Republican parly, the Hon. .lames G. 
Blaine, he began his career asa teacher. and doubt- 
less, in forming debating societies for his students, 
he early learned parliamentary rules and regula- 
tions that were of value to him later in his career 
in public life. 

In 1870 Samuel Wright was married, his bride 
being Miss Angie Powell, who was born in Moul- 
trie County. March I. 1850. Their nuptials were 
celebrated ill Sullivan, where for a time the young 
couple made their residence. Mrs. Wright is a 
daughter of John and Sarah (Harbough) Powell. 
In 1879 they settled in Moultrie County, where 
they at present reside. Here our subject is en- 
gaged while at home, in stock-raising, being able 
to boast of some of tin' finest breeds in the animals 
that he owns. Politically, the originator of our 
sketch is an important factor in the local forces of 
the Democratic party. An intelligent, educated 
man. and a good speaker, he has done much for 
his party in the State. He has for three terms held 
the local office of Township Supervisor, and has 
also been Chairman of the Board, and has been 
instrumental in effecting many changes that have 
benefited the county. 

In the fall of 1890 he of whom we write was 
elected to the Stale Senate, and was one of the one 
hundred and one who supported the Hon. John 
M. Palmer so ably for the United States Senate. 
His standing in the Legislature speaks for itself in 
the fact that lie was a member of some of the 
mosl important committees, serving on ten in 
all. among which were those on appropriations, 
banks and banking, corporations, etc. lie received 
the highly complimentary vote of three thousand 
four hundred majority oxer his Republican oppo- 
nents and several hundred over all other candi- 
dates, which speaks in most glowing terms of his 
popularity in the county. 

Mr. Wright's domestic and home life i> exceed- 
ingly happy. His wife is a charming woman, who. 

while her chid' interests are centered ill her home 
and family, presides with great dignity and ele- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



■2»3 



nance over the domestic realm. She is a delight- 
ful hostess, making rich or poor, greal or small, 
feel al home and easy in her gracious presence. 
she is the mother of eight children, whose names 
are as follows: Carrie E.. Addie <>.. Walter P., 
.lames A.. Minnie May. Edward E., Homer \V 
and Samuel Palmer. 

( )nr sulijeet is Past Grand Master of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and also a member 
of the Knights of Pythias. In their religious re- 
lations both Mr. and Mrs. Wright are connected in 
membership with the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. Our sulijeet is a man whose biographical 
sketch it is a pleasure to consider. Cultivated, 
educated and manly, with no inclination to boast 
of natural advantages or acquirements, he is one 
who naturally takes his place at the head of affairs 
anil is recognized universally as one of nature's 
noblemen. 



■ ■■■t-f-t&r 



>-» EORGE W. GPJSSO. The hospitable and 
I genial owner of the finely-improved farm 

\_A located on section 12. of Tower Hill Town- 
ship, is a man whose ancestry and birth tell in his 
general status, for he is intelligent, well informed, 
a lover of hooks and of beautiful things, altogether 
a manly man and a gentleman. His father was 
Christian Grisso, a native of Virginia, and his 
mother Elizabeth (Detrick) Grisso. Both parents 
were of German ancestry. Our subject's father 
still survives, but his mother passed away about 
1858. They were the parents of a family of eight 
children, and of these our subject was the fourth 
in order of birth, having been horn in Clark 
County. Ohio. August 30, 1838. 

The original of this sketch attained to manhood 
in his native county and State, and December 13. 
1864, when he felt that he could take upon him the 
responsibilities and duties of wedded life, he was 
married to Miss Catherine Mellblger, a daughter 
of Malchor and Matilda (Bowman) Mellinger, who 
were residents of Dayton, Ohio, at the time of 
their death, where they had lived for many \ ears. 



They were the parents of ten children, of whom 
Mrs. Grisso was the second in order of birth. She 
was born in Richland County, Ohio, February 5, 
1840. 

After the marriage of our subject, he. with his 
young wife, settled in Clark County, Ohio, and 
there lived five years, from which place they came 
to this county and settled in Tower Hill Township, 
where they have ever since been residents. Their 
domestic life has been very happy. Kindly ami 
forbearing, each is appreciative of the intentions 
and acts of the other. Little ones have come about 
them, and those who survive have grown to he 
good and intelligent women, who have taken re- 
sponsible and honorable positions in society. They 
arc a credit to their parents, and speak well for the 
years of tender guardianship and care which have 
been bestowed upon them. The names of the five 
children are as follows: Carrie M.. who died in in- 
fancy; Clarence A., who was also taken away while 
a babe; Emma .1.; Cora M.. who is the wife of 
Charles Malone; and Ivella I. 

Mr. Grisso has been appointed to service in 
several local offices, having been Highway Com- 
missioner and School Director: and the compli- 
ment that has been paid his judgment and ability 
has been returned by faithful and efficient serv- 
ice, lie has ever taken an active part in local po- 
litical affairs, striving to have the local govern- 
ment in the hands of sucb men as will conscien- 
tiously discharge their duties irrespective of party 
power. He fraternizes with the Prohibition ele- 
ment, thus showing his progressive tendencies. 1 1 is 

wifeisa member Of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and he himself has ever been a generous contribu- 
tor to the support of the Gospel. 

He of whom we write has found his vocation to 
he that of a producer and cultivator of the rich 
cereal treasures of the earth, and in this, although 
a comparatively young man, he has already been 
favored with a reasonable degree of success. He 
is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of 
good land, upon which he has expended much 
money and labor in line improvements. His resi- 
dence is a cozy and comfortable home, which finds 
a place for the besl influence wrought by hooks 
and music and cheerful, animated conversation on 



25 1 



PORTRAIT AM) IUOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



current topics of tin day. Hedevotes the greater 
part <>f his attention to the cultivation of small 
fruit, in which he has been particularly successful, 
:iikI his farm in the warm days of June, duly and 
August, when the bushes are laden with their fra- 
grant and juicy burdens, is an enticing and de- 
lightful place to visit. Socially he belongs to the 
( iiiler of United Workmen. 

During the War of the Rebellion Mr. Grisso en- 
listed in the army, becoming a volunteer in Au- 
gust, ls<> - 2. in Company A., Ninety-fourth Ohio 
Regiment. He served about eleven months, at 
the expiration of which time he was discharged 
on account of physical disability, lie was taken 
prisoner near Frankfort, Ky., and experienced 
something of the prison life, although he was par- 
oled soon after his capture. 

LONZO HENDRICKS. Shelby County 
abounds in a line class of farmers who have 

given to this section of the Prairie State 
an excellent reputation and have been of 
help in building it> commercial and agricultural 
interests. To such the county owes a debt which 
is not easily paid and they will leave to their pos- 
terity a heritage which will lie their besl possession. 
Our subject, who is such a citizen and who resides 
on section 29, Okaw Township, where his farm is 
there tributary to the city of Shelbyville, is the son 
of Samuel and Mary I-'.. ( Sconce ) Hendricks, natives 
of North Carolina and Kentucky respectively. 

Samuel Hendricks came to Illinois when a young 
man and was married in Shelby County, and gave 
his entire attention to farming, until a few years 
previous to his death, when, feeling that he had 
done his share in the work of subduing the soil 
and adding to the world's riches through its culti- 
vation, he retired from active life and made his 
home ill Shelbyville, where he died in May. 1888, 

at the age of sixty-two years. Ili> good wife 
passed from earth in 1881. lie was horn March 
25, 1H2(>. and carh became a pioneer of Illinois. 
coming with his parent- to Shelby County in 1831, 

and thus -pent the greater part of his life in this 




state. Hi- character was such as to give him the 
warm regard as well as esteem of his neighbors. 
He was an honored member of the Christian Church 
from October 5, 1841, and was a constant and true 
friend of the Union through all the trying scenes 
of the Civil War. 

The political conviction- of this pioneer made 
him an ardent Republican yet he could not be 
called a politician in the usual sense of tin- word, 
as his intelligence and extensive reading had made 
him a man of breadth and he was cordially willing 
that every man should hold to his own opinions. 
never cherishing any hostility toward those who 
differed from him. His honorable attention to 
the affairs which concerned himself and his willing- 
ness to allow his neighbors the same privilege added 
greatly to his popularity. His funeral, which was 
one of the largest ever known in the county, at- 
tested to the high respect in which this honest and 
hard-working man was held. 

Mr. Samuel Hendricks had in his wife a worthy 
and efficient helpmate, one who made it her aim in 
life to do good to all with whom she came in con- 
tact, and to make her home the happiest place on 
earth. She was born in Nicholas County. Ky., 
September 6, 1826, and came with her parents to 
Shelby County when quite young. Her father 
died at the age of seveiilv-ti ve and her mother 
survived until the venerable age of seventy-eight. 
Their daughter was an earnest member of the 
Christian Church and a steadfast worker therein, 
her death, which occurred in 1881, was felt as a 
meat blow not onl\ to her home friends but also 
in the community. 

The subject of this -ketch was born February 2 1. 
1859, and received in the common schools of Illi- 
nois the education which litted him tor life's work. 
Upon his father's farm he was thoroughly drilled 
in the practice and theory of farming and under- 
took that work as his business for life, lie was 
married in is.su to Luella Hardy, daughter of 
Thomas and Eliza Hardy. Like himself she is a 
native of Shelby County, and is now the mother 
of one brighl and promising child, to whom they 
have given the name of Earl. Mr. Hendricks has 
resided where he now lives since his marriage and 
now has in his possession one hundred acres of line 




•A 





PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2,-> 7 



soil upon which lie has placed substantial and per- 
manent improvements. His political views have 
led liim to affiliate with the Republican party and 
in it- prosperity lie feels a keen interest. 



=^t:^> 



ollN P. BRABHAM. Living the life of a 
retired funnel' in the pretty village of Lov- 
ington, Moultrie County, where be uasa neat 
and attractive home, our subjecl bas reached 
thai period of life al which lie may be pardoned if 
lie exults in bis good birth and parentage. In truth 
be was well horn and a native of the suite thai boasts 
so many men who bave attained greal fame as states- 
men .-inil orators. Almost contemporary with Jef- 
ferson, Lee. Harrison and many others of the men 
who have enriched the historical pages of their 
State by valianl word and deed. John 1". Brabham, 
e.n l\ grew up with ,-i keen appreciation of oratory 
and statesmanship, for did he not in his earliest 
infancy breathe in the very atmosphere that created 
orators? 

Our subject's father was John Brabham, who 
was horn in Loudoun County. \'a. His mother 
was Mary Elizabeth Power,alsoof Virginia. After 
their marriage they settled in Loudoun County 
and remained there for a long time. In 1835 they 
determined to strike out in a new direction and 
removed to Morgan County. Ohio, where thev 
lived for some two oil hrec \ ears. They next re- 
moved to Washington County. Ohio, where the 
decease of both occurred. It is not reniarkahle that 
they did not accumulate much wealth for they had 
fourteen little mouths to feed. However, as time 
passed the little ones grew to manhood and wo- 
manhood, becoming independent and a source of 
material help and comfort to the parents. It is 
a somewhat remarkable fact, that of this large 
family :ill reached maturity and had families of 
their own. The lir-t break in the home circle un- 
caused by the death of the youngesl child, a daugh- 
ter, who left two children. 

Our subject was the fourth child in order of 

birth, tirst opening his eves in Loudoun County, 

■ 
Va., his natal day being on the 1 1th of April. 1818. 



With his father and family he went to Ohio when 
seventeen years of age and continued under the 
home roof until his marriage, which event took 
place December 28, 1840, in Washington County, 
Ohio, his bride being Miss Doshe K. Webster, a 
daughter of John and Mary (Hurries) Webster, 
the former of whom died in Hardin Countv. 
Ohio. After the death of her hushand. who was 
accidentally killed by the discharge of a rifle, Mrs. 
Webster returned to Washington County and there 
remained until her death. She had ei^ht children 
of whom Mrs. Brabham was the third. Her birth 
took place in Morgan County. ( )hio. July 24. 1824. 

After the marriage of the original of our sketch 
and his wife the young couple settled in Washing- 
ton Countv. Ohio, and there continued to live un- 
til 1867, when he sold out "his farm and came to 
this State and county, settling in Lowe Township 
on section 17. On that place they continued to 
live until May. 1889, when he rented his farm and 
removed to Lovington, of which he has since been 
a resident. When a young man our subject learned 
the cooper'.- trade which he carried on in connec- 
tion with farming while he lived in Ohio, but since 
coming to the Prairie State he has devoted his 
whole attention to agricultural affairs. 

Mr. Brabham is the owner of two hundred and 
forty acres, all of which is well improved. The 
soil, which is of the best quality, has for years been 
well tilled and the buildings upon the place are 
substantial and good. Mr. and Mrs. Brabham are 
the parents of five children: Dianlha C. was lir-t 
married to John Rigg, in Ohio, in 1864, and of 
that union three children were born — Vesta. Nor- 
ton M. and Arthur E. For a number of years she 
made her home with her parents until in June. 
1XH4. when she again married, becoming the wife 
Of James Jones, and two children have come to 
bless this union. Walter and Wilda (twins), the 
latter dying at the age of two years. Her two sons 
by her first marriage still reside with their grand- 
parents and brighten the home- and lives of the 
worthy couple. (If the remaining children of Mr. 
and Mr-. Brabham the following is recorded: Walter 
II. died when sixteen years of age, just as the golden 
gate of manhood was opening before him and the 
pro-peels within its portal seemed SO fair; Francis 



258 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



M. married Miss Rebecca Deeter; Leonidas died 
when a lad of eleven years; David G. married Miss 
Uattie Dougherty. 

In political affairs Mr. Brabham has taken a fairly 
active interesl and is a Republican by preference, 
lie has held the office of Justice of the Peace for a 
long time and lias also been School Truster and 
School Director. Both he and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church and have 
been so connected since DS42. Nearlya half-cent- 
ury of church experience and social relationship is 
theirs, and they have followed the changes which 
have taken place in the customs of their church 
with interest and attention. Our subject has filled 
various offices in the church, and lias been local 
preacher for years, also Superintendent of the Sun- 
day-school, Deacon and Class- Leader. His wife 
has been a constant and faithful companion in all 
his good words and works, and is a woman of 
beautiful Christian character, whose amiability of 
disposition, gentleness and kindly spirit, have ever 
been an example of good to those around her. 
Mr. Brabham was a lay delegate to the Methodist 
Episcopal Conference held in Bloomington in Sep- 
tember, 1891, and always strives in whatever posi- 
tion placed to advance the cause of religion so 
dear to his heart. 

A lithographic portrait of Mr. Brabham accom- 
panies this sketch'. 



=*£> 



()1IN MOLL. The young gentleman whose 
history it is our pleasure to here chronicle. 
i> :i successful fanner and stock-raiser opera- 

ting a place on section 20, of Pickaway 
Township. The tract comprises two hundred and 
forty acres of good land, which is so well managed 
:i~ lo he the admiral ion of all who have the oppor- 
tunity of seeing it. Although a young man to 

have tin' care of SO large a place he has controlled 

it for the past two years, having been engaged as 

m far r in flat Branch Township for tin' live 

years previous to his coming here. 

Our subjeel was bora on the farm which he now 



<2J 



occupies, his natal day being February 27. L862, 
and he is the fourth child in the parental family. 
His parents were Daniel and Caroline (Wolf) Moll, 
natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively, 
both of German ancestry. They were married in 
Ohioandat once came to Illinois, settling in Ridge 
Township about 1854. Later they came to Picka- 
way Township and purchased a small farm, a part 
of which is now covered by the old homestead. 
This was the nucleus of the handsome property 
that Mr. Moll subsequently acquired. The farm 
comprised nine hundred and forty acres, mosl of 
which is now highly improved. The dwelling is a 
large two-story brick house, of imposing style and 
well located, commanding a magnificent view of the 
surrounding country. 

Six farm dwellings which make g 1 homes for 

the tenants and workmen about the place have 
been built on the land. The place has been brought 
to its present high tone chiefly by the efforts of 
Mr. Moll Sr.. who is now retired from a life of ac- 
tive engagement in agriculture to a beautiful home 
in Moweaqua, where he and his wife live in quiet 
retirement at the ages Of three score years. They 
are active and well-known factors in Moweaipia 
where they hold a prominent social position. Their 
church relations are connected with those of the 
United Brethren Church, of which Mr. Moll is a 
member. They have live living children. 

The original of our sketch was reared on the 
farm which he now occupies, lie received the ad- 
vantages of a good public school education and 
is well fitted for practical business life. He was 
married in this township May 1. 1884, to Miss Ida 
Hell Tolly, who. like himself, is ,-i native of this 
township, where she was liorn September 8, 1 S< < > 7 . 
Here she was reared and educated. She is the 

daughter of Cornelius and Elizabeth (Goodwin) 
Tolly, who die now living at Moweaqua and are re- 
tired farmers. They arc old settlers in the county 
and have been successful in a financial way. Mrs. 
Moll was well and carefully reared. She i> a bright 
woman, having an unusual conversational talent, 
an attractive personality and charming manners. 

She i~ the proud mother of two children, in whose 

care and education she is deeply absorbed. 

Mr. and Mrs. Moll arc members of the old-school 






PORTRAIT AND BI< RAPHICAL RECORD. 



259 



Baptisl ( li inch of Flat Brand) Township. Our 
subjeel is a Republican in his politics as is his fa- 
ther. He i> a member of the order of the Farmers' 
.Mutual Benefil Association. 



ONATHAN PATTERSON, familiarly known 
throughout this part of the State as ••Dud';" 
Patterson, belongs to a family of Scotch 
origin, the grandfather of our subject hav- 
ing been a native of the Highlands of Scotland, 
where he received thorough trainingand education 
and when a young man came with Gen. Lafayette 
t<> the United Mates, where he served as a soldier 
through the latter part of the Revolutionary War. 
He afterward settled in Tennessee and there mar- 
ried his Hrst wife, who died while in the prime of 
life in Marshall County. After her death Mr. Pal 
terson removed to Muhlenberg County, Ky., and 
there me1 and married his second wife and came 
to Illinois in 1828. His son, David, father of our 
subjeot, came to Illinois the same year, traveling 
overland with an ox-team and a horse, the horse 
being hitched in front of theoxen. They brought 
their household goods with them ami after stopping 
for a shorl time in Edgar County, continued their 
travels in the same way to .Moultrie County, which 
they reached in .March. 1833. After visiting in 
Shelby County they finally settled near Sullivan. 
this county, and here David Patterson, the father 
of our subject, began life as a pioneer in the wilds 
Of the new country, lie helped to lay out the 
present ciiv of Sullivan and spent his lasl years 
here, dying in October, 1867. His wife survived 
him for two years and passed away at an advanced 
age. By her marriage to David Patterson she had 
four sons and three daughters, four of whom are 
still living. 

David Patterson, the father of our subject, was 
horn in Tennessee in 1806 and he was yet a young 
man when lie came to Illinoi>. and here he married 
Polly Harbaugh, whose parents, Jjfcob and Nancy 
(Hill) Harbaugh, were of Pennsylvania Dutch stock 
and came from West Pittsburg, Pa., traveling down 



the Ohio River on a (latboat, making the first set- 
tlement in Muhlenberg County. Ky. After the 
marriage of their daughter, Polly, with David Pat- 
terson, the family came to Illinois and settled in 

what is now Moultrie Country in the year 1833, 
and here Mr. and Mrs. Harbaugh spent their last 
years and died of old age. They were well-known 
and highly respected among the pioneers of this 

part of the State. 

After David Patterson and his wife settled in 
this county they took a farm and improved it ami 
spent the remainder of their days here. Mr. Patter- 
son died while on a \ isit in Mar-hall County, Tenn.. 
in October, I866,.bu1 his remains were brought 
home and lie in the cemetery at Sullivan. His 
wife died in August, 1869. They were members 
of the Christian Church and personal friends of 
Dr. Alexander Campbell. Mr. Patterson was a 
prominent man in the Democratic ranks and for 
many years served as Justice of the Peace and 
School Commissioner for a long while, lie was 
County Judge foi twelve years ami helped to Or- 
ganize the county and to get the hill through the 
Legislature, and also assisted in locating the county 
seat. 

••Dock" Patterson was the lirsl horn of his 
parents, his natal da\ being October 1. 1827, and 
his native place being in Muhlenberg County, Ky. 
lie was thus not quite a year old when his parents 

came to Edgar County, this Slate, and was yet a 
child when they continued their migration to this 
county. He received a log schoolhouse education 
and grew to manhood, taking up the occupation 
of a farmer and stock-raiser. For forty years back 
In/ has been the favorite auctioneer at salesof stock 
all over the county, ami indeed throughout this 

portion of the State. In 1883 he cs to Sullivan 

and bought a livery stable which he i- now man- 
aging on North Main Street. 

Our subject was married in this county to Miss 
Julia A. Souther, who was horn in Kentucky, Octo- 
ber 10, 1829. She came north with her parent- in 
the fall of 1833 and received her training and 
education in this county. She is a woman of un- 
usual ability, a faithful wife and affectionate mother. 
Of their seven children four are deceased, namel\ : 
John. Marv. William A. and Charles II.. while those 



260 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



who remain in this life are, Sarah, the wife of Mack 
D. Philhower, a conductor mi the Sante Fe Rail- 
road, residing in IVkin. 111., and Nancy and Katie 
who arc at lniinc with their parents. The positions 
of I )c| mi \ Sheriff and Constable have for nine 
years been tilled by Mr. Patterson and lie has 
also been Township Collector. His political views 
ally liiin with the Dunocracy and he is a member 
of the Blue Lodge of Masons, at Sullivan. Both 
lie and his lovely wife are identified with the 
Christian Church in which he has served as Deacon. 



* ~<Q)' 



Mfc-«8 



B>— 



<«p^)LLSW(>KTII FOSTER was born in Pickn- 

ll-s', way Township. Shelby County. December 

* ■? 2.'!. is<;;'i. his birthplace being the farm thai 

lie is now so successfully managing, and he has 
taken his place among the manly, independent, 
wide-awake young farmers and stock-raisers who 
within recent years have stepped forward to help 
carry on the great agricultural interests of this 
county so well developed by their pioneer sires. 

()ur subject i- a son of John Foster, an old ami 
well-known citizen of this county, now living in 
honorable retirement at Shelbyville. He in turn 
w .- 1 - the son of another John Foster, both being na- 
tives of Yorkshire. England. In 1843 the grand- 
father of our subject left his early English home 
to seek another in this country, bringing with him 
his wile and six children. The family set s:iil from 

Liver] 1 on the good ship Glasgow, and after a 

voyage of six weeks and four days, landed at Xew 
York, and proceeded directly to Ohio, journeying 
!i\ 1 he Hudson River to Albany, thence by Erie 
(anal to Buffalo, from thereon the lake to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, and then by canal to Madison County, 
in the same State. 

In 1849 the elder John Foster brought his fam- 
ily to Shelbj County, and was one of the lirst set- 
tlers on the prairie of Todd's Point Township, hut 

few pioneers having preceded him to that locality, 
and they had selected homes in the timber. The 
country was niostFj in its primitive condition, with 
deer and other kinds of wild game plentiful. Mr. 
Foster entered a tract of Government land, and 



building at once, devoted his time afterward to 
Stock-raising and general farming until his life was 
rounded out by death at a ripe age. His wife also 
died on the home farm in Todd's Point Township. 
In her maiden days she bore the name of Ellen 
Atkinson. She whs a native of Yorkshire. Eng- 
land, and a daughter of Thomas Atkinson. She 
reared six children, named as follows: Joseph, 
Mary. John, Alice. Thomas and James. 

The father of our subject was a lad of thirteen 
years when he came to America with his parents. 
brothers and sisters, and still has a vivid remem- 
brance of his boyhood's home and of the pioneer 
life that the family was obliged to lead after com- 
ing to this country in the newly settled regions 
where they located in Ohio and this Slate, lie was 
bred to the life of a farmer, ami resided under the 
parental roof until his marriage, lie then engaged 
in farming in Todd's Point Township a few years. 
His next venture was to buy one hundred and 
twenty acres of prairie in Pickaway Township. He 
busied himself in the years that followed in the im- 
provement of his place, erecting a substantial set of 
frame buildings, putting the land under admirable 
tillage, and greatly adding to the attractiveness 
and value of the farm by planting fruit and shade 
trees. In 1889 Mr. Foster yielded the management 
Of his farm to the competent hands of his son Ells- 
worth, and retired from active labor to a plea-ant 
home at Shelbyville, which he then purchased. 

John Foster took Rachel DODSOB as his wife in 

1848, and for more than forty years they have 
shared life's jo\ s ami sorrow > together. Mrs. Fos- 
ter was born in Westmorelandshire, England, and 
is a daughter of John ami .lane (Clark) Dobson. 
who were also natives of that shire, and came to 
America about L836. They settled among the pio- 
neers of Stark County. Ohio, and there spent their 
remaining days. Both Mr. and Mrs. Foster are 
sincere members of the Presbyterian Church, and 
are people of high principle anil character. They 
arc the parents of six children, namely: Ann Ame- 
lia..!. Williams. Wesley T., -I. Ellsworth, Norman 
II. and -l»-ii ii ie. 

Ellsworth Foster grew to man's estate in the 
home of his birth, and was educated in the local 
public schools. lie was an active, sturdy, self-re- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



261 



limit tittle lad, and even when very young was of 
much assistance on the farm, and early acquired a 
thorough familiarity with agricultural pursuits, 
lie lived with his parents until his marriage, and 
then they removed to town and he took charge of 
the farm. He is managing it judiciously and with 
"(Mid results, and has already acquired a good repu- 
tation for hi- skill and practicality in carrying on 
farming after the most approved modern methods, 
tie is straightforward and candid in his dealings, 
stands well financially, and his pleasanl social qual- 
ities make him popular with his associates. He i- 
:in active member of William Penn (amp. M. W. 
A. He holds sound and sensible views in regard 
to politic-, ami is a true Republican. 

To tin' lady who presides so pleasantly and gra- 
ciously over his home, and co-operates with him in 
extending its hospitalities to friends of strangers 
who may happen beneath its roof, our subject was 
married in 1889. One child, whom they have 
Darned Faith, completes their household. Mrs. Fos- 
ter was formerly Edith Noon, is a native of Wau- 
kesha County. Wis., anil a daughter of .lames and 

Hannah (Fear) N l.an extended -ketch of whom 

appears elsewhere. Mr-. Foster is a lady of culture, 
and in her the Unitarian Church has a valuable 
member, who is active in its every good work. 



. 



*=*s« 



^ ART. 1IKXRY L. HART, who won mili- 
I lary honors during the Civil War as an 

V^_/ olliccr of an Illinois regiment, is a promi- 
nent citizen of Shclhy ville. Shelby County, where 
he has for some time conducted business as a fut 
niture dealer, and he ha- also been a conspicuous 
figure in the municipal government. He was born 
in Fairfield County. Ohio. October 20, 1837, a -on 
of I'.arnhart Hart, who was horn in Pennsylvania 
in February, 18 I-'. 

The grandparents of our subject removed from 
Pennsylvania to the Buckeye state during tin' 
tirst quarter of this century, and were among the 
early pioneers of Fairfield County, where thc\ 
both ilicil soon after they located in its primeval 



wilds. Their son Barnharl was very small when 
he was Ihu- orphaned, and he early had to work 
for a livelihood. At the age of fourteen he was 
bound as an apprentice to Mr. Beck, a blacksmith, 
Of Lancaster, and served with him seven years to 
learn the trade, receiving hi- hoard and clothes in 
repayment for his assistance. At the expiration of 
that time he did journey work forawhile, and then 
opened a smithy in the village of Jeff erson, and 
carried on business in his line in that place until 
1851. In that year he bought a farm in Violet 
Township, and has since devoted his time to fann- 
ing, being one of the prosperous, well-to-do farm- 
ers of his neighborhood. In early manhood he 
took unto himself a wife, whose name prior to their 
marriage was Mary Wooster, ami she was born in 
Germany in 1812. The following are the names 

of the eight children that this worthy couple reared 
to maturity: Francis C. Henry I... Anna M.. 
Charles, John, Elizabeth. Susan A. and Irvin M. 
John, who was a member of Company K. One 
Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Infantry, died op- 
posite YTcksburg while bravely fighting for his 
country. 

In the county of llis nativity he of whom these 
lines are written grew to man's estate, and in its 
Schools he gained a good practical education. lie 
remained with his parents until his twenty-second 
year, affording his father valuable help on his farm, 
and he then came to this county, lie was em- 
ployed in farming here until 1861, and then the 
restless spirit of adventure and the prospects of 
gain sent him to the gold fields iii the Rocky 
Mountains. In company with others, he started 
in the month of March on the long and tedious 
journey aero-- the plains, going with a team to St. 
Louis, and there embarking team and all on a river 

Steamer hound for Atchison. Kan., whence the\ 

proceeded across the prairies to their destination. 
At that time buffaloes were plenty on tin 1 plain-. 
and Indians, who were sometimes hostile, had full 
Sway. Denver, which was then in its infancy, had 
a population of hut three or four hundred people. 
Our subject engaged in mining until fall, then 
returned to this county with the proceeds of his 
labors. In the month of December he volunteered 
for service in the Union Army, having determined 



262 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to join his patriotic fellow-countrymen at the fronl 
to help defend the stars and stripes. His name 
was enrolled as a member of Company II. Fifty- 
fourth Illinois Infantry, and he went South with 
his regiment. In all its campaigns, marches and 
battles, he was an active participant, and on all 
occasions displayed true valor, coolness in danger, 
and promptness in action that mark the genuine 
soldier, which traits finally won for him deserved 
promotion from the ranks to the position of First 
Lieutenant, his commission being received in 1864. 
From that time he had command of his company. 
although he was not appointed its Captain until 
February, 1865. His men fought well under the 
inspiration of Ids leadership, and did their part 
bravely in every battle in which they met the 
enemy, continuing in the service until after the 
close of the war. when they and their gallant Cap- 
lain were honorably discharged. 

Alter leaving the army ('apt. Hart returned to 
Shelbyville, and for some years was engaged here 
in the grocery business untilfailing health obliged 
him to wind up his affairs and take a much needed 
rest. After selling out. he spent one year in the 
South and in his native State, and he then came 
hack to Shelbyville. lie was employed as a clerk 
until Isi.s."). and then established himself in his 
present business, in which he has been eminently 
successful. He has a large and well-appointed 
store, stocked with a full line of furniture and 
house furnishing goods, our subject making it a 
point to cany every article used in the fitting up 
of a modern home demanded by the needs and 
tastes of his many customers. 

In 1866 Capt. Hart was united in marriage to 
Miss Isabella Fishbaugh, a Dative of Ohio, and a 
daughter of Mordecai and Isabella Fishbaugh. Their 
wedded life has lieen one of mutual felicity, and 
has broughl them four sons — Francis C, Lewis 1L. 
William li. ami Walter E. 

The Captain is a man of sound business princi- 
ples, i- prompt in his dealings and methodical in 
i he management of his affaire. His fellow-citizens, 
recognizing these facts, and knowing their value in 

a civic official, at < ne time called him to the head 

of the municipal government, and for four years 
he served with distinction as Mayor of Shelbyville. 



He is a tine Democrat in his politics, and in his 
religious faith a firm Presbyterian, both he and his 
wife being active members of the church of that 
denomination in this city. 

OHN N. STORM belongs to an energetic, 
enterprising family of whom the young 

men early started Out in life for themselves. 

Our subject is a general merchant in the 
village of Strasburg, and being thoroughly ac- 
quainted in the surrounding country, he lias the 
advantage in both buying and selling, lie of whom 
we write is a son of Hiram .1. Storm, who was born 
in Ash Grove Township, Shelby County, this State. 
His mother was Harriet Rankin, who was horn in 
Liu' Spring Township. Our subject's parents after 
mawiage settled in Ash Grove Township. The 
mother died while her hoys were young, passing 
away in 1868. The father is still living and is 
employed as a farmer in Big Spring Township. 
They were the parents of seven children and of 
these our subject is the fourth in order of birth. 
He was horn in Ash (.rove Township. Shelby 
County, this State. January 13, 1*">*. and was 
reared chiefly in Big Spring Township, remaining 
with his father until he was eighteen years old. 
when he came to Strasburg and was engaged in 
wagon making and repairing, and was thus occu- 
pied for about two years. He then went into the 
saloon business but continued in this only a short 
time and then engaged in the general mercantile 
business. 

The original of our sketch carries a good and 

well-aSSOrted stock of merchandise and enjoys a 
gOOd trade. He has Idled several local offices. He 
has been both village and township Constable. 
Justice Of the Peace, Village Trustee and School 

Treasurer, lie is a member of the Masonic frater- 
nity. Mr. Storm's marriage look place in Richland 
Township. His wife's maiden name was Anna B. 
Martin, she was a daughter of Jacob Martin, who 
died in Richland Township. She was horn in Indiana. 
The\ are the parents of five children, three of whom 
only are living. Their names are Merton R., Or- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



263 



ville and Ivy. Two died when very young. Mr. 
st < >iin affiliates with the Democratic parly. 

Our subject i^ a man who has a great deal of 
executive ability, and whose business dealings are 
On an extensive plane. He is engaged quite exten- 
sively in addition to his local business, in shipping 
eggs and poultry to the New York markets. 



^ 




ARTIN L. LOWE. Among the success- 
ful business men of Sullivan. Moultrie 
County, we are pleased to mention the 
name which appeal's at the head of this 
paragraph — the name of a prosperous dealer in 
horses and the head of a liverystable and who also 
deals in all kinds of farming implements and vehi- 
cles, lie keeps a tine line of turnouts and horses 
at his place, which is well equipped and where he 
has been conducting business since October, 1889. 

Near the city of Sullivan lie also has a g 1 farm. 

owning about four hundred and fifty-two acres in 
tins township and in East Nelson Township, and 
also has one hundred and sixty acres in Douglas 
County. His large property is stocked with about 
one hundred head of line cattle and some fifty 
head of horses and he has among them some line 
animals of good grades. 

Mr. Lowe hears the reputation of being an ex- 
cellent business man and a "thoroughly good fel- 
low." and he is well and favorably known to the 
people of Sullivan in and near which city he has 
lived for twelve years. His native home was in 
Harrison County, \V. Va., where he was horn in 
L858. lie is the son of John B. Lowe, a native of 
Virginia who was a farmer by occupation and died 
ill Harrison Count) in 1876 at the age of seventy- 
live years. lie was the son of Old Dominion par- 
ents and our subject was yet quite young at the 

time of his father's decease. His mother, whose 
maiden name was Susan Robinson, died sonic years 
before, she was during most of her life a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church and came of 
excellent Virginian stock. 

Although bereaved of his parents in his youth. 
Martin Lowe was given an excellent education. 



lie was one of a numerous family, live of whom 
are yet living, lie was early thrown upon his own 
resources and became indepi ndenl and so more 
quickly fitted for supporting himself and a family*, 
lie was married in Harrison County, W. Va., to 
Miss Elizabeth K. Higginbotham, who was horn in 
that county and came of an old established family. 
George Higginbotham, her father, is now living at 
an advanced age in Clarksburg, \V. Va., and was 

bereaved of his wife, whose maiden name was 

Lydia Griffin, in 1*7'.). 

Mrs. Lowe, the wife of our subject, was one of a 
family of live children who received the best ad- 
vantages in an educational line and she shows 
marks of the culture which was he-towed upon 
her in her youth, for she is a woman of unusual 
ability and intelligence, is ,-i true wife and a faith- 
ful mother and is bringing up her three lovely 
children — Omar. Georgie and Lulu — in the fear 
and admonition of the Lord. She is an earnest 
and conscientious member of the .Methodist Church 
and a valued worker in even good effort. The 
political doctrines which receive the endorsement 
of Mr. Lowe are those which arc found in the 
declarations of the Democratic party. 



"r~3 



^« 



&- 



OlIN N.LENOX. Horn of parents who are 
conspicuous Cor the superior mental power 
that they possessed and which gave them, 
\~J wherever they resided. a prominent position 
iii the community, our subject was early trained in 
a direction of which comparatively few men have 
more than the suggestion of the true status of the 
position. Had he lived a little earlier or a little 
later doubtless our subject's father would have been 
a confrere with Patrick Henry or with Abraham 
Lincoln. A Virginian, as was tin' first named, he 
possessed all the tire and ardor of the Southern 

orators, and was an effective speaker on political 
occasions. As it was. Mr. Lenox. Sr.. was repre- 
sentative of the besl thought and policy in his 
part of the country and was advanced to main 
prominent positions which were unsought by him. 
John Lenox, the father of our subject, was horn 



2(11 



PORTRAIT AND P.KHiRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Virginia and early learned the fiery speeches of 
the Revolutionary heroes. His wife was in her 
maiden days :i Miss Nancy Mellinger. At an early 
day they settled in Shelby County, Ohio, and there 
they died. Although the old gentleman was a 
farmer by occupation he was ever involved in pub- 
lic affairs. His ability in legislative matters was 
such as t<> inevitably bring him to the front. He 
was County Judge of Shelby County. Ohio, and 
served in the state Legislature for one term. The 
home life was such as to make the children thought- 
ful and to develop in them a liking for public 
affairs as well as a knowledge of Parliamentary 
rules. The family comprised eight children and of 
these our subject was fourth in order of birth, lie 
was born in Shelby County, Ohio, December 25, 
IK2.">. and was reared to an agricultural life. 

John Lenox, Sr., was married December 2*. 1848, 
to Raphael Jane Arbuckle, in their native county in 
Ohio. She was a daughter Of Robert and Leatha 
( 1 Iain) Arbuckle. both of whom were natives of 
.Maryland, where they grew up and were married 
and welcomed their little daughter Leatha. who 
was hut two years of age when they removed to 
Ohio and settled in Shelby County, where they 
died. Mrs. Lenox, our subject's wife, was born 
near Hagerstown, Md.. January 2d. 1829. Al- 
ter their marriage they settled in Shelby County. 
Ohio, where Mr. Lenox was engaged in farming 
and stock-raising. 

In March, 1854, the original of our sketch re- 
moved from his home in Ohio to Shelby County, 
t his State, and in the following December settled 
upon the farm on section 1(1. where he now lives. 

They havea beautiful home pleasantly located ami 
SUlTOUnded with tine shade trees, ami in the fruit 
season one may regale oneself with the choicest 
varieties of the fruits common to this latitude. 
The home has always been the center and the meet- 
ing place for the most cultivated people of the 
vicinity, who are sure of finding in the genial host, 
an enthusiastic and pleasing talker and a kindly 
sympathetic listener. 

Mr. anil Mrs. Lenox are the parents of four 
children whose names are, Zeru L. A.; Wallace \V.; 
Leatha C. ami John M. The eldest daughter is 

the wife of William II. Shaw, who is ex-Sheriff of 



Shelby County. Wallace W. is a farmer and stock- 
dealer in Richmond Township, ami a progressive 
and thoroughly business young man. Leatha C. 
is the wife of John M. Sargeant. John N. is a res- 
ident in St. Louis. Mo. He of whom we write has 
always been engaged in agricultural pursuits and 
in stock dealing which hi' has found to he very 
profitable. He is the owner of three hundred and 
twenty acres of finely improved land upon which 
he has made many valuable improvements. 

In politics our subject is a Republican, using his 
influence in favor of the party which is dear to 
him by principle and by association with the mem- 
ories of his younger days. Mr. Lenox has ever 
been a generous contributor to tin' up-building of 
churches and the support of the ( iospel. and ill- 
deed, every progressive measure has received his 
encouragement and aid. 




\()AII SYFERT. This gentleman is at the 
r head of a large family of which he may 

ii well be proud, as the younger members 
show every mark of growing up into as useful 
members of society as the parents and older child- 
ren proved themselves. The father of this gentle- 
man, ( ieorge Syfert, was born in Pennsylvania, and 
passed awaj from earth in Fairfield County, Ohio. 

lie had the useful trade of a shoemaker hut de- 
voted himself mostly to agriculture. His worthy 
wife, who bore flic maiden name of Mary Oberly, 
was a native of Pennsylvania, who also died in 
Fairfield County, Ohio. This place was also the 
native county of our subject, who was born 
November 1."!. 1823, being one of a family of ten 

children. 

After being reared to man I d young Syfert re- 
sided for a number of years in his native home 
anil then removed to Allen County, the same State 
and lived there for thirteen years, before coming 
to Shelby County. 111. Here he made his home in 
Ridge Township, in January. 1867 and has been a 
permanent resident. Ili^ marriage had taken place 
in Ohio, August 2. 1849, his bride being Catherine 
Fiicsner, who was born iii Fairfield County, Sept- 




^^jjym^^- & 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



267 



ember 1 2, 1 83 1 . This day was the beginning of a long 
life of domestic happinessand prosperity, and this 
union brought to the 1 nippy couple fifteen children ; 
John \V. married Emma Askins; Franklin I'. took 
to wife Anna Shumaker; Eliza A. is the wife of 
Edward McDonald; William B. married Elizabeth 
Yantis; Andrew J. was married to Emma Stivison, 
Sarah A. is the wife of William Fritz of whom our 
reader will find a sketeh in this hook; Lodema E. 
is the wife of John Turner; Catherine R. became 

the wile of New toll Lllpton; LillieB. is unmarried , 

l.nii ('. married George Padgett and the remaining 
children are [da R.. Edward M. and Oliver S. Two 
little ones. ( teorge II. and Emma J. died in infancy. 
Agricultural pursuits have absorbed the lime 
and attention of Mr. Syfert, and in them lie has 
achieved success, lie has erected good buildings 
upon his farm and is the owner of one hundred 
and fifty-six acres. He has served educational in- 
terests as a member of the School Board and is an 
earnest and conscientious member of the society 
known as the Church of God. In political matters, 
lie is nntrammeled by parties, and casts his vote for 

men and measures which are upheld by his own 

judgment. 



\ p-LIAMA 
\ / older met 



if the 
/ older men and physicians in Lovington, 
W Dr. Smith belongs to a family that have 
experienced pioneer life in its many interesting, 
as well as trying aspects. His father was Nicholas 
( '. Smith, who was horn in Baltimore, Mil., in 1 7KC 
From there he went to Westmoreland County, Pa., 
at an early age, and while there he learned the car- 
penter's trade and on the breaking out of the 
Patriot's War in 1812, he enlisted in the regulai 
army for five years, and after the battle of Lake 

Erie he was transferred to the Western frontier. 
lie was one of the first of fifty white men who 
ever set foot in Rock Island and assisted in erect- 
ing the Block House in that place and afterward 
erected another at Prairie du Chien. Wis. After 
his time of enlistment had expired he returned and 
settled in Davis County, Ind., where he was mar- 



ried late in the year 1823, to Miss Margaret Boos. 
who was hum near Wheeling, W. Va., and was of 
Swiss and German ancestry. 

After the marriage of our subject's parents they 
lived in Davis Coiint\. until the winter of 
1830—31, when they removed to Parke County, 
Ind.. and there continued to reside until the win- 
ter of 1836—37. They then removed to Mont- 
gomery County. Ind.. at which place the father of 
the family died in the winter of 1849. Our 
Subject's mother died in Tippecanoe County. Ind., 
about 1862. They were the parents of four sons 
and five daughters, our subject being the eldest of 
the family. He was horn in Davis County, Ind.. 
September 21. 1825. 

I'p to the age of twenty. Dr. Smith made his 
home under the parental roof. At that age he went 
to Tippecanoe County. Ind.. and August Iti. lK-lii. 
he enlisted in Company K. in tin 1 regiment of 
Mounted Rifles and served through the Mexican 
War. At the end of the war he returned to Tip- 
pecanoe County and entered the employ of a 
gentleman by the name of Black who was engaged 
in the tanning business. Thus occupied he eon- 
tinned there until the spring of 1849, when, July 
.'!. he was married in Clinton County. Ind.. to Miss 
Sarah A. stinson. who was horn in Ohio, September 
Id. 1839. They settled in Tippecanoe County and 
there they continued to live until the sprint;- of 
I860, when the Doctor came to Sidney. Champaign 
County, this State. 

Long having had a taste for medicine, hut never 
having had an opportunity to gratify his inclina- 
tion in that direction, in the winter of 1849, he 
embraced a chance which offered itself to begin 
reading medicine under Dr. Moses Baker, and con- 
tinued with him until 1857. At that time he at- 
tended a course of lectures at the Rush Medical 

College in Chicago, remaining in that city during 

the winter of 1857—58. In the spring of 1858 he 
entered upon the practice of his profession at 
Odells Corners, in Tippecanoe County. Ind., re- 
maining there until the spring of I860, when he 
went to Sidney. Here he remained for one year 
hut in the spring of 1861, removed to Newman, 

Douglas County, this State, and practiced there 
until 1N7S>. with the exception of one year ( lHJ.'i) 



268 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



which lie passed :it Kansas station, this state. In 
1878, he removed to Ellis. Ellis County. Kan., and 
there made his home for two years, bu1 Indiana 
re-asserting her old claim over his affection and 
loyalty, he returned and settled in Parke County. 
He remained in that county until L885 when he 
came to Lovington, making his advent here in 
April of the last named year. Being one of the 
older practitioners, he here enjoys a confidence and 
regard that many of the younger men could 
hardly expect to have attained so soon, however 
able and worthy they may he. 

[)r. Smith is the father of six living children 
whose names are respectively -lames ('.. Aliee. 
Moses I!.. Anna G., Emma E. ami Eva. The eldest 
son is a railroad man being engaged as a conductor 
on a railroad in Kansas. Aliee is the wife of B. <1. 
Kills; Moses 15. is also a railroad conductor; Emma 
I-], is the wife of Walter List on of Decatur, this 
State, while Anna <■. and Eva still complete the 
family circle and give a tone of freshness and 
youth to the social circle that would otherwise be 
marked by the sedateness of advanced years. One 
child was taken away from them in girlhood. 
Julia C. was hut fifteen years of age when she (lied 
and her decease was a great blow to her parents 
and friends for she was at the loveliest period of 
budding womanhood, and promised to be a woman 
of whom her parents might well be proud. 

Mrs. Smith is a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church and has been so connected lor many 
years. Tin 1 Doctor is liberalin his religious belief, 
lie has for many year- been a Mason, having been 
so made in l.aruramie Lodge, Tippecanoe County, 
Ind.. in 1849. lie was conspicuously engaged in 
the Mexican War. during which he took part in all 
the engagements under Gen. Scotl from the land- 
ing of Vera Cruz to the capture of the City of 
Mexico, at which his company was the firsl to 
enter the gates of the city after its capture on the 
morning of September 14, 1*17. After having 
performed heroic service his reuiment was dis- 
charged by special Act of Congress A.ugus1 28, 

ISIS. 

While in Ellis County. Kan.. Dr. Smith met with 
serious reverses on account of failure of crops, lie 
had invested much of his money in a tract of 



land, hut having sustained such heavy losses in 
other directions he was compelled to dispose of his 
land at a great sacrifice. In spite of the fact that 
he had at this time passed his youth, he set about 
retrieving his losses and with an indomitable will 
and energy succeeded in a great degree in so doing. 
lie is now in the possession of a good practice in 
Lovington and is much loved among the people of 
that place. 

In connection with this sketch a lithographic 
portrait of Dr. Smith is presented to our readers. 



A fifclLLLAJM II. AUGH3NBAUGH, prominent 

\rJ// bi business, political and church circles, as 
Y^n// a public-spirited and enterprising man. 
who does his full share in forwarding every move- 
ment to enhance the best interest of his town and 
county, we may well count the gentleman whose 
name appears at the head of this paragraph. lb' 
is now a dealer in drugs, wall paper, toilet articles, 
etc., in Oconee, Shelby County, and was horn 
March .1. 1SI2, in Baltimore. Md. 

John and Catherine (Fisher) Aughinbaugh, the 
parents of our subject, were natives respectively of 
Pennsylvania and Baltimore, and reared a tine fam- 
ily of three sons and four daughters: Amelia was 
the wife of John Caldwell, and died in Litchfield, 
111.; Annie is the widow of William McEwcn. ami 
also resides in Litchfield; our subject is the third 
in age, and his next brother, Levi, resides at Bush- 
nell, 111., where he is engaged in business as a com- 
mercial traveler; Catherine, who is tin' wife of John 
Cress, went to the far distant West, and is making 
her home at Portland, Ore.; John, who is married, 
resides at St. Louis. Mo., where he is engaged as a 
compositor in the office of the Republican; sus.-m. 
wife of William Davis, makes her home at Litch- 
field. 

lie of whom we write was educated at llillshoro. 
111., having come to that city with his parents in 
the year 1855, from Iluntsville. Ala., to which they 
had previously removed from Baltimore. After 
the family had been living in this State for about 
eight years, the mother died in 1863 in Macoupin 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 269 



•m= 



County, bul the father who survived and married joined the Oconee Lodge, No. 392, where heserved 

again, is living with our subject at Oconee. for twelve years a< Master, and represented the 

Our subject served for two years during the Civil same in the Grand Lodge of this State for eight 

War in the Quartermaster's Department, beinf as- consecutive year-. Afterward he served in this 

signed to duly with the armies of the Tennessee same capacity for two years, and is the present 

a*nd the Cumberland respectively, being in the Post Representativ* for 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Aughin- 

Department in both these connections. After the baugh are worthy members of the Methodist Epis- 

elose of the war he returned to Hillsboro, and en- copal Church, where they are active in every good 

gaged in mercantile business, continued in that line work. This public-spirited and enterprising man 

successfully until L 867, when he sold out ami re- is wide awake to the merits of the political situa- 

moved to ( leonee. this county. Here heagain took tion, and affiliates with the De cratic party. 

up the mercantile business anil continued in it for 
about six years. 

William II. Aughinbaugh and Miss Sallie R Wil- 
mot were united iii the sacred bonds of matrimony, 

in September, 1870. This lady was born in Chris- W% ATIIAMKL BRANTON McCLUER. A 

tian County, 111., and her wedded life began with J, man win > is widely known in Shelby County 

a prospect of great happiness, hut it was cut short 1 Z_ as being a large and successful fanner and 

by her decline in health, and she died of consump- stockman who has done much toward introducing 

lion in 1873, leaving two little children to mourn an improved grade of stock into this Slate and to the 

a mother's love and care. In January, 1 S 7 7 . our West generally, is he whose name is at the head of 

Sllbjecl was married to his second wife. Miss Mollie this sketch. lie is a progressive and public-spirited 

1. Wilinot. a sister of the first Mrs. Aughinbaugh. man whose tendencies are all towards an elevating 

and a native of the same place, where she was born influence, both in business relations and in his 

in January, I860. Two children were born of the domestic life. Mr. McCluer resides on his tine 

second marriage. The little one- who were left by farm on section 8, of Rural Township. His home 

Mrs. Sallie Aughinbaugh. Maud and ( hiy have both is one of the most pleasant places in the county and 

died. The children of the second wife are Arthur he has spared nothing that money could procure. 

J., bom June 1. 1879, arid Bertha J., November 29, to make it an ideal place of residence, lie also 

lHK.'i. owns land in section .">. His residence iirthe county 

Our subjeel disposed of his mercantile interests dates from 1865. 
some years ago, and about that time was elected The original of our sketch was born in Darke 
Mayor of Oconee, to the duties of which office lie County. Ohio. December 2!). 1829, and is a son of 
turned his attention, adding to it a business in col- Nathaniel and Elizabeth ( Wilt ) Met luer both na- 
lections, insurance and real estate, also loaning fives of Virginia and each of whom, with their 
money and buying paper. After nine years in this respective families, removed to Ohio at an early 
line of work, he turned his attention to the drug day. Samuel McCluer, the grandfather of our 
business in which he has continued for eleven years. subject settled in Darke County in 1812, and was 
Hi- first official position was in the capacity of one of the first settlers there. The maternal grand- 
Clerk of Oconee. He was then elected Mayor. parents of our subject, sett led in the same county 
serving in that office for eight years. In 1884 he about 1814. They made their home in the midst 
was elect cil to the oil ice of Supervisor of this town- of the forest, clearing out as time and opportunity 
ship, a position of trust and responsibility, in which permitted, a spate around the log cabin which con- 
hc has served in all some three years. stituted their home. 

Our subject belongs to the Masonic order, hav- Brought up-as young people together, the par- 
ing been made a Mason in Mt. Moriafa Lodge. No. cuts of our subject early recognized an affinity and 
."). at Hillsboro. 111., from which being demiUcd. he determined to make the journey of life together. 



270 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Their marriage took place in Darke County, where 
they resided the remainder of their lives, upon the 
farm where they settled at an early day. The fa- 
ther lived to number four-score years. The mother 
passed away at the age of sixty-six years. They 
were the parents of six children whose names are 
as follows: Melinda. Samuel. George, John, 
Catherine and our subject. Melinda was twiee 
married and died in her native State; Samuel re- 
sides in Darke County, Ohio, where his brother 
George died; John lives iii Huntington County. 
hid.; Catherine married and died in Southern Illi- 
nois, lie of whom we write is the youngest of 
the family, lie was reared on the farm and re- 
ceived his education in the district school. In 1864, 
he enlisted in Company Ii. of One Hundred and 
Fifty-second Ohio Infantry, whose men enlisted for 
one hundred days, hut who served for five month-. 
While they were not participants in any of the 
decisive battles, they look part in a number of 
skirmishes. 

In 1865, Mr. McCluer was united in marriage to 
Melinda Almonrode. She was born in Preble 
County, Ohio. September 20, 1K42. and was a 
daughter of John ami Mary (Swane) Almonrode. 
Shortly after their marriage our subject anil his 
bride came to this State and purchased two hun- 
dred acres, which was the nucleus of his present 
farm. At the lime he settled here, his place was 
but little improved, but he look up the calling of 
farming with such vim, energy and intelligent 
management, thai he is now the owner of nearly 
one thousand acres of land which is highly pro- 
ductive and which is dotted over with stock of the 
finest grade, lie has been very successful in his 
agricultural career. 

Mrs. McCluer is an intelligent and capable 
woman. She presides over the beautiful home 
which her husband has made with an ease and 
dignity that only native refinement and courtesy 
can give. Although she is endowed with more 
lie rdinary ability, she has gladly given herself 

Up to love's sweet -ervitude, her great pleasure 
being in insuring the domestic comfort of her hus- 
band and tin- rearing and educating of her chil- 
dren. She has sought to combine cultivation of 
mind and body, realizing that one with weak 



physical constitution and endowed with tine men- 
tal faculities has not the same chance in this 
world, whose motto seems to be the survival of the 
fittest, as one who is equally endowed with both a 
strong physical and intellectual capacity. Two of 
the little ones were taken from their parents at a 
tender age. Four of the children are still living, 
and lilled with vitality and brimming with the in- 
tensity for which American children are conspicu- 
ous, they are an interesting quartette. Their names 
are Elmer, John, Charles and Rose F. The beauti- 
ful home within which the McCluer family live is 
surrounded by a large lawn which is kept of velvet 
smoothness by being frequently gone over with a 
lawn-mower. His home is handsomely furnished 
and the genial host and hostess hospitably entertain 
the many people who are attracted hither socially 
or by business. 



OIIN s. EVEY. It is not necessary for the 
traveler to understand the details of farm 
life in order to determine the status of the 
' owner of any particular tract of land. It is 
c:im to forma conclusion from the general appear- 
ance of the property, the improvements that have 
been made upon it and the order or disorder that 
reigns supreme. No one looking at the farm of 
Mr. Evey on section 21, Tower Hill Township, 
would have the least doubt that its owner under- 
stands his business and is able to obtain g 1 re- 
sults from tilling the soil. The farm consists of 
one hundred and eighty fertile acres, in whose 
pastures good stock is found, in the sheds modern 
machinery, and in the Storehouses farm product' of 
excellent quality. About the dwelling are the 
manifestations of the refining hand of woman. 

Mr. Evey is a native of Maryland, born in 
Hagerstown, October 15, Ik:s:{. His father, whose 
given name was Henry, and his mother, whose 
maiden name was Rebecca Livers, were also born 
in Maryland. The parents removed to Shelby 
County, 111., about 1836, and located near Slielby- 
ville, where -he died. After her decease the father 
came to Tower Hill Township and settled on 



PORTRAIT AND BloO RAPI11CAL RECORD. 



271 



section 21, where he died in lxii.V He was a good 
citizen, an upright man and a devoted husband 
and father. His family comprised three children, 
our subject being the eldest. 

When he was three years old our subject was 
broughl by his parents to this county, where he 
grew to manhood on his father's farm. He was 
early initialed into the mysteries of farming and 
when he became a man he naturally chose agricul- 
ture as his life vocation. December 2~>. 1856 lie 
was married in Tower Hill Township to Miss Caro- 
line M. Jones, a native of Tennessee. This estim- 
able lady was brought by her parents to Indiana. 
whence, after her father's death, she came to Shelby 
County with a family named Listen. The congen- 
ial union of Mr. and Mrs. Evey has been blessed 
by the birth of six living children, viz: William E., 
David EL, Captolia, Hattie, Charles F. and John 
M. William E. is a farmer in Kansas; David 11. 
is a successful dentist at Monmouth. 111.; Captolia 
follows the profession of teaching. 

A man of striking common sense, keen foresight 
and marked capability, Mr. Evey has been selected 
by his fellow-citizens as one well qualified to till 
public offices of importance. He formerly took an 
active pari in politics and in his political affilia- 
tions is independent, voting for the man whom be 
considers liest fitted to serve the interests of the 
people, lie has been Highway Commissioner sev- 
eral years, in which position he has accomplished 
much for the good of the community. Socially, he 
isa memberof the Ancient Order of United Work- 
men and the Farmer's Mutual Benefit Association. 



-^*iE 



El*^- 



a well-known 
J stock-raiser and farmer residing on section 
31, Windsor Township, Shelby Count \ . was 
born just a quarter of a mile south of his 
present residence, January 19, 1830. His father, 
Hugh Walden.wa- anativeof North Carolina, and 
his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Mont- 
gomery, was horn in Kentucky. The\ both came 
to this State before marriage, and were united near 
shau nee tow n. and became residents of Illinois Ter- 



ritory in those early days prior to its admission as 
a state, ft was in \x->~ that this young couple 
came to Shelby County, and settled in Richland 
Township, and there they Spent the remainder of 

their days, the father being called hence in L869, 
and the mother surviving him for ten years. 

Every one of the five sons and five daughters of 
this worthy couple lived to attain maturity, marry 
and establish families of their own. hut eighl of the 
ten have now passed away, seven of them dyingof 
that dire disease, consumption. The only surviv- 
ing brother of our subjecl is Leonard V., the young- 
est of the family. He lives on the old homestead, 
which is now a portion of his brother's large farm. 
Our subject has been twice married, his first wife 
being Maria Davis, to whom lie was united March 
17, 1853. Seven children were horn of this mar- 
riage, of whom three are now living — Mary M.. 
Nancy Ivy and Harlan, all of whom have grown to 
maturity and are living with their father. Their 
mother passed away March (>. 1874. Mr. Walden 
was married a second time. April 13, 1875, and was 
united at that time with Theoda D. lla/.en. who 
was horn in Bridgeton. Me.. April 11. 1842. She is 
a daughter of John and Esther (Libbey) Hazen. 
Her father died in his native stale April 1 1. 1.S77. 
and the mother still resides in Bridgeton. Only one 
of her three sons and three daughters have passed 
away, and Mrs. Walden is her eldest. By this mar- 
riage Mr. and Mrs. Walden have had three children, 
all of whom are deceased, two dying in infancy. 
Al'hie Ilazen. who was horn October 2. 1*77. died 
March 12. 1890; she was a bright, beautiful girl of 
thirteen summers, whose place can never he tilled 
to her sorrowing parent-, and who was sincerely 
mourned by many admiring friends and playmates. 
( Jo to thy rest fail- child. 

(io to thy dreamless bed 
While yet -■> gentle, undefiled, 
With blessings on thy head. 
Ere sin hath seared thy breast. 

Or sorrow waked thy tear. 
Ri>e to thy throne of changeless rest 
In yon celestial sphere. 
If any man may hi' called a pioneer of She|h\ 
County. Mr. Walden is pre-eminently one. as it has 
been his home for sixty-one years. Six hundred 
splendid acres constitute his farm in Windsor ami 



272 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Richland Townships, and upon them he has excel- 
lent buildings and fine improvements, the whole 
estate being in fact an ideal country home. Mr. 
Walden has always been a Democrat in his politi- 
cal views, and he says he expects to die a Democrat. 
He is a Universalis! in his religious belief , although 
he holds no church connection. His excellent wife 
joined the Cambridge Baptist Church in Massachu- 
setts, when she was only seventeen years of age, 
and she has ever maintained her membership with 
that organization. The township of Windsor has 
honored both itself and our subject by giving him 
at various times every office within its gift. He 
slaved seven years as Supervisor, ten years as High- 
way Commissioner, one term as Assessor, and 
School Director and Trustee for nine and ten years 
each. 



— 4- 



SB ■ 



"71 RTHUR G. LEE. The name at the head 
(?'[ I of this sketch is that of a man who enjoys 

/ ' to the utmost, the confidence of the people 
QJ in the community in which he lives. This 

is shown by the fad thai from among the best 
financial men in the place, he has been elected to 
the responsible position of President of the Com- 
mercial State Bank Of Windsor. Shelby County. 
Our subject was born in Oshawa, Ontario, July 7. 
1 *(>.">. He was reared on a farm until about four- 
teen years of age, and in the calm pursuits of agri- 
culture the mental fibre of his mind developed. 
Unrestrained by line-spun theories, he saw life as it 
was and this practical view and keen insight into 
affairs has ever characterized his business dealings 
and has carried him on to ihe success which he so 
eminently merits. 

Arthur Lee received the foundation of his edu- 
cation in Ihe common Schools of his native place 

after which he attended the High School from 
which he was graduated, lie then began life for 
himself and was employed for a period of two 
years with steel Brothers a- Company, merchants 
in Toronto, Canada, as clerk. In I886,he camelo 
the states, and resided in Chicago untiljuly, 1889. 
He was employed as manager and had charge of 



the seed department for II. Sibley & Co. In duly. 
IKx:t he came to Windsor and organized the Com- 
mercial Bank, and November 14, of the same year 
it was re-organized as a Commercial State Bank, 
under the State law. On its first organization, he 
was Cashier of the hank and since its re-organiza- 
tion under the State law, he has been its President. 
Our subject's brother, Sidney .1. Lee. holds the 
position of Cashier in the bank. The institution 
transacts a good banking business, and is one that 
was greatly needed in the community, now afford- 
ing an opportunity for commercial exchange with 
much less trouble and expense than before its or- 
ganization. 

The parents of our subject are George and Lucy 
(Curry) Lee. They were born in Canada. The 
father died a victim of typhoid fever, October '.». 
1882, in Ontario, lie was a farmer by occupation 
but had retired from the active pursuits of his 
calling at the time of his decease. They had three 
children, of whom our subject was the eldest. Mr. 
Lee was married in Windsor June '.'. 1890 to Miss 
Minnie Shaffer, who is a native of this county and 
they have a very pleasant home located on the 
principal residence street in Windsor. His charm- 
ing young wife attracts the best social element of 
the place. They have one child, an infant son. 
Our subject, though yet less than thirty years of 
age, has \\(in the entire con lidence of the commun- 
ity by his devotion to his business, and his broad- 
laid and carefully-executed plans. Ileisa natural 
financier and has a peculiar faculty for seeing 
where investments can be made with the greatest 
prospects of large returns. In his political views, 
Mr. Lee favors the Democratic party. In his re- 
ligious views he is a Liberal. Socially, he of whom 
we write is a member of the Knights of Pythias, 
and has been a member of the Odd Fellows since 
about 1886. He is one of the leading members 
and occupies a prominent position. 

It is not out of place to say something of Ihe 

ancestors of our subject at this point. The life of 
a good man who leaves an exemplary example i> 
always worth reading. The paternal grandfather 
of our subject was George Lee. lie was drowned 
in tin' Straits of Belle Isle, being caughl there in a 
field of ice. He was not addicted to the use nf any 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



273 



form of intoxicants or tobacco and was a Metho- 
dist minister. Our subject's maternal grandfather 
was James Curry, who was also a Methodist clerg3 r - 
man. lie died at the age of eighty-five years. 



-*" 



yjfclLLIAM N. Wool), a prominent farmer 
and stock-raiser residing on section 17. 
\W\V/ Sullivan Township, Moultrie County, is a 
native of Hardin County. Ky.. where he was horn 
February 25, 1847. His parents. X. II. and Fliza- 
hetli (Lyon) Wood, were native.- of Kentucky. 
They came to Illinois in 1852, bringing this son 
with them and located at ( 'harlest own, Coles County, 
where they staid for two years, removing thenceto 
Tuscola. Douglas County, where they remained 
until they passed from earth, the mother in Janu- 
ary, 1855, and the father in January, 1865. The 
family is of English origin, although the grand- 
parents of our subject were natives of Vermont, 
and became pioneers of Kentucky. Of their fam- 
ily our subject is the youngest of two sons'and four 
daughters. 

The household in which Mr. Wood was reared, 
consisted of the following children: Martha R.. 
who became the wife of W. L. Parker, a jeweler of 
Kansas City, Mo.; Mary died at the age of twenty- 
three, in March. lHd.'i. in Tuscola; .lames Strattoii 
married Susanna Thompson, of Douglas County, 
and now resides in Carlisle. Ark.; Sarah. lane is un- 
married and resides at Lovington; William X.. and 
Elizabeth K.. wife of J. M. Durbrow, is living' in 
Champaign County. 

Ileof whom we write attended the public schools 
near his home, and also took instruction at Lee's 
Academy in Stockton. 111. He taught school for 
two years before engaging in farming in Douglas 
County, and was married March 14. 187. r >. to Miss 
Margaret ('.. daughter of Peter and Mary Evans, 
who was horn in Licking County, Ohio, October 25, 
1854. 

Mrs. Wood is the youngest in a family of eight 
children, whose parents came to Illinois in 1856, 
and located in Moultrie County, where they both 
died, the father October 2i). 1873, and the mother 



October 21, 1876. Of this family only two are 
living: Mrs. Wood, and Annie who became the 
wife of Felix Weaver, ami re-ides at Adrian, Mo., 
her husband being engaged in the stock and com- 
mission business at Kansas City. The Kvans fam- 
ily are of Weish and German ancestry. 

The farm when' Mr. Wood now resides became 
the family home in the fall of 1-875. Onehundred 
acres of this land came to his wife by inheritance, 
and to it he has added by purchase until he ha- a 
tine tract of two hundred and thirty-five acre-. 
upon which may he seen a tasteful and attractive 
home and capacious and commodious farm build- 
ings. Of their six children live are now living. 
their eldest daughter, Mary, who was born Septem- 
ber 1. 1876, being taken awaj March 1. 1*7*. 
Those who are living, are: Elizabeth, born October 
1l\ 1*77; Norman II.. June 11. L879; Charles. 
May5, 1881; Homer Howard. October 13, l**:i; 
Adeline, November II. 1886. These children are 
all being thoroughly educated, but remain under 
the parental roof during their school days. Mr. 
Wood take- an interest in public affairs, and i- a 
Democrat in politics, while his worthy wifeespouses 
the principles of the Republican party. He has 
held various offices in his township, and is a mem- 
ber of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. 



— i t- 



-., 



!>^<I=^ 




-s— 



BSALOM PATTERSON. A number of the 

large landowners of Sullivan Township, 

Moultrie County, who have passed through 
hard struggle- and by their industry and 
perseverance have attained the point where they 
may rest from labor, are retiring from business 
and making their home- in Sullivan, than which 
no place is probably more delightful in which to 
seek comfort. Our subject, who is a retired farmer, 
came to the city from his farm in 1890, having 
been for many year- a stock buyer and shipper and 
still owns eleven hundred and forty acres in Sul- 
livan Township, mo-t of which is improved, the 
remainder of it being well stocked and used as 
pasture land. 

Mr. Patterson is a native of this township, being 



274 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



born here when it was known as a part of Shelby 
County, his Data] day being September 28, is:5(i. 
All of liis fine estate was prairie land when he took 
it and he has himself brought it to its present 
splendid condition and has been a successful man 
in every endeavor of his life. 

David Patterson, the father of our subject, came 
to this part of Illinois in 1833 after having lived 
for a few years in Edgar County. Later in life he 
returned to his native home in Marshall County. 
Tenn.. where he died in 1K(>7 at the age of sixty 
years, being followed two years later by his wife. 
She was a native of Pennsylvania, Polly Harbaugh 
by name, and her parents belonged to thai class 
known as Pennsylvania Dutch. They removed to 
Kentucky and later to what is now Moultrie 
County, becoming pioneers and living here to a 
green old age. 

David Patterson and his wife were members of 
the Christian Church, and they were always suc- 
cessful in life. Mr. Patterson was a Democrat in 
his political views and at an early day under the 
old law he had been Associate Comity Judge and 
also held other local offices. Our subject is the fifth 
in a family of seven children, four of whom arc 
yet living, are married, and reside in tins county. 
The first marriage of our subject united him with 
Naomi Henry, who died leaving him one child. 
Mary, who followed her to the spirit hind within 
seven days. This young wife was a native of Shelby 
County and made her home in Illinois through 
life. 

The second marriage of Mr. Patterson took 
place in Moultrie County and gave to him as a 
companion Mis- Matilda Souther who was horn 

in this county and who also died while young, 

leaving one child. Carrie, who grew to he an at- 
tractive ami beautiful young woman and married 

Klias YV huff. She. like her mother, died during 

her early wedded life, passing away in the -uminei 

of 1890, leaving one daughter — Ethel byname. 
The present Mrs. Patterson was known in hei 
maidenhood as Miss Susie Ireland. She is a native 
of Kentucky and came when a young woman to 
Illinois where she niel and married Mr. Patter-on. 

she is the mother of four children, namely: Wesley, 

who took to wife Miss Klornev Wagoner, and lives 



upon a farm in Sullivan Township with his wife 
and two children — M on tie and ( )r:i; the three other 
children are still beneath the parental roof and 
hear the names of Gertie I!.. Levi l>. and Louie G. 
Mrs. Patterson is a member of the Christian Church 
of Sullivan and is an active and earnest promoter 
of all Christian work. Mr. Patterson has been three 
terms the Supervisor of Sullivan Township and has 
held other local offices, lie takes a genuine inter- 
est in political movements, being a decided Demo- 
crat in his convictions and an earnest worker for 
the prosperity of Ins county. 



RANCISCO RUFFNER. 



Th 



L>'ent leni.'in 



whose name heads this sketch, is the owner 
11, of a good farm located on section .'S.'i. Mo- 

weaqua Township. Shelby County, and a view of 
which is shown elsewhere in this volume. He came 
hither in 1 S 7 7 . and has since been a resident in this 
place, giving the township the hem-lit of the im- 
provements that he has made, and of his own genial 
presence with that of his amiable family. Mr. Ruff- 
uer was born in Licking County, Ohio, October I. 
1839. lie was only thirteen years of age when he 
went with his parents to Allen County. Ind.. where 
he remained for fourteen years. Later he came to 
this State and located in St. (lair County, where 
he was the proprietor of a farm for a period of live 
years. From there he removed to Clinton County 
and live years later came to this county, where he 
has since lived. 

Our subject has always been engaged in agricul- 
tural work, his father before him having been a 
farmer. His father was Benjamin liuffner, s native 
of Ohio, and a son of Benjamin and Ann (Coff- 
man) Ruffher, both natives of Virginia. After 
marriage they removed to Ohio and settled in Fair- 
field County, which was at that time in a state of 
wild unbroken beauty, with virgin forests in which 
were found game of every description belonging 

to the latitude. As can he imagined, the country 

was then sparsely settled, and the educational ad- 
vantages were not what t hey now are. It . was there 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



277 



thai their son Benjamin, Jr., was born, the father 
of our subject. There also our subject's grandfa- 
ther spent his Ias1 years, passing awa\ from 1 1 1 i - 
life while yet in middle age. IIi> wife survived 
him for some years and settled in Champaign 
County, where she died at the good old age of 
-r\ cni \ -~r\ in years. 

Benjamin Ruffner, father of our subject, was one 
of fourteen children, of whom two arc yel living, 
lit' was educated a farmer, and one can imagine the 
social breaks in the monotony of pioneer farm life 
such as corn husking, barbecues, spelling school 
and singing matches. From among the maidens of 
the county in which he lived he chose his wife, 
who was before marriage a .Miss Mary Lamb, a na- 
tive of Ohio, whose parents were from Virginia 
like those of our subject. Her lathe]- was William 
Lamb, and her mother Catherine (Cupp) Lamb. 
They lived and died in Fairfield County, where 
they were well known as among the earliest and 
most respected pioneer settlers. They died full of 

years and honor. They, like our subject's grand- 
parents, were members of the old school Baptist 
Church. Mr. Lamb served as a soldier in the War 
of 1812. There were ten children in this family, 
all of whom arc living except our subject's mother. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lamb each lived to be over eighty 
years old. 

After their marriage, our subject's parents settled 
in Fairfield County, Ohio, where they remained 
until after the birth of their first child. They then 
removed to Licking County, there devoting them- 
selves to clearing up and improving a farm upon 

which they built a large brick house and laid out 

many valuable improvements. Later they removed 
their family, in February 1853, to Indiana, settling 
in Allen County, but afterward they returned to 
Ohio living for one year in .Miami County. 

A spirit of unrest seemed to possess the family 

of Ruffners, for after the many changes they had 
made in residence, they returned to St. Clair 
County, this State, and a short time after located 
in Clinton County, where the father died at the 
age of sixty-six years. His wife passed away at 
the home of her sons in this township and county. 
eighl years later, in 1874. She was a! the time of 
her demise about seventy years of age. she and 



her husband were devoted members of the Baptist 
( hurch. 

The original of i his sketch is the sect md in order 

of birth of eighl children, six of whom are yet liv- 
ing, all having entered the marital relation with 
the exception of one. Our subject reached his ma- 
jority in Allen County, lud.. and when he made 
his advent into Illinois, he was still a single man. 
His first marriage took place in Kentucky, where 
he was united to Mis- Anna K. Coffman. She died 
in the prime of her life, after the birth of her first 
child, which also yielded its little life with thai of 
its mother. She was only thirty-four years of age 
at the time of her death. 

Mr. Ruffner again married, inviting to he mis- 
tress of his home Miss Mary .1. Ramsey. Their 
marriage was celebrated September 27. 1888, in 

Lancaster County, Fa., of which place the lady was 
a native, being there born August 30, 1842. She 
i> of Scotch and Dutch ancestry. Her mother, 
whose maiden name was Lucy Gochnau, is yet liv- 
ing in her native town. The father. Samuel Ram- 
sey, died in Pennsylvania while in the meridian of 
life, lie also was a farmer. Mis. Ruffner is a no- 
ble woman, having the best of qualities. She is 
kind, hospitable and sympathetic, and interested in 
all that interests her husband, to whom -he is a 
great help. 






±mm^z£i ~ 



55 



"". 



m 



' ACOB F. KULL. Among the prominent 
agriculturists of Prairie Township. Shelby 
( 'ountyywho have helped to give this county 
its present proud position in the State is the 
gentleman whose name appeals at the opening of 
this paragraph. His home is located upon section 
3. is tpiite near to the village of Strasburg, and his 
settlement in the county dates from September ii. 
1854, when he first purchased forty acres of land 
on Robinson Creek in Ridge Township. Here In 

tilled the soil for two season- and then removed to 
the region where he now lives, and purchased one 
hundred and ten acres of his present properly on 
which at that time tin- principal improvements 
were a log cabin and the broken soil of a \cr\ few 



278 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



acres. He now owns about two hundred and thirty 
acres of land upon which are splendid improve- 
ments, and he has platted some additions t<> Stras- 
burg which he 1ms sold oft from Ins farm. A view 
of his pleasant homestead may be found elsewhere 
in this volume. 

Hocking County, Ohio, was the native place of 
Mr. Kull, who was born January 31, 1836, being a 
son of Christopher F. and Johanna (Weidner) Kull. 
natives of Wurtemburg, Germany. In their native 
lend they had grown to manhood and womanhood. 
were united in marriage and one child was born to 
them before leaving their Fatherland. In 1830 
thej came to the United State- and made their first 
short stop at Baltimore, Md., then went on to Ohio, 
settling on tin- prairie in Fairfield County. When 
the family arrived in tin- Buckeye State the father 
had $50 which In 1 thought would he sufficient to 
keep them in frugal comfort until he could earn 
more. 1 nit the ague was then prevalent throughout 
that region, and the family being sick for some 
time the 150 were spent for quinine. This dis- 
gusted Christopher Kull with prairie life and re- 
moving to Hocking County he settled among the 
hills and woods. His father, Jacob F. Kull, with 
his wife made his home there, also four sisters and 
a brother, Jacob F.. Jr., who died in Hocking 
Country. 

The father of our subject was fond of hunting 
and found plenty of game in that hilly region. 
As his health improved there he was well pleased 
with I locking County and made it his permanent 
home and reared a family of fourteen children, 
twelve of whom grew to maturity. They were: 
Magdalena. who married John Kircher and died 
in Shelby County; Christian who died in this 
county; Charles; our subject; Mary, wife of ( ;. 
I'ieffcr; Caroline, wife of John Ruff; Minnie, now 
Mrs. .1. F. Baur; Amelia, wife of Christ Kinney; 
Emanuel, Adam; Matilda, wife of .1. F. Mautz,and 
Julius. The parent- of this large family came to 
Shelby * ounty in 1865 and settled at Strausburg, 

where they remained until called hence by death. 

Jacob 1'. Kull was reared among the wood- and 
hill- of Hocking County and there grew up to a 
sturdy and intelligent manhood. In 1858 he decided 

to lake to himself a wife and was married April 1.'!. 



to Elizabeth Niller, who was horn in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, February 18, 1839. She became the 

the mother of eight children and died in this 
county June 11. 1*77. The children who survive 
her are named as follows: Ferdinand .1.. Johanna 
A., wife of John Piefer; C. 1 i-a.wife of C. Mar- 
tin Rieger; Caroline Rosetta, wife of Charles Nipp; 
Matilda F. W.; William and Tobias. 

The second marriage of our subject took place 
February •'!. 1878, he being then united with Cath- 
I'inc M. Clump who was horn in Fairfield County. 
Ohio, August I."). 1857. Of their six children four 
are now living — Joseph 15.. John D.. Caroline \\ . 
and Anna S.J. The religious belief of this family 
is in accord with the doctrines of the Lutheran 
Church with which they are connected, and the 
political views of Mr. Kull have led him l<> ally 
himself with the Democratic party. 



KYVIs BAUMGARTEN. The German- Amer- 
ican citizen who has done so large a share 
A of leveling forests, breaking the -oil and 



subduing wild prairies to a state of cultivation are 
among the most valuable and sturdy citizens of our 
country. They have proved themselves one of the 
essential elements in the building up of our country 
and to them we give the honor due to a class of 
men of integrity, industry and thrift. 

Our subject whose birth was across seas, resides 
within the limits of the village of Stewardson and 
his residence in Shelby County dates from 1868. 
lie was born in Germany, December 15,1827, being a 
son of Frederick ami Elizabeth Haumgarten.the fam- 
ily came to this country in I847,when this son was 
not yet of age and they settled in Sullivan County. 
Ohio, where the parents died, tin' mother at the 
age of seventy-six years and the father after he 
had reached the venerable age of eighty-five. 

Of the eight children of this worthy couple. 
Louise, the eldest, died in Germany, when aboul 
twenty years old. Following her came Lewis, our 
subject; Edward who resides in Shelby County. 
Ohio; Rosa, now Mrs. Henry Roegner who makes 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



2 ','. i 



her home in Miami County, Ohio; Thessa who mar- 
ried Conrad Uppermann and died in Pickaway, 
Ohio; Caroline afterward married Conrad Upper- 
man n; Johanna became the wife of Frederick I Ium- 
mel :iinl resides in Decatur, Ala. and Frederick 
resides in Shelby County, Ohio. 

lie of whom we write came to the United States 
with his father's family, and in L856, lie was uni- 
ted in marriage with Cony Brehm who was horn 
December 23, 1838 in Baden, Germany, her parents 
being John A. and Margaret Brehm who brought 
their family to the United Slates in 1846 ami sel- 

tled in Shelby County. Ohio. There the father 
died at the age of seventy-two year- ami there the 
mother is still living, having reached the age of 
seventy-nine years during the month of July, in; II. 

The children (if .Mr. and Mrs. Brehm ali grew In 

niatiirin and were as follows: Frederick who died 
in Shelby County, Ohio; Catherine became the 
wife of Fred Maderiisides and lives in Hall 
County, N'eli.; Cony, the wife of our subject; 
Margaret, married Lewis Neth and lives in Pick- 
away, Ohio; Barbara is the wife of Andrew Madern- 
sides and lives in this county: Elizabeth married 
Antonia Augast and died in Shelby County. Ohio; 
Mary married Charles Buarnd, and died in Toledo. 
Ohio; and Rachel is the wife of Martin Hiegel and 
makes her home in Saline County. Neb. 

After marriage our subject resided for some years 
in Ohio and purchased eighty acres of timber land 
which he proceeded to clear and had about one- 
half of it tree from trees when he sold out and 
came to Illinois, where he purchased two hundred 
and sixty acre- of land in Prairie Township, this 
county, very little of which was improved. There 
he made his residence and upon it erected excel- 
lent buildings and put it in first-class condition. 
In June 1881 he removed to Stewardson and set- 
tled where he now resides, having forty acres of 
line land there, besides his Original farm. His Stew- 
ardson land is very finely improved and in a hand- 
some condition. 

In the mutations which have been the fate of 
political parties of late years, it has been the lot 
of many men to lie tossed about from one party to 
another so much, perhaps, that they have been 
fickle in their political belief and attachment hut 



on account of the changes which have really taken 
place in the standards of political parlies. In this 
way, our subject who was once a devoted adherent 

of the Republican parly is now as warmly attached 
to the Democratic. In religious belief the family 
are earnest andjconsistenl members of the Luth- 
eran Church. Of the ten children who Messed the 
union of Mr. and Mrs. Baumgarten three onlj 
have passed away. The living are: Rachel (Mrs. 
John Bauer), John, Frances (Mr-. Andrew Bauer). 
Fred, Edith, Edward and Lewis. 



,«; WILLIAM C. MILLER, ex-County Treasurer 
\/jJ/' °^ Shelby County, occupies a conspicuous 
\yy place among its native-born sons who have 
done somuch within the last general ion toadvancc 
it to its present high standing as a rich and pros- 
perous community. lie is one of the principal 
farmers and stock-dealers in this section and con- 
ducts an extensive and profitable business in his 
line in Flat Branch Township, where he has a large 
farm that is complete in its appointments and i- a 
\ aluable property. 

Our subject is a son of Christopher Philip Miller, 
an old and well-known resident of this county, 
still living on the homestead farm that he devel- 
oped from the wilderness on Robinson (reek. 
Ridge Township, where William was horn in his 
pioneer home Feliruan Hi. 1842. The father is 
of ( ierman birth and origin, horn twelve miles from 
IIes.-c-( assel. October in. 1803, a son of John Chris- 
topher and Hannah Francisco (Strallmann ) Miller, 
who were al.-o natives of the same locality as him- 
self. In 1804 the grandparents of our subject left 
their old home in Germany to emigrate to the 
United Slate- of America, voyaging across the 
waters in a sail vessel and landing al Philadelphia. 
The family settled in Chester County, Pa., and 
went from there in 1817 to Ohio with a pair of 
horses and a wagon. They were among the first 
to settle in Fairfield County, that State, where the 
grandfather, who was a shoemaker, used to ply his 
trade, going from house to house as was the custom 
in those days, lie died in that county in 1825. 



280 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hi- wife having preceded him in death the year 
before. They reared nine children. 

Christopher P. Miller was one year old the day 
he landed with his parents in Philadelphia. He 
remained with them in Pennsylvania and Ohio 
until his mother's demise, though he was bul a 
boy when he began to earn his own living. He 
lived in Hickory Township, Fairfield County, Ohio, 
until 1839, and thru with his wife anil the four 
children thai had been born to them there, he came 
in Illinois, the journey being performed with a 
pair of horses and a wagon. lie spent his first 
winter in this State in Shelby ville and in the >i>riiiLr' 
of 1840 selected a suitable location on the banks 
of Robinson (reek and became one of the first 
settlers of Ridge Township, where he hasever since 
made his home on the place that he then purchased. 
During the half century and more that it has been 
in his possession he has wrought a greal change, 
improving it into a line farm. When he settled 
on it the prairies were but sparsely settled and deer 
and other kinds of game were abundant. There 
were no railways here and for some years St. Louis, 
one hundred and ten miles away, was the nearest 
market and depot for supplies. 

The father of our subjed was first married Sep- 
tember 24, 1829, to Miss Amanda Carpenter, she 
was horn near Lancaster, Ohio, and died in that 
state November 28, 1834, leaving two children, of 
whom F/.ra. a resident of Assumption, is the only 
survivor. The maiden name of Mr. Miller's second 
wife, mother of subject, was Catherine Spear. 

she was born in Dauphin County, Pa., and died 
on the home farm in Ridge Township, February 
28, 1869. There are six children living of that mar- 
riage, namely: Amanda, wile of Sam Yantis; 
Henry M.; William C; Mary, wife of Alvin P. 
Weakly: Eliza, wife of G. W. Townsend, and Henri 
etta, wife of William II. Bickner. .lame- ('..tin 

oldest child, died at the age of lifty-eiaht years. 

He of whom this biographical sketch is written 

was carefully reared under good home influences 
in his native town-hip. The firSl school that he 
attended was held ilia typical pioneer log School 
house that stood ill the Woodson the hank of Rob- 
inson (reek. The building was heated by a large 
fireplace which occupied almost the entire end of 



the school room, and the furniture consisted of 
slab benches and a writing desk of the same male- 
rial supported on pin- of wood that were driven 
into the wall. September 3, l*(;:i. our subject was 

the victim of a serious accident whereby he losl 
his right arm just above the elbow. This loss 
Changed the tenor of his life to a great extent as 
it determined him to secure a higher education 
than he had already acquired, and the same fall 
before his arm was healed he enrolled his name as 
a pupil in the seminary at Shelby ville. lie studied 
in that institution diligently for a year and in 
January, 1865, entered the profession of a teacher. 

taking ehargeof a school in Flat Branch Township. 

As -non as that term closed he was called to teach 
a school in Ridge Township near his old home, and 
after that he taught a two month's school at As- 
sumption. He then immediately returned to Ridge 
Township to teach there again, and his services 
were in such constant demand. -o successful wa.s he 
in imparting knowledge, showing himself to pos- 
sess in a full degree the best requisites of an edu- 
cator, that his time was almost wholly given to his 
vocation with scarce an intermission for an entire 
year. He was afterward engaged in teaching in 
Ridge, Flat Branch and Tower Hill Townships for 

several winter-. In the summer he devoted his 
time to raising hedge plants and was thus employed 
for eight seasons with good financial returns. 

For sonic years prior to his marriage Mr. Miller 
became a resident of Flat Branch Township ami 
here he bought his first land, and after he was mar- 
ried he located on a farm on section :i.'!. At the 
close of his second term as County Treasurer, in 
the fall of 1877, he located on his present farm 
which is situated on section 2 I, Flat 1! ranch Town- 
Ship. He has six hundred and fifty-live acres of 

choice farming land which he is cultivating assidu- 
ously besides carrying on a lucrative business in 
trading in stock. He is a man of large enterprise, 
keen foresight, possessing a good understanding of 
the besl ways of conducting his business so as to 

make the most money out of it. and has a taste 

for speculation in which he is invariably successful, 
combining boldness and caution in due proportion 

ill III- opera! iolis. 

The same trails that have made our subject one 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



281 



of our solid business men have also given him 
weighl and influence in the public and political 
life of the county and gained him distinction as 
an < > 1 1 h •< ■ holder. He lias always affiliated with the 
Democrats and has generally supported thai party 
in State and national issues, although he lias 
sympathized with the National Greenback party 
where questions of finance and currency are con- 
cerned and shared its prejudices in regard to mo- 
nopolies. When tin' farmer's movement was at 
its strongest in this county he was one of the most 
active leaders, and in the summer of 1873 was 
honored l>\ Domination to the office of County 
Treasurer a1 aconvention held at Shelbyville com- 
posed of the supporters of the Farmer's movement. 
There was no opposition candidate and -Mr. Miller 
was. of course, eleeted. and after looking after the 
finances of the county two years to the perfect sat- 
isfaction of all concerned, irrespective of party, he 
was again a candidate on the people's ticket. 
Though opposed l>\ the nominee of the Demo- 
cratic party, so popular was he, he polled sixty-six 
more votes than hi- opponent, and that. too. in a 

county that is usually overwhelmingly Democrat ie. 

Mr. Miller was Mist married July 13, 1871, to 
Miss Mary Chadwick, a daughter of William 
Chadwick, and a native of Flat Branch Township. 
She died June 10, 1878, after a brief hut happy 
wedded life in which three children had been 1 » nil. 
of whom these two survive, Ada May and Charles 
Cyrus. The youngest, Bertie Sylvan, died after 
its mother's death at the age of nine months. 

Our sulijcct was married a second time February 
2, 1881, to Mrs. Nancy (Armstrong) Goodwin, 
daughter of John Armstrong and widow of Joseph 
Goodwin. She was a consistent member of the 
Christian Church and is in every way worthy of 
the respect of the community that she shares with 
her husband. Mrs. Miller was horn in her father's 
pioneer log cabin in what i- now Penn Township. 
July 18, 1835. Her father was born in Warren 
County. Ky.. April 1. 1803, his father. Aaron Arm- 
strong, a native of South Carolina, being a pioneer 
of that section of the country. He resided there 
until 1809, when he came to Illinois which was in 
that year organized as a territory by an act of 
Congress, lie located in Madison County, being 



one of its early settlers, and lived there during the 
War of 1812, having to live in a fort a pari of the 
time. He improved a farm in that county and 
made it his home until death closed hi- earthly 

pilgrimage. 

Mrs. Miller's father married in Madison County. 
Jennie Roach, a native of Kentucky, and in 1826 
he. too. became a pioneer, coming to Shelby County 
to build upa new home in the wilderness that then 
prevailed here. He made claim to a tract of Gov- 
ernment land including the southwest quarter of 
section 6, of township 1 1, range 3, east of the third 
principal meridian, now known as Penn Township. 
He occupied a log cabin on his land and for a lime 
his nearest neighbor was ten miles distant. Deer, 
wild turkeys, wolves and other wild animals were 
plentiful in this then uncivilized region which the 
hand of man had done but little to reclaim. Mr. 
Armstrong entered and bought other land besides 
his homestead and resided on the farm that he im- 
proved until after the death of his wife in 1875. 
lie spent the last eighl years of his life with his 
daughter, Mrs. Miller, dying at a venerable age 
August 10, 1883. 

Mrs. Miller developed into a vigorous woman- 
hood in her parental home and was taughl all use- 
ful household duties, including the art of carding, 
spinning and weaving cloth. She was first mar- 
ried in 1 <h 7 < » to Joseph Goodwin, a native of Ten- 
nessee. He was a fanner by occupation and passed 
hi- last years on his farm in Penn Township, dying 
in 187a. I>v that marriage Mrs. Miller has one 
child. Flo Goodwin. Mr. and Mrs. Miller's child- 
ren are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
They are being carefully educated and all are stu- 
dents at the State Normal School, at Normal. III., 
at the present time 



® IfelLLIAM II. RAGAN,altl gh among the 

\/\/l- youngev members of the bar, has an excel- 
Wy/ lent reputation as a criminal lawyer. He 
was born in Fairfield County. Ohio, Septembei 30, 
1830, the son of James W. and Ellen (Springer) 
Ragan. His paternal ancestor- were of Irish ex- 



282 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



traction his great-grandfather being born on the 
Emerald Isle. The maternal ancestors were of 
German and Swedish 1>1<>o<1 but came to this coun- 
try in the early Colonial daysand one of his great- 
grandfathers served as a soldier all through the 
Revolutionary War. Fairfield County, was the 
native home of his parents and there they were 
married and reared their family, but removed to 
Illinois in 1867, and located first in (lark Comity. 
next in Effingham County, whence they came to 
Shelby County. The mother, who still survives, is 
a widow, her husband having died in 1886 at the 
age of sixty \ ears. 

James W. Ragan, the worthy father of our sub- 
ject, was a soldier in the Union army during the 
Civil War, being a member of Company C, One 
Hundred and Fourteenth Ohio Infantry. After 
the battle of Haines Rluff he was detailed as nurse 
On a hospital boat which bore the name of the 
■■City of .Memphis" and went up the Mississippi 
River to Paducah, Ivy., at which place he was in- 
jured bv a fall, while unloading the dead bodies of 
tin- brave hoys who had fallen in conflict. In con- 
sequence of this accident he was placed in the 
hospital at St. Louis, from which he was in due 
time discharged, but he never entirely recovered 
from the injury, and his sufferings from it hastened 
his death. 

There were eighl children in the family of the 
parents of our subject, namely: Laura A., now 
Mrs. John J. Gallagher; William II. our subject: 
silas A., Eber A.. George W., .lames F. and Joseph 
A. (who was drowned at the age of five years, in a 
small creek near their home in Fayette County . 
( (hio) and Addison A. 

The early life of William Ragan was passed upon 
the home farm and at the age of fourteen he hired 
out as a farm hand at $5 a month, and served in 
this capacity until he reached the aye of eighteen 
years, lie then saw the need of an education and 
so for a Dumber of year- we find him attending 
school and teaching and he finally became a teacher 

in the High Scl I at Mielbyville. lie Studied law- 
ill the office of Hamlin & Holloway and in lsxl 
was admitted to the bar. After practicing for one 
\i.ii hi' entered the Fnion College at Chicago, 
which college is the law department of the North- 



western University at Evanston. since taking his 
diploma in 1886 he has given his entire attention 
to his profession at Shelbyville. Ih- has a general 
practice but yives particular attention to criminal 
practice. 

The domestic life of Mr. Ragan is a very happy 
one. as he was married July 1. 1*77. to Mary C. 
Gallagher, daughter of Jacob and Sarah Gallagher, 
who was born in Shelby County, where her par- 
ents are among the pioneers. They have had three 
children gather about their fireside, the eldest. 
Jennie, dying in infancy, but Fl/.a M. and Maude 
A., remain to be the joy ami comfort of their par- 
ents, lie is deeply interested in political move- 
ments and espoused the cause of the Republican 
party until 1888 at which time he supported the 
Democratic ticket, stumping the state and making 

brilliant and effective speeches in sixty different 

places. He has never sought office and prefers to 
give his attention to private practice, lie is iden- 
tified with the Masonic fraternity and has been an 
earnest and consistent member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church since he was fourteen years of 
age. 



_S < 



B^=~= 




LFRED REED. The sons of the pioneers 
have indeed reason to feel proud of their 
honorable ancestry. The early settlers in 
Illinois were a class of men and women 
who came to the New West not alone for personal 
aggrandizement but mainly for the benefit of their 

posterity. They cheerfully endured hardships and 
wrought gladly with their hands that they mighl 
provide a future for those who are dependent upon 
them. Our subject was born in Shelby villi- Town- 
ship. Shelb) County. August 8, 1 S."i :». ulnae he 
now resides, his parents being Moses and Ruth 
(Fortner) Reed. The father was born in Tennessee, 
March :?. 1807, and there married a lady who was 
born in North Carolina. March 12. 1808, a daugh- 
ter of Mica jah Fortner. 

This young wedded couple came to Illinois and 
settled in Shelby County about the year 1825, 
when there were no houses between them and Yan- 
dalia and only two or three houses anywhere in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



283 



their vicinity, [ndians still abounded in Shelby 
County, deer and other game were plentj and 
wolves came about the dooryard. 

Moses Reed entered land and settled on section 
23, whei - e he also purchased other land and dealt 
in real-estate more or less, having generally six 
hundred acres of land in possession at a time, lie 
made his permanent home where lie tirst settled 
and remained there until his death in November, 
1884, at theageof seventy-seven years. His widow 
died August 13, 1890, at the very advanced age 
of eighty-three years. Their ten children are I.u- 
cinda, now Mrs. Jackson; Edward; Elizabeth, de- 
ceased; Eliza, now .Mrs. Henry Hilton; Artimesia, 
now Mrs. Manning: Moses; Alfred, our subject; 
Elisha and Marion, deceased; and one who died 
in childhood. 

Having grown to manhood in Shelby ville Town- 
ship, and undertaken as his wink for life agricul- 
tural pursuits, our subject decided to establish a. 
home for himself and in 1862 he married Rebecca, 
daughter of Jacob Kensil. who became the mother 
of live children and died in 187:5. Two only of 
her children are now living, namely: Sarah, 
now Mrs. Bazel Haywood and Mary .1.. the wife of 
Lewis Manning. In 1*77 Mr. Reed married Al/.ira 
Hoard, daughter of Andrew .1. and Mary . I. (High- 
land) Hoard. This lady was born in Union County. 
Ohio, October 1 I. 1856, and came witli her parents 
to Illinois in 1868. They sett led in Shelby County, 
and here this young girl grew up into a lovely 

young womanh 1 and received a training' in the 

useful arts of housewifery, in which she became 
expert. Her beloved mother is still living and her 
worthy father died .Inly I. 1886, at the age of 
sixty-four years. One child only of the second 
marriage is now living, a daughter Zula; a little 
one died at the age of eighteen months some years 
ago. 

About three hundred acres of land now form the 
home farm of this successful and thorough-going 
farmer. lie prefers to devote himself largely to 
Stock-raising of which he makes a specialty, and in 
which he is very prosperous. His political views 
have led him to ally himself with the Democratic 
party, and he tirinly believes that the principles 
endorsed by "Old Hickory" are the reliable around 



for political action uow-a-days. The high esteem 
in which he is held by his neighbors has often led 
them to urge his acceptance of various local offices, 
but the only position which he has ever felt willing 
to accept was that of a member of the School 
Board in which he has been very Useful and has 
aided materially in forwarding the educational in- 
terests of his township. Socially he is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



-»■—»*■*)-> '» ' i ' <<l 



t i ' i i 



ROF. WILLIAM E. McCORMICK. Cores- 
ident of Tower Hill. Shelby County, has 
pursued a more honorable career or been of 
greater value as a citizen and public servant 
than the gentleman whose name introduces these 
paragraphs and who is well known throughout 
Shelby County. His life and character are well 
worthy of imitation by those who. like himself. 
must be the architects of their own fortunes and 
destinies to a great extent. His habits are unosten- 
tatious, his judgment impartial, his convictions 
strong ami his benefactions, like his labors, constant 
and unremitting. In 1888 he was appointed Prin- 
cipal of the public schools of Tower Hill, since 

which time he has advanced the grade of scholar- 
ship, deepened the public interest in educational 
matters and brought the school to the front rank 
among the academies of learning in the county. 
Recently he has been invited to take charge of the 
school at Windsor in this county. 

Prof. McCorniick is of Irish parentage. His 
father, Edward McCormick, was bom in County 
Galway, Ireland, of which county his mother, .lane 
(O'Brien) McCormick, was also a native. Alter 
their marriage in Ireland the\ emigrated to Amer- 
ica during the latter part of the '50s, and coining 
directly to this State, settled on a farm near the 
village of Tower Hill, of which they have since 
been residents. They became the parents of four 
children, of whom our subject is the eldest. lie 
was born in County Galway, Ireland, April 1. !*.">*. 
and was about three years of age when he was 
brought by his parents to this country, lie grew 
to manhood in Tower Hill Township and received 



-2.x I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



a good education in its graded schools. Later he 
becamea studenl in the Central Normal College of 
Danville, Ind., where lie fitted himself for the pro- 
fession of a teacher. 

Since 1*77, when Prof. McCormick taught his 
first school, he has been engaged in his chosen pro- 
fession and has become well-known as a splendid 
disciplinarian and one thoroughly able to impart 
knowledge to others. He was married in l'ana. 
111.. September 13, 1883, to .Miss Minnie R., daugli 
ter nf Samuel Milliken. This estimable lady was 
born in Shelly County. III.. June 4, 1860 and is a 
lady of recognized worth of character and kindly 
disposition. She and the Professor are both con- 
sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
in which he has been a Trustee, lie has also served 
as Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and takes 
an active part in religious and benevolent work. 
In politics he is a Democrat and has served the 
township as Clerk and Assessor. lie owns two 
hundred acres adjacent to the village of Tower 
Hill, a portion of which lies within the corpora- 



tion. 



~^*!^|g'S 



H 



!■:: 




'UANKLIN D.GOULD. Our subject is one 
of the linn known as Gould Bros., dealers 
in grain, who have a wide reputation for 
honor and integrity, and enjoy the confidence of 
the community in which they are living by virtue 

of their fair and upi'iglll dealing. He of whom we 
are writing was born in Cambria, Niagara County. 
N. V.. April 22. 1847. He was reared on his 
father's farm and was engaged in farming in his 
native county until 1883, when he disposed of his 
farm and came to this State, settling in Windsor, 
and soon after launched into the grain business in 
partnership with his brother. Lyman A. Gould. 

for two nionlns after coming to this Slate 
Mr. Gould was employed by K. ,v 1. Jennings 
at Mattoon, 111., in buying grain. He went to De- 
catur, at which place he remained four months. 
being there employed by the Wabash Railroad 
Company. He was married in Cambria. X. V., 
February 2*. I x 7 2 . to Miss Agnes C.Colt, who was 
a native of the same county and State as himself 



Mrs. Gould is a refined and womanly woman and 
makes a pleasant home for her husband and chil- 
dren, of which she has had four. They are: Elmer 
W., Clara M.. Florence and Grace A. It was a 
great blow to the parents when their eldest child 
and only son. and was taken from them in Febru- 
ary, 1890. lie was at the full bud and promise of 
manhood, being seventeen years of age at the time 
of his death. lie was a victim of that dread dis- 
ease — La Grippe, which made vacant so many 
places in families throughout the country, suffer- 
ing severely before his decease. The second daugh- 
ter, Florence, died when a small child, being only 
four years of age. 

Although not an office-seeker in any sense. Mr. 
Gould, like most of the fresh, vigorous young men 
in our country, cannot lint be interested in politi- 
cal life. lie has allied himself with the Democratic 
party. Loth our'subject and his wife are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, he having been 
so connected since 1866, and his wife's church re- 
lations dating from childhood. Mr. Gould is a 
modest and unpretentious man. whose first con- 
sideration is attention to his business. He is, how- 
ever, a favorite in both commercial and social 
circles, and is highly esteemed as one of the repre- 
sentative men of the town. 



/p^EORGE A. SMITH.. M. D. A successful and 
'11 _— , enterprising member of the medical profes- 

V_JJ(i sion, residing in Henton, in Ridge Town- 
ship, is a son of the late John l>. Smith, who was 
born in Butler County, Ohio. His mother, who 
bore the maiden name of Sarah Munson. was born 
in New Jersey. The father was a farmer by occu- 
pation and after his marriage with Miss Munson 
made his home in Franklin County, Ind.. whence 
he came in 1860 and settled in Ridge Township. 
Shelby County, when' he completed his mortal 
career August 13,1890. I le left his faithful wife 
to mourn his loss. 

Our subject is one of seven children of the par- 

■ ital home and is the third in order of age. He 



mm \ 







\ 



THOS.STEWARDSON 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



287 



was bora in Franklin County, hid.. October 30, 
[855, and was reared to manhood upon Lisfather's 
farm in Shelby County. His earlier education was 
taken in the common schools and ;il Shelbyville. 
lie entered the st. Louis Medical College al St. I. on is. 
Mo., in 1876, and graduated in the Class of '79, 
receiving his diploma :it that lime. He began his 
professional work :it Henton and lias now buill up 
mii exeelleni and broad practice. His marriage, 
which occurred April 29, 1891, united liim with 
.Mis.-. Ida M. Stanley, daughter of Leroy and Eliza- 
beth ( Ward) Stanley. 

Dr. Smith has taken an active part in all local 
movements and is an energetic and progressive 
citizen. His political views have led him to affiliate 
with the Democratic party, in the progress of which 
he feels a keen interest, lie is a member of the 
Masonic fraternity and is also identified with the 
Modern Woodmen of America. Hisexcellenl judg- 
ment and genial nature commend him to his fel- 
low -citizens. 







IloMAS RTEWARDSON, one of the early 
pioneers of Shelby County and a man who 
has made his record for industry, hard 
work, perseverance and integrity, has a pleasant 
home on section 24, Shelbyville Township, where 
his residence dates from the fall of IS P.I. He was 
horn in I he North of England, March IS. ISIS, 
and is the son of William and Mary (Nicholson) 
Sti'wardson. The mother died when the subject 
of this sketch was lmt a small boy, leaving seven 

children, of whom Thomas was the eldest. Those 
who followed him were: Robert, who died in 
Shelby County; Samuel, went to the West Indies 
and there died; Isabella, married Mr. Brewster and 
died in Shelbyville; William: John, who resides in 
Texas, and Mary, who died in Indiana in IS 11. 
The father of our subject came to the United 
states, and settling in Illinois, lived in Shelby 
County until his death. He took up the land 
for this son two years previous to our subject's 
coming here. 

'Thomas Stewardson was reared a farmer, and 



when a young man of some twenty-three years 

came to the I'niteil States, settling in Ohio in the 
year IS Hi. and there married three years later the 
lad\ whom he had chosen from all the world to he 

his companion through life. She was Elizabeth 
Parnell, a native of England and a daughter of 
John and Agnes Parnell. After marriage they re- 
sided in Ohio for some nine years with the excep- 
tion of one season, wirch they spent in Northern 
Indiana. Elizabeth Ste vardson became the mother 
of six children, hut was called from them by death 
in 1856, leaving them to mourn a mother's loss. 
They are all now grown to manhood and are occu- 
pying positions of responsibility and honoring 
their parents by lives of usefulness and worth. 
'They are as follows: John, who resides in Sac 
County. Iowa; 'Thomas, who lives in the State of 
< Washington; James, Robert and William P.. who 
live in Shelby County; and Samuel, who makes 
his home in South Dakota. 

In December, is.">ti. our subject "was married to 
Sarah Brady, a daughter of 'Thomas and Martha 
(Vaughn) Brady, and a native of Shelby County, 
where she was born October 2d. 1889. Her par- 
ents were of Southern birth and came to Illinois 
in the pioneer days, taking up and improving land 
here. 'Their death occurred in Shelby County. 
and they left six children. as follows: William, de- 
ceased; Jane, the wife of Perry Heed, who resides ill 
Butler County. Kan; Samuel, deceased; Sarah, Mrs. 
Stewardson; Narcissa A., who married Hiram Brown 
and died in Shelby County; and .lames, who is 
also deceased. 

'The first possession of Mr. Stewardson in Illinois 
was forty acres, and he now owns two hundred 
and sixty, all excellent and well improved land. 
bearing upon it good fences, excellent barns and a 
substantial home. He followed sheep-raising for a 
number of years very successfully and has the 
qualities which lead to success in that department 
of work, as he is prudent and attentive to the 
needs of his stock, lie now pursues general farm- 
ing. Mrs. Stewardson is a member of the Hard 
Shell Baptist Church and has brought up her seven 
children in the faith of the Christian religion. They 
are named: Martha Jane, wife of John Richardson; 
Edward; Douglas; Henry: Mary, now Mrs. Ben- 



2X8 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



jam in Field: Eliza, the wife of Mathew Bain- 
brig; and Albert. The political views of our sub- 
ject have brought him into sympathy with the 
Democratic party, fur whose success he i- desirous, 
luii lie is not at all an office-seeker, although he has 
tilled successfully the position of School Director. 
Elsewhere in this volume the reader will lind a 
lithographic portrait of Mr. Stewardson. 



I>*««^=-^ 



--^ 



f OHN \V. BEERY, a prominent and success- 
ful farmer residing on section 5, Ridge 
Township. Shelby County, and a man who 
is ever active in political and church circles, 
is the son of Josiah Beery, a native of Rockingham 
County. Va., where his mother. Ann Jacobs was 
also burn. They had thirteen children, and our 
subject was among the older members of the fam- 
ily, being born September '.*. 1N44. in Rockingham 
County, where he was reared upon a farm. 

At the time of the breaking out of the war, this 
young man was conscripted when only sixteen 
years old. into the rebel army. lie served in the 
ranks but a few days, and then was detailed to 
work in a shoe shop, where he served between three 
and four years. When Gen. Hunter made his 
famous raid up the Shenandoah Valley, all the de- 
tailed men were called out and given guns. The 
enemy was routed and our subject took leave of 
his brethren in arms against the Union without the 
consent of his commanding officer, and coming to 
(•'airfield County, obtained employment at farm 
labor. 

Here Mr. Beery remained until his marriage Sep- 
tember 2. 1869, to Mis.-- Rebecca Swartz,a daughter 
of Henry and Sarah (Beery) Swartz, both of whom 
were natives of Fail lie hi County, Ohio. The mother 
died in that county, and the father in Picka- 
way Township, Shelby County, 111., where he had 

settled in December. 1870. The wife of onr sub- 
ject was one of the younger members in a large 
family of twelve children, and was bom in Fair- 
field County. .Inly 22. 1*47. 

The young married couple continued to reside 
in Fairfield County until the fall of 1 872, when 



they removed to Shelby Countt and made their 
home in Pickaway Township for ten years, after 
which they removed lo Ridge Township, and set- 
tled on section ."). where Mr. Beery owns a farm of 
eighty acres upon which he has placed good im- 
provements. 

The children who have come to bless the home 
of our subject are: Thomas C, Mary A.. Laura C. 
Elmer ('.. Docie F... Lulu E., John < ). and Onie 15. 
Elmer, John and Onie have passed to the better 
world. The father of these children is an intelli- 
gent and public-spirited man, who has always taken 
an active part in public affairs, and i> an ardent 
and progressive Republican. lie has been School 
Director for five years, and in this capacity has 
done much to forward the educational interests of 
the Township. In the spring of 1890 he was elected 
Highway Commissioner, which office he has filled 
to the satisfaction of his constituents and the bene- 
fit of the roads, lie has always been engaged in 
agricultural pursuits, and has made them a success. 
The Evangelical Association is the religions body 
with which he and his good wife are connected, 
and in its work they are ever ready to take part. 

and to dog 1. He has been in this connection 

Class-Leader, Trustee. Sunday-scl 1 Superinten- 
dent and exhoiter. Mr. Beery is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen, and is also identified with the 
Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. 




AMUEL W. MORTHLAND. Himself a 
lover of a line horse, onr subjeel under- 
stands the needs of the traveling public so 
thoroughly as to keep all grades and styles 
of animals to suit each whim and taste. For the 
young man who lovCS a level slreleh of country 
and a good gait, he has in his stables roadsters thai 
can keep up with any in the county. For the old 
physician who cannot get along without his forty 

winks as he goes from one place lo another, he has 
the staid and reliable animals thai will land him at 
his destination safely, without so much a- a pull at 
tin' line-, and to the nervous lady who i- afraid 



PORTRAIT AND P»K .)( HiAl'IIK AL RECORD. 



289 



ofa good,fas1 gait, and ye1 wants to travel behind 
m horse with some style, he gives a beautiful little 
mare with glossy mane and tail, and tender eyes 
thai promise of themselves the utmosl sedateness 
united with elegant dignity, for Mr. Morthland is 
a livery man and caters to the traveling public of 
Lovington, Moultrie County. 

The parents of our subject were Joseph T. and 
Alice (MeCardle) Morthland. The former was a 
uativeof Pennsylvania and the latter emigrated in 
her young womanhood to the United States from 
Ireland. They were married in New York City and 
came from there to Decatur, III., in the year is.5;t. 
Two weeks after his arrival in the last-named city 
Joseph Morthland died. His wife followed him a 
good many years later, passing away from this life 
in Moultrie County, August 17. 1889. They were 
the parents of five children, and of these our sub- 
ject was the eldest. He was horn ill New York 
City, January I I. 1850, and was nine years of age 
when he came with his parents to Decatur, this 
Male. 

Mr. .Morthland early knew what it was to take 
care of himself for in his young days he worked 
out for his board and clothing, spending four or 
five years in this way in Macon County, his mother 
having removed to Moultrie County and married 
again a man by the name of Levi Misenhelter. 
( tur subject went to live with his mother and made 
his home under her roof until his marriage which 
took place in Lovington, December 18. 1872. His 
bride was Rebecca McCravy,who was born in Ten- 
nessee. 

After marriage the young couple resided in 
Lovington for several months and then removed 
to I. owe Township, where our subject was engaged 
in farming for a period of about four years. At 
the expiration of this time lie returned to Loving- 
ton and purchased a livery business in July, 1878, 
and has since continued giving his attention to 
this business. Mr. Morthland is a genial, whole- 
souled fellow who is a hail fellow well met with all 
the hot spirits of the town, lie is deservedly pop- 
ular with all classes of people and enjoys the con- 
fidence and respect of the community. 

Our subject and his wife have had their domestic 
life enriched by the advent of one daughter therein. 



Her name is Ida M. and -he i> the pride of her 
parents whose ambition it i> that every talent thai 
she possesses should !»■ cultivated in the highest 
degree and that she should lie an accomplished and 
intelligent woman. Mr. Morthland has served on 
tin' Village Hoard for several years and lias filled 
the office of Township Clerk most acceptably. 
Socially, he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
and both an Odd Fellow and a Knight of Pythias. 
In connection with his livery business lie also 
makes a specialty of Normans and roadsters, 
being engaged in breeding horses. IK' also sells 
many buggies and vehicles of all descriptions. He- 
sides his business in the village he has a general 
Oversight of his farm in the township which com- 
prises one hundred and twenty acres and which 
brings him in a handsome revenue. 



| AMES AVERY Wool). A pleasant gentle- 
man whom Moultrie County may well be 
proud to claim as a son and native, is he 
whose name is at the head of this sketch. 
Horn here March .'! 1 . 1848, his parents were Joseph 
M. and Parletha (Patterson) Wood. Our subject's 
paternal grandfather, Avery Wood, came to this 
county before 18Hh and entered a large tract of 
land upon which he made some improvements be- 
fore his death, which occurred in Sullivan Township. 
where his body lies interred. The father of our 
Subject was the only boy in the family to attain 
the age of maturity, lie was a fanner and died in 
Sullivan Township in the fall of 18;">2. having be- 
fore his death acquired a handsome property. Our 
subject's mother, married a second time, a gentle- 
man by the name of Montgomery, and by this union 
three children were born which were reared with 
him of whom we write. 

The parental family consisted of three children 
whose names arc as follows: Sarah .1.: .lames A.. 
our subject, and John VV. Air. W i's only sis- 
ter married William Hodge; she died in Sullivan 
Township, without issue. James A. was married in 
1869 to Mary A. Hoke, a daughter of Samuel and 
Amanda Hoke. She was a native of the same 



290 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



county and State as lier husband being here born 
April 18, 1849. Her death occurred June 6, 1890, 
and her loss is deeply fell mil only by her imme- 
diate family but by many who have been the recip- 
ients of her kindly sympathy and aid in times of 
trouble. She lived in Sullivan Township all her 
life. 

Mr. Wood is a progressive farmer and although 
he is comparatively a young man, has acquired a 
good farm which comprises one hundred and sixty 
acres of as fertile and well-located land as there is 
in the county. Upon this he has put valuable im- 
provements, and has here a pleasant home. 
He devotes himself chiefly to general farming, 
but has some tine stock. The original of 
our sketch is not content to accumulate alone 
earthly riches, hut realizes that for himself 
and family there are treasures of learningand wis- 
dom to he had for the getting. His home boasts 
many books by standard authors and the latest cur- 
rent literature finds its way to his reading table. 
lie is a thoughtful reader, forming his ideas from 
his own deductions, rejecting ready-made opinions 
upon any line of thought, whether it lie political 
or otherwise. 

Five children comprise the family of our subject, 
whose names are: Zolla Newton, Estella May, Sarah 
.lane. Samuel A. and l.ora Edith. Politically, Mr. 

W I's sympathies and interests center with the 

Democratic party and this receives the weighl of 
his vote and influence. Religiously he is a member 
of the United Brethren Church, and seeks to live 
in his daily life, the lessons taught by the life 
of the I >i vine .Man. 




RANK M. LOVING. Among the promin- 

fis cut citizens of Dora Township who has 
lived in this section for more than a quar- 
ter of a century, we arc pleased to mention the 
name which appears at the head of this paragraph. 
Mr. Loving is a farmer who settled in Moultrie 
County in the fall of L867, and whose pleasant 
home is to lie found on section 22, Dora Township. 



He is a native Illinoisan, having Keen born in Mc- 
Lean County. April 11. 1855, a son of Jasper D. 
and Maria J. (Messer) Loving, natives of Indiana 
and Illinois, respectively. 

Taylor Loving, the grandfather of our subject, 
was a native of North Carolina who came to this 
State and located in McLean County about the 
year 1835, locating near Normal, but later remov- 
ing to Gl'idley Township, where he became the 
owner of some five hundred acres of land upon 
which he passed his remaining years, dying at the 
age of about fifty. He left a family of four sons 
and one daughter, John, Philip. .lames. Jasper and 
Nancy, which latter became the wife of George 
Cox. Jasper Loving was only about eighteen 
months old when the family settled in McLean 
County and he was educated in Bloomington and 
chose husbandry as his pursuit in life. He was 
married in McLean County to Maria, a daughter 
of John Messer. an early yioneer of the county. 

After marriage the newly wedded pair settled in 
( iridlev Township on land which Taylor Loving 
had entered from the Government. He remained 
with his parents and assisted them while his brothers 
went to California during the gold excitement, and 
after the death of the father Jasper fell heir to a 
portion of the land and purchased the interest of 
some of the heirs, and thus became tin' owner of a 
tine farm. 

Jasper Loving, in 1867, sold his farm in McLean 
County and coming to Moultrie County, purchased 
from the Illinois Central Railroad Company two 
hundred and forty acres of unbroken prairie to 
which lie somewhat later added by purchase one 
hundred and twenty acres more, all of which lie 
improved. In 1882, on account of his wife's feeble 
health, he sold a portion of his land and went to 
Montgomery County, Kan., where he purchased two 
small farms, but the change of residence did not 
bring as much improA ement to Mrs. Loving's health 
as had lieen hoped, and she left him for the spirit 
world in 1884. One year later he returned to 
Illinois and died June 7. 1888, in Dora Township. 
He was an earnest Republican in his political views 
and at different times held various local offices. 
The Christian Church was the religious body in the 
communion of which he found comfort and strength. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



291 



lie and his good wife had seven children, four of 
whom lived to years of maturity, namely: Frank 
M.. Mary < '.. wife of John 0. McMullen, Jota T. 
and Lewis V. The latter was born June L8, L867, 
and resides with our subject. 

Frank M. Loving came with his father's family 
to Moultrie County in L867, and six years later 
chose for himself a bride in the person of Eliza, 
daughter of John and Nancy McMullen. She was 
horn in Ohio. June 22. 1855, and became the 
mother of two children, John J. and Sylva E. The 

old I iestead forms the residence of our subject, 

and he i- the owner of eighty acres of finely im- 
proved land. His political views incline him to 
endorse the action of the Republican party, yet In' 
is independent to a considerable extent ami never 
allows himself to be trammeled by parly lies, in 
the membership of the Christian Churcli he and 

hi- excellent wife find themselves in a religious 
home which is in accordance with their faith and 
sympathies. 



HS? 



OHN M. (ISAAC, li is contrary to the 
principles of true political economy to en- 
courage celibacy and discourage marriage, 
and the historian regrets the necessity of 
occasionally chronicling the fact that, a man of 
noble life, integrity and honor, has been content to 
live a life of single blessedness and has not made 
for himself a true home by placing at his side :i 
companion who would double his joys and halve 
hi- sorrows. Yet when a single life has been con- 
ducted so nobly and unselfishly as has that of our 
subject, the writer willingly touches lightly upon 
this dereliction from duty and is willing to paint 
in light color- the life of this worthy man. 

Our subject was horn in Perry County, Ohio, in 
1825, being the son of Andrew Cusaac, a native of 
Pennsylvania, and .lane Shaw, who was horn in 
the same state. Hi- parents settled in Perry 
County, Ohio, in 1813 and there made their home 
through life. Of their eight children two died in 
infancy. William died in Perry County, Ohio, 
and .lane, who married Mr. Ensminger, resides with 



our subject. Caroline married Jacob Dial and her 
death occurred in June, 1890. Two children, 
James and Celia survive her. Mary married Cor- 
nelius Axline and died in Muskingum County. 
Ohio, leaving two children. William and .Matilda. 
Lucinda is the wife of Uohert Yost and Sarah M., 
an unmarried sister, reside- with our subject. Mr. 
Cusaac has ever been a kind and affectionate 
brother to his sisters and their comfort and support 
in times of trial. 

Mr. Cusaac first located on section 29, Shelhy- 
ville Township, when he came to this county, and 
he here purchased nearly eight hundred acres of 
land. In this he was joined by his brother, A. J. 
About the year 1864 he purchased the farm upon 
which he now resides and upon which he has erec- 
ted a pleasant home, excellent barns and other suh- 
stantial and handsome improvements, so that it is 
now counted a- the best improved farm in Shelhy- 
\ tile Township, and comprises some four hundred 
acres of laud. His political views bring him into 
affiliation with the party which is proud to claim 
the names of Jefferson and Jack-on. hut he i- not 
a politician nor wire puller and ha- steadfastly de- 
clined to accept office, lie is a supporter of the 
Presbyterian Church to which hi- sisters belong 
and i- warmly interested in the cause of Christian- 
ity, although not a church member. Hi- industry, 
economy and thrift have placed him upon a sub- 
stantial footing and given him the respect of his 
fellow-citizens, lie settled in this county in 1866, 
and hi- pleasant home is located just outside the 
city limits of Shelbyville. 







AN1EL SMITH, who resides on section in. 
Ridge Township, Shelby County, is a cit- 
izen of superior ability and intelligence. 
His father. Nathan Smith, and his grand- 
father, Daniel, Sr.. were horn in Maryland. The 
father of our subjeel was a fanner by occupation 
and married, while living in Nicholas County, Ky., 
Alary Killam, who was horn in Nicholas County, 
December 2, 1799. After marriage this young 
couple settled in Nicholas County and remained 



292 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



there until death in t In- early prime of life, August 
15, ls.'io. lli> bereaved widow, who was the 
mother of live sons and one daughter, removed 
the following year to Shelly County, 111., and 
passed away January 30, 1880. 

The subject of this writing was the second in 
this family, being bora September 21, 1821, in 
Nicholas County, Ivy., where he spent the early 
years of his life. The father died before the buy 
had completed his ninth year and when he was ten 
years old be came with bis mother and the family 
to Shelby County, and lived for some nine <>r ten 
years in Rose Township. Since that time he has 
made bis home in Ridge Township. He received 
thorough training in the practical work of farming 
in bis boyhood and undertook that as bis life work. 

Daniel Smith and Sarah A.Wagoner were united 
in the -acred bonds of matrimony in Rose Town- 
ship, August 3, 1843. The bride is a daughter of 
Jacob and 1 )rady ( Sargent ) Wagoner, both of whom 
were Virginians by birth and first settled in Ken- 
tucky, afterward in Indiana and then pursued their 
pioneer life in Illinois, settling in Hose Township 
in l*:i.S. The mother died in IS Id and tin' father 
passed away in Ridge Township, in 1857. They 
were the parents of eight children, five miu> and 
three daughters, and Mrs. Smith, who was born in 
Washington County. Ind.. July 1. 1823, was the 
sixth in order of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have passed their married 
life in Ridge Township and here their family of 
live children have been born. George W. is a resi- 
dent of Shelbyville; Mary, who became the wife of 
Samuel Brownback, who died in Rural Township 
in 1*72. leaving one child, George, who has been 
reared liv bis grandparents; Russell is a farmer in 
Rural Township; and John .1. carries on a farm in 
Ridge Township. The remaining child is Olivia. 
Three little ones died in infancy. Mr. Smith has 
been Highway Commissioner and School Director 
for a number of years. His political convictions 
have led him to ally himself with the Democratic 
party and he cast his first vote for .lames K. Polk. 
Hi- wife is an earnest and active member of the 

( 'hristian Church. Mr. Smith bought bis iand from 
the Government and has a line estate of four hun- 
dred anil Sixty-Seven acre- upon which he ha- 



erected a delightful home, commodious bams and 
other excellent outbuildings. These are situated 
upon the home farm which covers some one hun- 
dred and fifty acres. This intelligent gentleman 
and genial neighbor has made his mark in the 
community where he lives and is worthy of the 
generous estimate which is every where accorded 



him. 






RODNEY ADKINS. There is probably no 
place in the wide world where a man can so 
readily wrest from the soil a handsome com- 
petency and put himself m a financial con- 
dition to retire from active labor, as within the 
bounds of the rich Prairie State. Throughout its 
Confines, north and south, east and west, we ma\ 
find thousands id' farmers who have, by hard toil 
and enterprise, secured a degree of wealth which 
allows them to rest during their later year.-, and 
among these we are pleased to mctiiion the still 
active and enterprising gentleman whose name we 
have given above. 

Rodney Adkins, who resides on section ii. Lov- 
ingtOD Township. Moultrie County, dates his resi- 
dence in this county from 1865, and in Illinois 
from 1H.V2. He was born in Ross County. Ohio. 
August 21. 1825, being a son of Staunton and 
Anna (Timmons) Adkins. natives of Maryland. 
This excellent couple have removed from their na- 
tive State to Ross County previous to their mar- 
riage. Mr. Adkins at the date of that event being 
thirty years old, and his young bride but fifteen. 
Subsequent to their marriage they removed to Pick- 
away County, in the same State, and there settled 
on a farm. Mrs. Anna Adkins became the mother 
of thirteen children, and died at the age of forty, 
but her husband survived and reached the very ex- 
treme age of ninety-one years. 

The subject of this sketch was the fourth in this 

large family of the parental household, and re- 
ceived his early training upon a farm and through 
the active exercise and healthful manner of life in- 
cident to agriculture, he gained a sturdy and health- 
ful young manhood. He was married in Pickawaj 
County. Ohio. March IS. 18(7. his bride being I.o- 



PORTRAIT AND BIO IRAPHICAL RECORD. 



293 



vena Eskridge, daughter of George and Sabrina 
(Bryder) Eskridge, early pioneers of Pickaway 
County and natives of the little State of Delaware. 
Their daughter, Lovena, was bora in Pickaway 

('.unity in May. L824. 

The removal of <>nr subject to Illinois was made 
in 1852 with three teams. This was a long, weari- 
some journey, bul was taken leisurely, the party 
camping out at night and picnicing along the road. 
The principal expense which had to be incurred 
was the payment of toll at the toll-gates. Upon 
reaching the Prairie state. Mi. Adkins located in 
( lumberland County, and became tin' owner of two 
hundred and forty-six acres of land within two 
miles of Toledo, the county-seat. Fortius he paid 
at the rate of *'.< per acre and upon it he proceeded 
to make g 1 improvements, and had it in excel- 
lent condition before the exigencies of the Civil 
War called him from his home and fireside. 

Mr. Adkins enlisted in the service of his count r\ 
in August, 1861, and was mustered into service in 
Company A. Fifth Illinois Cavalry, which regi- 
ment was ordered to the Southwest, and saw service 
in Arkansas. lie was taken prisoner near Helena, 
that state, in October, 1862, and while under guard 
of six men, a captain of a company of guerillas, 
who also laid claim to beinga Methodist Episcopal 
preacher, rode up. and wit hoiit leave or license shot 
him in the arm. This hall, which he still carries, 
so disabled him as to cause him to he honorably 
discharged in February, 1863. 

( inr subject returned to Cumberland County, and 
in the fall .of 1864 sold his landatllOan acre and 
proceeded to prospect in various partsof the state. 
spending one season farming in Ford County be- 
fore coming to Moultrie County. Here he pur- 
chased eighty acres of his present farm, which was 
then but little improved but was considered of 
more than ordinary value, and even then com 
nianded $30 per acre. 1 le now owns over one thou- 
sand acres of land, seven hundred and fifty of 

which are in one body. lie has erected a pleasant 
home, excellent hams and other good outbuildings. 
Most of his prosperity may he attributed to his 
thorough, systematic and intelligent stock-farming, 
together with his dealings in live stock. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Adkins have been horn three 



children, and they have been so favored as to re- 
tain these children in life until now they are ma- 
ture, and are taking their places in the world, be- 
ing fitted to shine as members of society and to he 
truly an honor to their worthy parents. They are 
by name — William S.. Mary E., (wife of Henry 
Layman), and l.uranna. who resides at home. For 
four years past Mr. Adkins has rented his farm and 
now lives a retired life. He is a stanch Republican 
in his political belief, anil deems it the duty of 
every patriot to exercise the right of suffrage 
with which he is endowed by the laws of his land. 
He takes an intelligent interest in political move- 
ments, hut ha- never held office, as he has preferred 
to devote his energies to his private business. 



>yt^fcipi h i. hi 



/ i ' i < i ' i ' 




ORENZO l>. EVANS. Our subject is one 
) of the thousands of brave and loyal men 
who came forward in the time of their 
country's trial anil threw their lives in the balance 
with the chances of war that the Iiiion might be 
preserved and the brotherhood which is now be- 
coming an accomplished fact between North and 
South, re-established, lie is at present a general 
farmer owning one hundred and fifty-three acres 
on section 1. Flat Branch Township. lie is the 
happy possessor of some of the best land in the 
township and can view his acquisition with pride, 
as it is the result of his own industry and energy. 
Mr. Evans was hom in Montgomery County, at 
Mt. Sterling, Ky., December II. 1825. He comes 
of Maryland stock. His father, John Evans, who 
was a Dative of Wales, when young, came to 
the United states and lived near Baltimore with 
his parents for sonic years. The family, however, 
removed to Montgomery County. Ky., and there 
William Evans remained for some time, lie re- 
turned to Baltimore, Md.. where he died and was 

buried by the side of his " ife w ho had there passed 
away before the removal of his family to Ken- 
tucky. William Evans lived to he an old man. 
He served through the War of 1812 and was a 
brave soldier. His sons inherited from him his 
valor, for all of them later served through the late 



29 I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Rebellion, and one who had been Provost Marshal 
of Mt. Sterling, was later killed In an enemy, 
who in a cowardly manner, shot him in the back, 
while entering a store. Much enmity grew out of 
this and the family feud even endangered the dif- 
ferent families in the vicinity, nor did our subject 
escape these dangers, for he had many a hair- 
breadth escape from the enemy. 

After the coming of John Evans to Montgomery 
County. Ivy., he received training in a fanner's 
life, and lived and died in his adopted State, being 
quite an old man at the time of his decease, lie 
had there taken unto himself a wife whose maiden 
name was Miss Ann Beecraft, who was born near 
Baltimore. Md.. her parents being Benjamin and 
Elizabeth Beecraft. They came from Wales to this 
country and after living for some time in Mary- 
land, they settled in Kentucky. Their deaths, 
however, took place in Indiana. The daughter, 
Mrs. John Evans, after her marriage passed her life 
in Montgomery County. Ky., and there died. Our 
subject and a sister are all who are now living of 
this family. He inherited the fibre of his sturdy 
Welsh ancestors and grew up full of the energy 
and determination known to hut few men of his 
day. 

When the call was made for volunteers to fight 
for liberty and freedom. Mr. Evans enlisted in the 
Thirteenth Regimenl of Illinois Infantry. He 
served under lien. Sherman and was in the engage- 
meni against Gen. Johnson at Charlotte, N. ('.. 
and saw active service until the close of the war. 
when he received an honorable discharge for Ins 
services in 1865. lie served as a private Iml had 
been a true and brave man and for his loyalty and 
valor no better record could lie referred to than 
his ( oloncl, Mr. Lawrence, of Madison. ( apt. Jones, 
;>f the same place and Lieut. Lewis, of Munsev. 
Iml. 

Our subjeel has ever been a close student of 
human nature, it having been one of his greatest 
pleasures to study character as found in his travels 
throughout the country. This knowledge of hu- 
man nature has given him a greal advantage in his 
dealings with men. lie is a man who has exper- 
ienced much that is known to develop the sternest 
characteristics Of one's nature. His early experi- 



ence in Kentucky when involved in the feud that 
threatened himself and family, taught him vigi- 
lance and caution, while it developed daring and 
recklessness. When Mr. Evans was a young man 
the hot blood of the Southerner of Kentucky was 
even more pronounced than now. and a man took 
his life in his hands* when by a word, he acquired 
the hostility of an acquaintance. 

Mr. Evans was married in is is while in Ken- 
tucky, to Margarel Reibland who was horn and 
reared in that State. She is the mother of eigllt 
children, four of whom are now dead, having 
passed away in early years. Those who have a 
monument in the hearts of their parents, are Anna. 
Margaret, Mary E. and Wallace. The living chil- 
dren are Sarah J., Jennie, John W. and Lorenzo 
1). Sarah is the wife of William Simpson, who is 
proprietor of a farm in this township. Jennie is 
the wife of Jerome La Don and lives on a farm in 
Moweaqua Township. John W. took to wife Eliza- 
beth Gordon, and now lives in Donovan. 111. 
Lorenzo I), is a farmer in this township. 



V 



E*E 



r~ 






A WHENCE WARREN. No family in Shelby 

k County has been more closely identified 
with the development of its vast resources 

than the gentleman whose name introduces these 

paragraphs. He is the proprietor of a beautiful 
and well-appointed farm, picturesquely situated on 

section 9, Tower Hill Township. The estate, which 
comprises one hundred and sixty acres, slopes 
toward the south and with its attractive residence, 
substantia] farm buildings and cultivated Melds 
forms a picture not easily forgotten. It is our 
pleasure to present on another page a view of this 
line place. Step by step Mr. Warren worked his 
way until his worldly affairs were placed on a sub- 
stantial basis, and to-day he is numbered among the 
well-to-do men of the county. While advancing 
his financial interests he has not neglected the 
better things in life, hut has discharged in an able 
manner the duties of citizenship, and helped to ele- 
vate the intellectual and moral status of the section 
in which he has made his home. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



297 



For the history of the parents of Mr. Warren 
the reader is referred to the sketch of J. It. Warren 
mi another page of this volume. Lawrence Waft'en, 
who was the fifth in a family of six children, was 
was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, A 1 : 1 \ l l. 1829, 
In his native place he passed his childhood and 
youth uneventfully, attending the district schools 
during the winter season and aiding in farm work 
during summer. He lias made agriculture his call- 
ing in life, although he has followed carpentering 
lu some extent. 

When reach to establish a home of bis own. .Mr. 
Warren was married. August 24, 1854, to Miss 
Mary Ann. daughter of John and Catherine (Rein- 
hammer) Stout, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. 
and Mrs. Stout were married in the Keystone Stale. 
whence they removed to Pickaway County, Ohio, 
and there the father died. The mother survived 
him a few years and passed away in Sandusky 
County, Ohio. They had six children, the eldest 
dying in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Warren, who was 
the third, was born in Walnut Township, Pickaway 
County, Ohio, January 1. 1832, and was reared to 
womanhood under the parental roof, acquiring a 
good education and a knowledge of housewifely 
arts. 

immediately after their marriage Mr. Warren 
brought his wife to Illinois, making the journey 
in an emigrant wagon and locating in Christian 
County. After a sojourn there of two years, he 
came to this county and purchased the farm in 
Tower Hill, which is still his home. Of his union 
ten children were horn whose record is as follows: 
James M., who died at the age Of twenty years; 
Emanuel F., who i> a professor in the Western 
College at Toledo, Iowa; John, a farmer; Nelson, 
who married Miss Anna 1>. Rosenberry and is a 
farmer: Lewis EL and George W., farmers; Mary L, 
who died when nineteen years old: Nora .1.; ()tis 
W.. and Edward N. 

Every measure calculated to contribute to the 
progress of the community finds a firm friend in 
Mr. Warren, who is well known as a public-spirited 
citizen. In politics he is a Prohibitionist. Hewas 
the fust Township Clerk in Tower Hill, has served 
as Highway Commissioner and held various school 
offices. Etelieiouslv he is a member of the Metho- 



dist Church, while his wife belongs to the United 
Brethren Church. Of a genial and hospitable 

naturc.it is not Strange that his position a ng 

the citizens of this section is an influential one. 

ami that he numbers his friends among the worth- 
iest wherever he ir. known. 



ESTER C. 



,EMING. Every traveler 



/^) who pas>c> along the highway is led toad- 
is mire the farm buildings of Mr. Fleming 



On section 2!). East Nelson Township. These are 
still new enough to have retained their pristine 
freshness and the impression made by their attractive 
appearance is re-inforced by a thorough examina- 
tion of their convenient and commodious arrange- 
ment. This farmer appreciates fully [he true 
economy of being saved from the wear and tear 
which are incident to a poor borne, illy-arranged 
barns, leaky sheds and tumble-down fences, and he 
has provided generously for both his family and 

his stock. 

Isaac Fleming, who was the father of Lester, 
was horn in Cumberland County. Md., in 1H1K. 
and married Miss Kiltie A. Hilton, who was horn 
in the same county in 1817. Their early married 
life was spent in Knox County, Ohio, and 1 1 1 • ■ \ 
came thence to Moultrie County. III., in 1864, set- 
tling in East Nelson Township which has continued 
to lie the family home with the exception of three 
years spent in Whitley Township. The father 

passed from this life in 1888 on the -.'7th of Octo- 
ber, but the mother still survives. Of their family 
our subject was the seventh in order of age and 
wa- born in Knox County. Ohio, June 2*. IMS. 

Lester C. Fleming came with his parents to lib 
liois and resided under the parental roof until his 
marriage, which took place in 1874 in Moultrie 
( ount\ . his bride being Miss Mary 11. Mathers, who 
bore to him one child, .lames 1. Mrs. Mar\ II. 
Fleming did not long remain to enjoy her home, 
but died in September. 1*77 in Last Nelson Town- 
ship. The second wife of our subject bore the 

maiden name of Anna 1!. Mallorj and she also be- 
came the mother of one child. Ilaltic A., ami died 



298 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



December 18, 1886. Some time subsequent to this 
sad event Mr. Fleming was married in Charleston, 
111., to Rosa Maxedon, who now presides over his 
pleasant borne. 

For six years Mr. Fleming was engaged in op- 
erating a sawmill lnit aside from that and also 
during most of that time he gave his attention to 
farming which lias been his chief business through 
life, as he thoroughly cultivates his eighty acres of 
land. In the spring of 1890 lie became the Super- 
visor of Eas1 Nelson Township and so well did he 
serve his constituents and transact the business of 
his county that he received his re-election to the 
same office in the spring of 1891. As School I)i- 
rector he has worked conscientiously to advance 
the schools of East Nelson Township and they are 
year, by year rising to a higher plane. The plat- 
form of the Democratic party receives his hearty 
endorsement and in general intelligence he keeps 
abreast with the march of events and the world's 
history. 

Elsewhere in this volume appeal's a view of the 
home where Mr. Fleming and his family are com- 
fortably domiciled. 



— S5 1 



;>*-<§ 



@*- ~ 




ARON J. LEWIS. Asa fine type of the 
citizens who have contributed to the pros- 
perity of Moultrie County, the gentleman 
whose name introduces these paragraphs 
deserves especial mention. His splendid farm com- 
prises one hundred and two acreson sections 6 and 
7. Lowe Township, and is embellished with every 
necessary and convenient structure, good stock 
being kepi and improved machinery used. The 
residence, a view of which appeal's on another 
page, is a home-like structure, in which good cheer 
fin- mind and body is always to he found. During 
an honorable career as a sagacious agriculturist 
Mr. Lewis has displayed those solid t raits of char- 
acter thai are needful lo the attainment of fortune 
in any calling, and in his dealings with all he has 
ever shown himself to lie a man of probity. 

The immediate progenitors Of our subjecl are 
.lames T. and Paulina (Hostetler) Lewis. The 



father, now deceased, was born in Kentucky, but 
when quite young removed with his parents to 
Orange County. Ind.. where he grew to a vigorous 

manli 1 amid primeval scenes. When ready to 

establish a home of his own he was married to 
Paulina llotstetler. a native of Indiana, where 
after their union they settled in Orange County. 
This continued to he the home of the father until 
he closed his eyes to the scenes of earth September 
22, 1852. The mother still survives at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-one years, and makes her 
home in Indiana. She is a noble-hearted woman. 
whose children may "rise and call her blessed." 
She carefully reared her children, of whom there 
were eight, to till positions of usefulness and re- 
sponsibility, and in working for their welfare her 
hands never wearied. 

The subject of this notice is now in the prime 
of life, having been horn March 23, 1839, in 
Orange County, Ind. He was reared on a farm 
and early acquired a practical knowledge of agri- 
culture, and havinga natural aptitude for this avo- 
cation, he chose it for his life calling when the 
time came for him to start out in life for himself. 
At the age of twenty-four years he was married. 
March 2:5, 1863, in Lawrence County. Ind.. to 
Miss Martha . I. Coward, the daughter of William 
and Eliza (Martin) Coward. Mr. Coward is sup- 
posed to have been a native of Tennessee, while 
the mother was horn in Washington County. Ind. 
They settled in Lawrence County. Ind.. where the 
faithful mother died in 1*.*>4. Twenty years later 
the father came to Moultrie County. III., of which 
he has since been a resident. Mrs. Lewis, who was 
the fourth among seven children, was horn in Law- 
rence County, Ind.. November 7. 1844, and by 
careful training at home she became well pre- 
pared for the responsibilities of her married life. 

Immediately after the marriage of our suh- 
ject he brOUghl his young bride to Moultrie 
County on a visit, and both were so well pleased 
with the appearance of tin' country thai they con- 
cluded to make it their home. Accordingly, in the 
Spring of 1864, they came hither to locate perma- 
nently, and this has since been the scene of their 
active labors. Having from youth Keen engaged 
in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Lewis is a practical 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



299 



agriculturist, and the air of thrift about his home- 
stead indicates to every beholder that he is a man 
of enterprise and good management, lie settled 
on his present place in December, 1875, and here 
lie and his estimable wife have reared to maturity 
their seven children, whom they named as fol- 
lows: Benjamin F., Anna F... .Mary I-'... William 
('.. II. ('.. Gertie M. and Jessie L. Mr. Lewis 
lias never been an office-seeker, bul uniformly 
casts his ballot for the candidates of the Demo- 
cratic party, whose principles he believes to be 
right. 



5r%||().M.\s M. WII.MF.i;. Many prosperous 
farmers and stock-raisers arc to be found 
p within the bounds of Oconee Township, 
Shelby County, and perhaps no one of them is 
more notable for general intelligence and worth 
both in his person and his family than he whose 
name appears at the head of this paragraph, lie 
was born in Warren County, N. J., August 25, 
1835. His parents were William A. and Catherine 
(Morrell) WilnicT. The father was a native of 
Pennsylvania, born in Philadelphia in 1805 and 
the mother was born the same year in Essex 
County, S.J. Five children came to cheer this 
home, of whom our subject is the eldest. 

The brothers and sisters of our Sllbjecl are as 
follows: William R., born in 1838, enlisted as a 
private in Company B, Seventy-third Illinois In- 
fantry, lie was promoted In he Hospital Steward 
of his regimenl and afterward Adjutant of the 
regiment and was killed in battle at Kranklin, No- 
vember 30, 1864; Francis M„ born in I840,enlisted 
in Company C. Fifth Illinois ( avalry. lie partic- 
ipated in many maneuvers and engagements Imt 
died at home in 1864, of sickness while on :i fur- 
lough. lie had been promoted to the office of 
First Sergeant of his company; Theodocia R.,born 
May 25, 1841, was also one of the victims of the 
war. Her affianced was the Captain of a company 
in the Fifth Illinois ( avalry and died in service. 
Miss Wiliner, never very strong, took to her bed 
upon hearing the new- of his death and never re- 



covered from the shock but died in September, 
1865; Lambert, horn November 9, 1844, married 
Miss Maggie McConnell in Shelby County in 1K(>7. 
and engaged in farming, lie had a bronchial or 
lung trouble and removed to Colorado in 1881, 
hoping for relief Imt died at Ft. Morgan in that 
State in 1887. 

The removal of our subject from New Jersey to 
Illinois, occurred in March. 1857, and he was then 
a young man under the parental roof, which was 
located on the farm where he now resides. His 
father was an itinerant minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. Thomas Wilmer was married 
in September, 1865, to Miss l.ydia A. Reed who 
was born in Mercer County. X. .1.. .luuc .'!. 1847. 
Her parents came from New Jersey to this county 
in 1857 and located in Oconee Township where 
they died, both in one year — 1883. In their fam- 
ily there were eleven children, namely: John, 
Abram, Winchester I!.. Achsa. l.ydia A.. Alice 
Willard, Charles. George, Mary and Emily. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Wilmer live children have been 
born: Catherine M.. who first saw the light March 
'J. 1867, ha- been a teacher in the public school- of 
Shelby County, for several years; Anna E., born 
March I. 1869, is also following tin- same profes- 
sion; Francis, horn December 17. 1871, is also 
qualified as a teacher, having passed a successful 
examination: Clara C. horn August Hi. 1874, and 
Classena, horn February li. 1880, an' at home. 

Mr. Wilmer has always followed the business Of 
fanning, although he was educated for the profes- 
sion of a surveyor. He is a Republican in polities 
and takes an interest in public affairs, making an 
effort to keep himself informed on the current 
events of the day. He is a thorough and sytematic 
reader. Mr. Wilmer is a member of the Methodisl 
Episcopal Church, although his preference is for 
the Congregational body. Both the paternal and 
maternal grandfather of our subject were soldiers 
in tin- Revolutionary War. The maternal grand- 
father, Thomas Morrell, held the rank of Major 
in the Fourth Regiment of New Jersey Conti- 
nentals and was wounded at the battle of Long 
Island and left on the field for dead. Clin- 
ton 15. Fisk in the New York Independent states 
that Ceil. Washington detailed four soldiers to 



300 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



carry Maj. Morrell to his father's house at Eliza- 
beth. X. .1. On recovery lie rejoined the army and 
remained with ii until alter the battle of Brandy- 
wine when hi> wound broke out afresh and he was 
compelled t<> leave the service. He spent twenty 
years of his later life as a Methodist minister, lie 
was bom in New York City in 1747 ami died in 
Elizabeth, N. J., in 1838. 







ILL1AM II. SMELL. The gentleman of 
whom we write, although deceased, still 
lives in the esteem and affection of his 
family, friends and neighbors, having, although 
modest and retiring in his temperament, always 
held an unimpeachable reputation for integrity and 
honor, and being one whose adherence to principle 
gave an elevating influence to those with whom he 
came in contact. He passed away from this life 
bidding his friends a last goodnight, that he might 
enter into God's upper light, from his home on 
section 19, Fiat Branch Township, Shelby County, 
(•ctolier 7. 1890. lie was oni' of the pioneers of 
State, having located here in 1840, at which time 
lie settled on a tract of new. unbroken land. 

In 1842, he located on section in. of Flat Branch 
Township, where he improved one hundred and 
sixty acres of land, converting it from its virgin 
wildness. until it became a garden spot. luxuriant 
with waving grain and dotted with mild-eyed 
kine. Here he spent the most active part of his 
life, lie was horn in Warren County. Ohio, Octo- 
ber in. 1816, where he remained until he became 
of age. A full history of his family maybefound 
under the biographical sketch of Fred 1'. Snell. 

Our subjecl was Bret married in his native 
county to Thisby -I. Briggs, who was bora and 
reared in New Jersey. She was of New England 
parentage and came to ( )hio when a young woman, 
sin- was engaged in the work of teaching before 
her marriage with Mr. Snell. With her husband 
she came to Illinois in inn> and bravely assisted 
him not only by her prudence and economy, but 

also in a material way. ill getting a start in life. 
She died here while yet in the prime of lite. 



leaving six little children to her husband to mourn 

her decease, three of whom have since died. The 
living children are Sally. Fred M. and .Mary I). 
Sally became the wife of .Joseph McGrath, and 
now resides on a farm in Flat Branch Township. 
Fred M. took to wife Mary Certin, and now lives 
near Day. Kan., where he is engaged in farming. 
Mary D. is the wife of Charles Mazy. They also 
are farmers in Flat Branch Township. 

Our subject was a second time married, his nup- 
tials taking place in Flat Branch Township, and 
the lady who consented to lie the sharer of his joys 
and sorrows, was Mi.-s Louisa .1. Washham. She 
was horn in the Fast, having come West while a 
young woman, and died in middle life on the old 
home place. She left a family of four children 
who are. Daniel I!., Pugh F.. Cornelia A. and 
Edward M. The eldest son took to wife .lane 
Wolf and lived on a farm in Kansas. The second 
>on was united in marriage to Lois E. Worley and 
resides in Ridge Township, on a farm. Cornelia 
A. is the wife of Samuel Ilavertield. and lives at 
Assumption, this State; her husband belongs to the 
army of noble men and women educators. Edward 
was muted in marriage to Lulu Proctor, and lives 
in Assumption. 

Our subject was a third time married. The cer- 
emony took place in Buell Township. Shelby 
County, the lady being Mrs. A. Catherine Black. 

//" sn iers. she was a native of Washington 

County. Md.. where she was born August I. 1832. 
She is a daughter of Adam and Nancy (Dimes) 
Summers, natives of Tennessee and Maryland. Her 
parents were married in Washington County, Md.. 
and there lived until middle age. They were old 
residents of the county when they died. They were 
of German slock, and Lutherans in religious pref- 
erence. 

Mrs. A. Catherine Snell was only a small child 
when her parents died. She had hut one sister. 
Mrs. Delano, now Mrs. Fcktou. of Washington 
County. Md. Mrs. Snell was reared by an uncle, 
Jacob Ilimcsand was eighteen years of age when 
she came with him to Illinois. Her firsl marriage 
took place in Shelby County, her husband being 
Josiah I.. Black who was a native of Pennsylvania 
and came West when in middle life, passing from 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



301 



this life at Prairie Bird, this county. He left one 
child. Andrew D.,who tooktowife Minnie Spregg. 
They make their home with Mrs. Snellat Moweacfua. 
By her marriage with our subject, Mrs. Snell is the 
mother of eighl children, six of these are deceased, 
those having passed away being Lillie 15.. Thomas, 
Myrtie M., Russell P., Ora 0.,and Emma, who died 
eighteen months after her marriage. The living chil- 
dren are Alice I), who is the wife of Hiram I.. 
Goatley. Their home is in Moweaqua; William 

lives with his mother at the old homestead. 

Mr. Snell was an active member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church in which he had been a 
Steward for some time. His deceased wives and 
his widow were one with him in his religious pref- 
erence. Since the death of her husband Mrs. Snell 
has made her home in Moweaqua. She is an 
amiable and womanly woman and although ad- 
vanced in years, retains perfectly, all her faculties. 

Mr. Snell was a charter member of the order of 
Masons in Moweaqua. 



HARLES M. LANK. lie who views the 
panorama of humanity with a broad and 
far-seeing vision finds much to interest 
him in the prospective greatness of young men. 
lie loves to note the characteristics, habits and 
ambitions which point in this direction and to 
prophesy in regard to those who give promise of 
prominence. The future is of course hidden from 
human eyes, yet a shrewd reader can feel free to 
foretell much. Among those residents of Sullivan. 
Moultrie County, whose future is thus of interesl 
is the young man whose name appears at the head 
of this paragraph. 

Mr. Lane is doing a general law business in 
Sullivan, having been admitted to the liar in 1888. 
Upon November "22 of that year, he was examined 
at Springfield by the Appellate Court in session 
there and received his license from the Supreme 
Court during the January following. He had 
formerly been a student in the law office of R. 

Peadro, whose biography is to lie seen elsewhere in 



this volume. He has been all his life a resident of 
this county, as he was born in Sullivan Township. 
October 2. lKfi.">, and received the training of a 
farmer's hoy and a common-school education. 

Our subject is the son of Archie and Esther 
(Lewis) Lane, both natives of Illinois, having 
been horn and reared in Coles County, hut coming 
to Moultrie County where they afterward met and 
were married. They made a line farm here and 
the mother was taken away in the prime of life. 

dying June 2. 1871. She was a member of the 
old school Baptist Church and was universal!) 
esteemed for her beautiful Christian character, her 
braid charity and genuine friendliness, she left 
six children and two had preceded her to theother 
world. Theii names were Margarel and Elizabeth 
and a son William passed away immediately after 
his mother's departure. 

The live children of Archie and Esther Lane 
who are yet living, are Louisa E., the wife of ( '. 
1'. Martin, a fanner in Whitley Township, this 
county; .lames I... who married Mary E. .Martin 
and is farming in Last Nelson Township: Lueinda 
.1.. who is the wife of W. II. Steven and lives upon 
a farm in Palmyra. Mo.; our subject, and Archie 
A., who took to wife Martha Miller ami is farm- 
ing in Whitley Township. 

The father of these children contracted a second 
matrimonial alliance, choosing as his wife Miss 
Nancy E. Mehan. She was horn in Illinois anil 
reared in Shelby and Moultrie Counties. Since 
this marriage Mr. Archie Lane has been farming 
in Moultrie County and now lives in Whille\ 
Township. Loth he and his wife are active mem- 
bers of the old school Baptist Church and Mr. 
Lane is a thorough-going old-fashioned Democrat 
who has held various local otiices and served as 
Justice of the Peace for years in Sullivan and 
East Nelson Townships. 

Our subject is a bright and promising y/oung 
man. well known as possessed of good habits and 
excellent character. His aspirations are for the 

besl and highest ideals and his ho 'able intention 

and thorough integrity mark him as one who will 
ever have the confidence of his fellow-men. His 
political views have led him to affiliate with the 
Republican party and he i- progressive in his ideas 



302 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in regard to public matters. He is still living in 
a state of single blessedness and his best friends 
predict that when he does take the step which will 
double his joys and halve his sorrows he will make 
an alliance that will he a credit to his judgment 
and his heart. 

EZEKIAH WAGGONER. The gentleman 

Y whose name is at the head of this sketch is 
the owner of a fine farm located on section 
23, of W'hil ley Township, Moultrie ( 'ounty. 
lie is a native of this county, being horn here 
June 5, 1838, and a son of George and Bethaney 
(Ilanev) Waggoner, who came to this State in 
April. 1*2*. and settled on Whitley Creek in whal 
is now known as Whitley Township. The parents 
of our subject were natives of North Carolina, in 
which State they were married and whence they 
came to Illinois. At the time of their coining 
hither there was quite an exodus from their native 
town, several other families accompanying them 
and all came through in two one-horse wagons. 

George Waggoner entered land in Whitley 
Township, and started out in life without a dol- 
lar. In the early days of their settlement here 
in order to get some Hour or meal ground, he was 
obliged to journey to Vandalia with hi.- wheat 
or corn and patronize a mill run by horse power. 
The nearest market was St. I.ouis. and at that time 
the butter, eggs and other produce of the farm hail 
to he taken thither by wagon and sold in exchange 
for the necessary commodities of farm life. These 

were the inconvenience- of pioneer Settlement, bul 
in many respects life was not hard, for game was 
plentiful, and the ground easily tilled and aston- 
ishingly fertile and productive. Indians, it is true, 
wiie numerous, bul were also friendly. Although 
Mr. Waggoner was all hi- life an industrious, 
hard-working man. he remained a poor man. lie 
lived to the age of four-score years and died June 

12. 1875. Our subject's mother had died some 

years previously al the age of fifty-one years. 

The old people reared :i lamilv of twelve chil- 
dren, their name- being as follow-: Ah in. Robert 



and Cecilia are deceased; Sarah. William. Isaac C, 
Elizabeth, Isaiah. Ilezekiah. Nareissa, Hannah ami 
Ira. Elizabeth married John B. Dougherty, she 
died in this county in November, 1889; Isaiah is a 
Baptist clergyman in Nebraska; Hannah i- the 
widow of Thomas S. Dougherty. Our subject's 
parents were members of the old-school Baptist 

Church. lie of whom we write was reared on a 
farm and received such early educational advan- 
tages as could he attained at the school which the 
district afforded in those early days. 

lie of whom we write was married in March 22. 
1863, to Cornelia Bullock, a daughter of Stephen 
and Lavina (Hoyck) Bullock. She was horn in 
Delaware County. N. Y.. September 22. l!S4<; and 
came to this State with her parents in 1857, her 
family settling in Whitley Town-hip on a farm. 
Mrs. Waggoner's parents died in lKT'.h her father 
having attained the age of three-score years and 

ten. while- the mother was seventy-one year- of 
age at the time of her death. The lady is one of 
seven children who were horn to her parents and 
all first -aw the light of day in the State of New 
York. One girl died in childhood in the Empire 
Slate and six came to thi.- State with their parents. 
John died in this county: George resides in Lowe 
Township, as doe- also Reuben; Elislia lives in 
Greenwood County, Kan.; Cornelia is Mrs. Waggo- 
ner, wife of our subject; Milton resides in Lowe 
Township. 

After marriage the original of our sketcL settled 

On the farm where he now reside-. There was 
originally bul forty acres in the tract which he 
purchased and this was entirely unimproved land, 
lie is now the owner of two hundred and fort \ 
acres of land, all of which is under most excellent 
cultivation. Mr. Waggoner has followed mixed 
husbandry and has been reasonably successful. He 

and his wife have made fl plea-ant home that is the 

rendezvous for the besl class of people in the 

neighborhood. They are the parents of eight chil- 
dren, -even of whom have lived to he grown. 
Their name- arc Milton. Narei-sa !•'.: Quincy, who 
i- the wile of l.O. Armentroiit; Newton. Ruth, 
Cornelia and Richard. They are all bright, ener- 
geticand progressive. Those who have grown to be 

men and women lake hold of the duties which lie 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



303 




nearest them and fulfill them to the best of their 
ability, which in itself, secures success. Mrs. 
Waggoner is a member of the Predestinarian Bap- 
tist Church. Politically lie is m member 01 the 
Republican party, being a firm believer and adher- 
ent of every tenet and plank <>l' its platform. 

e_ n ..j..j..j. i ^i'gB 1 ,.j..i..j..j. ,— i 

^, AMUEL YANTIS is a farmer located on 
section 30, of Pickaway Township, lie 
pays particular attention to the breeding 
of Polled Angus cattle and is the owner 
of a fine farm comprising one hundred and sixty 
acres, all of which is under a high state of cultiva- 
tion. He has redeemed this land from crude un- 
broken prairie and has made it prolific t<> an aston- 
ishing degree. He has occupied the farm since 

1858, having thereon a line residence that is not 
only comfortable and conveniently arranged, but 
is attractive and elegant. There are also barns 
that are tilled to bursting with the products of tin 
place. 

Mr. Yantis' farm hears an orchard in which are 
two hundred and fifty trees which are good fruit- 
hearers. The place is well watered and stocked. 
Our subject has lived in this township and county 
since hi- hoy hood, lie was horn in Pickaway County. 
Ohio. April 20, 1834, and is the eldest son of Dan- 
iel and Elizabeth (Longenbough) Yantis, natives 
of Ohio, being there reared and married. In 1853 
they came as a family to Illinois, traveling thither 
by the overland route and livinga camp life on the 
way. They finally located in what is now Picka- 
way Township, this county, and here they began. 
They were in reduced circumstances hut soon se- 
cured some new land and began the work of mak- 
ing new homes. The tracts which they secured 
proved to he the best land in the county and they 
have ever since made this location their home. 

The father of the large family of which our sub- 
ject is the eldest, is still living and enjoying the 
afternoon of life, serene in the knowledge that he 
has earned his rest by early toil. Here it was that 
our subject grew up. lovingly cared for by his pa- 
rents but eari\ learning the rigors of pioneer life. 



He remained under the home roof until he became 
of age. and ha- since been working on his own ac- 
count. He procured one hundred v and sixty acres 

of tine land upon which he still lives. .Mr. YantlS 
is one of the substantial men of the township, and 
a genial, good-natured fellow who is loved and 
respected by all who know him. 

Mr. Yantis' marriage occurred in this township 
and county, November 5, lsi.">7. His wife's maiden 
name was Miss Amanda E. Miller. She was horn 
in Fairfield County. Ohio, in 1836, being the 
daughter of C. P. Miller, of whom see the biograph- 
ical sketch of W. C. Miller. When only four years 
of age Mrs. Yantis came with her parents to Illinois 
and settled on Robinson Creek, this county, where 
she was reared and educated. She is the eldest 
of the family ami is an intelligent and capable 
woman, being one of the energetic, ambitious 
representatives of her sex in this township where 
she has become well known anil much liked. 

Our subject and his wife are the parents of ten 
children, three of whom are now deceased: Cathe- 
rine was the wife of S. 1!. Cole; she died leaving 
one child, now also deceased. William and Henri- 
etta died early in life. The living children are: 
George, Mary A.. Lydia .1.. Ellen, Harvey and Da 
vid. Of these the first mentioned took to wife 
Emma Frietz, and is engaged in fanning in this 
county: Mary A. is the wife of George M. Longen 
bough, a farmer in Colorado owning an extensive 
ranch; Lydia -I. i- the wife of Stephen Cole, a far 
mer in this township; Ellen married Harry Hunter 
who also owns a farm in this township: the two 
youngest sons arc still under the home roof. 



§#+£#- 




ANTJ2L WEIDNER. Twenty odd years 
of residence in such a county as Moultrie 
gives a man an opportunity to. -how what 
is in him in the way of industry, enter- 
and integrity. He must by that time have 
gained for himself a reliable reputation for either 
good or ill. and have established himself among 
his neighbors. Our subject has thus lived in Dora 
Township, where he resides on section 20, and he 



.'ill I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RL< ORD. 



lias proved himself a thoroughly i;< >« >< I neighbor, a 
successful agriculturist and a man of standing 
among his fellow-citizens. 

Mr. Weidner purchased eighty acres of land, 
which he found bul slightly improved and en- 
tirely unbroken, when he first came into the county, 
and he has added to it by purchase until he 
now possesses two hundred and ninety-three acres, 
upon which he has placed substantial improve- 
ments. He was born in Mocking County, Ohio, 
December 10, 1843, his honored parents being 
Frederick and Catherine Weidner. natives of Ger- 
many, and his paternal grandfather being George 
Weidner, who came many years ago to the LTnited 
States and settled in Fairfield County. Ohio, where 
he remained until death called him hence. He 
had reared a family of four sons and two daugh- 
ters, namely: Frederick. John. < lodfred. Solomon, 
l'helie. Christina and Barbara. 

Frederick Weidner. the father of our subject, 
was married while residing in Ohio, and made his 
first home as a man of family in Hocking County. 
where he pursued farming, clearing up land in the 
woods and remaining there until hi> death, being 
snatched away in the prime of life at the age of 
forty-seven years. His bereaved widow survived 
him for many years and reached the age of four- 
score and two years. She and her worthy husband 
were the parents of eleven children, seven of 
whom are still living, namely: George and John 
reside in Hocking County, Ohio; Solomon is living 
in Fairfield County, the same state; Daniel, our 
subject; Phebe, who married William Fletcher and 
died in Dora Township; Catherine married David 
Ashbauch and resides in Van Wert County, Ohio, 
and Barbara, who is the wife of William Walker 
and lives in Hocking County. Ohio. 

The ordinary life and training of a farmer's boy 

Was given to Daniel Weidner in hi> youth and he 

grew up to a robust and active young manhood, 
and set about establishing himself both in his life 
work and in his life home. ll was in I1SII7 when 
he was united in marriage to a lady who has been 
to him a congenial and helpful companion. Her 
maiden home \\:in Mary A. lieei \ and -he was horn 
in Hocking County. Ohio, December L3, 1846, 
being the daughter.of Abraham Beery, she h.-i> 



been the mother of eleven children and has had 
the sorrow of laying five of her little ones in their 
graves. The six who survive are: Nannie, wife 
of Augustus Reeder; Frank, Lilly, Hettie, John 
and Rimer. 

The political views of our subject were formerly 
in accordance with the doctrines of the Demo- 
cratic party, hut he is now- independent of party 
ties. Both he and his excellent wife are earnest 
and active members of the church of the United 
Brethren, and in its communion and services they 
find a broad Held for influence and work. Their 
standing among their neighbors gives them an iu- 
fiuence which is always exerted for good, and 
the success of Mr. Weidner in the cultivation and 
development of his farm his farm has earned for 
him the good opinion of all who know him. 



■ I >■ »h t * r i i j i i i i ^ i 



m 



f ACOB G. II o I. DK R M AN is the junior 
member of the firm of Scott & Holderman, 
proprietors of the Bethany Roller Mill>. 
which are noted throughout the State for 
both quantity and quality' of the farinaceous pro- 
duct which they prepare for use. Our subject was 
was located at Bethany where he engaged in busi- 
ness in September. 1887, and has since been a 
member of the above mentioned firm, which i> 
broadly known a> one upon whose word and judg- 
ment the greatest reliance may be reposed. Their 
dealings have always been conducted on such a 
basis as to win the confidence <>f all with whom 
t hey arc connected. 

lie of whom we write was born in Montgomery 
County. Ohio, January 6, 1850, and is a ><>n of 
Joseph and Amanda (Wampler) Holderman, na- 
tives of Ohio and Maryland, respectively. He is 
the third in order of birth in a family of four 
children. Ili> early life was passed on a farm in 
his native county, ll was not his privilege to en- 
joy an extended education, though he was fond 

Of books and made excellent use of his time at 
School. At the age of twenty year.- he went to the 
city of Indianapolis where he learned the milling 
business with the Gibson Milling Company, lie re- 




J. L. JENKINS. 



PORTRAIT AND BIO< JRAPIIICAL RF.CORD. 



307 



mained in the employ of this company for four 
years, after which he went to Cincinnati and was 
in the employ of Root & Co., for one year. 

Thus fully drilled and equipped with a knowl- 
edge i>t' the business which he had chosen as that to 
which he should devote himself , our subject came 
to Deeatur, III., where he was in the employ of 
I). S. Shellebarger >V' Co., millers. After that he 
came to Bethany, Moultrie County, and became 
associated with A. B. Scott as partner in a milling 
business of their own. I lis career was begun by a 
thorough and complete overhauling of the entire 
mill, and in this work Mr. Holderman showed him- 
self to be master of the mechanical workings of 
the business. When his work was finished the place 
was in first-class shape and besides being engaged 
as manufacturers they cany on a merchant and 
exchange business. The firm also deals largely in 
grain. 

Our subject was married in 187'J to Miss Maggie 
Campbell, at the time of their marriage a resident 
of Indianapolis but a native of Scotland, and a 
daughter of Andrew Campbell. With her Mr. 
Holderman enjoyed but four years of marital felic- 
ity, her decease taking place in 1883. She left one 
little daughter whose name is Marjery. Five years 
later Mr. Holderman was again married, taking as 
his companion a sister of his first wife, whose given 
name is Mai. Their marriage was celebrated No- 
vember 11, 1888. Mrs. Holderman is an intelli- 
gent and bright woman whose wholesome presence 
animates and invigorates those who are brought 
into communication with her. 

In his political life he of whom we write is a 
Democrat. Socially, he is a member of the Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, and also of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. Mr. Holderman is 
liberal in his religious belief; his wife, however, is 
B member of the Presbyterian Church, in which 
she is an energetic and ardent worker, both for the 
Support of the local organization and spreading of 
the ( iospel teachings. 

The father of our subject. Joseph Holderman. 
pursued farming as a business until the breaking 
out of the Civil War. when he entered the service 
with a regiment from Indianapolis and served four 
years as trainmaster. After the war he was en- 



gaged as a contractor and builder at Indianapolis, 
during which he led a busy life. He is spending 
his declining years at Troy, Ohio. Our subject's 
mother died at Bunker Hill, Ind.. in 18,">7. Of the 
parental family John M. was a soldier in the Union 
army during the Civil War, and was thus engaged 
for three years, in which time he did honorable 
and effective service. After leaving the army he 
became a railroad man, being yardinaster at Lorain, 
Ohio,where he died when about forty years of age; 
George H. is Superintendent of the lire alarm and 
telegraph at Indianapolis, Ind.. and Orlando is a 
farmer at Bunker Hill. Ind. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject came 
from Pennsylvania at an early day and settled on 
the site now occupied by the National Soldiers' 
Home at Dayton, Ohio, the grandfather pursued 
the calling of farming and was also a butcher and 
cattle dealer. Jacob G. Holderman, our subject, 
has been very successful thus far in his career and, 
being a comparatively young man, he has a right 
to expect a greater degree of success to crown his 
plans and efforts for the future. 






y 



T/ACKSON L. JENKINS. On the opposite 

page is presented a portrait of this gentle- 
man, who is a prominent farmer of Rural 
Township, residing on section 14. and his 
residence in Shelby County dates from April, 1856. 
He was born in Delaware County. Ohio, June 30, 
1825. His parents were Jonathan W. and Rebecca 
(Rosecranz) Jenkins. Datives of Pennsylvania. His 
father, Jonathan Jenkins, went to Ohio in 1810. 
lie there married, and in 1835 removed with his 
wife to Ogle County, and settled upon a farm, be- 
ing one of the early pioneers in that part of the 
State. Rebecca Jenkins was the mother of ten 
children, eight of whom lived to be grown, and of 
these our subject is the eldest. 

The father of our subject married a second time 
Mrs. Mulkins becoming his wife. He still resides 
at Oregon, this State, and has attained a good old 
age, his natal day having been January 27. 1802. 



308 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



< hir subject was bul a boy when the family removed 
to Ogle County, and at thai date there were at 
least ten Indians to every white man. Here our 
subject grew to manhood, and had a personal ac- 
quaintance with every man in Ogle County, He 
carried the first mail that was sent between Dixon 
and Oregon, and the first mail bag thai he ever 
saw was one that lie got at Dixon. He later ex- 
tended his mail route from Oregon to Buffalo 
Grove. At that time the mail wascarried onhorse- 
back. lie also carried the first mad pouches that 
were conveyed by wagons between Oregon and 
Rockford. lie was thusemployed about four years. 

Our subject's father resided in town, hut as he 
owned a farm near the village, young Jenkins tilled 
the soil. In 1836 his father built the lirst cabin in 
Oregon, having passed the winter of 1835-36 at 
Dixon. In 1856 our subject eame to Shelby County, 
having previously purchased eighty acres of land, 
for which he paid *1<H>. This he improved-and 
Sold, and since then his residence has been in Rural 
Township. The lumber for the first house which 
he built in Ogle County, our subject hauled from 
( Ihicago, a distance of one hundred miles, hut when 
the dwelling was erected, its magnificence outshone 
anything in the county. lie now owns two hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land in Rural Township. 

Mr. Jenkins has been twice married, duly 7, 
L850, he was united to Harriet L. Van Loon, who 
was a native of Delaware County. Ohio. She re- 
moved with her parents. Mathiasand Elizabeth Van 

1 n to Ogle County, at an early age. She died 

in Shelby County in 1861, being only thirty-four 
years old at the time of her death, she left four 
children — Rebecca, John, "William and George R, 
The eldest daughter is now the wife of Y . .1. Sevier 
and reside- in Missouri. John and George make 
their homes in Rural Township, while William re- 
sides in Ridge Township. 

In ist;:') our subject married .Mrs. Sarah A. Trav- 
el's arc Downs. She was a daughter of Daniel 
and Mary E. Downs, and married Alex Travers in 
1856. lie died in 1862, leaving four children, all 
of whom passed away under twelve years of age. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins have had eight children, 
-even of whom are living. They are Alice, who 
is the wife of Arthur Engle; Prank; Emma, who 



married William Mose; Chester. Effa, Edith and 
Lloyd. 

Our subjeel ami his wife are members in good 
standing of the ( ihristian Church. Although in his 
political inclination Mr. Jenkins was formerly a 
Democrat, id' late he has transferred his allegiance 
to the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. He is 
a man who is greatly interested in all progressive 
movements, the subjeel of education being one 
which is nearest and most important to him. for in 
it he realizes the influence that is strongest for 
good in our country. He has held the position of 
School Director for thirty years, and has been a 
Road Commissioner for fifteen years. 

Of a kindly and genial temperament, Mr. Jen- 
kins is beloved by all his fellow-townsmen, and 
having seen so many changes through which the 
country has passed since the days when he carried 
the mail over the prairie on horseback, he is a fer- 
tile source of information to those who are inter- 
ested in the history and advancement of their 
State. 



' <>1IN R. BEAN. Among the representative 

men of Jonathan Creek Township. Moultrie 
County, who are prominent in business, 
farming, social and church circles, we are 
pleased to mention the name which appears at the 
head of this paragraph. Although still a young 
man Mr. Bean has proved himself in every sense 
of the popular word a "hustler". He is aggressii e 
in his methods of conducting business and has in 
him enough "go-ahead-ativeness" to stock two 
or three ordinary farms. His beautiful farm, finely 
equipped with fences and all buildings necessary 
for the successful prosecution of work', gives abun- 
dant testimony to his thoroughness and success. 

.lame- Bean, the father of our subject, was born 
in Monroe County, hid., and the mother Llizabetli 
(Collins) Bean, who was a native of Tennessee, 
died ill Moultrie County, in September. 1880. They 
first settled in Monroe County. Ind. and resided 
there until I860, when they came to Moultrie 
County, and made a permanent settlement in Sul- 
livan Town-hip. They had seven children of whom 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



309 



Dur subject was next to the youngest in age and 

he was born in .Monroe County, Ind.. Sept. 24, 1854. 
He was consequently about mx years old when his 
parents left Indiana and moved to Illinois and it 
was in .Moultrie County that, lie grew to the vig- 
orous and active manhood which we here recog- 
nize. James Bean removed to Kansas in 1887, and 
tor two years resided in Clay County. 

Men who have had in their youth every educa- 
tional advantage, whose parents have been alile to 
sfLve to them a college and university training can 
hardly appreciate the feelings of a man who has 
had to struggle single-handed to attain his intelli- 
gent knowledge of letters and of the world which 
■very ambitious man craves. To those who have 
thus educated'themselves great credit is due and the 
accomplish men 1 of their laudable desire should 
■eceive its just meed of praise. The educational 
idvantages offered to John R. Bean were, extremely 
limited and lie may well he called a self-made man. 

Tins young man resided under the parental roof 
ip to the age of fifteen years, when he began life 
'or himself by working for two years in a sawmill 
md afterward being employed at farm labor. Farm- 
ing has been his chief business in life and to do it 
ie has devoted unceasing effort. He was married 
n Moultrie County March 6, 1 H7 7, his wife being 
Miss Nancy Drew, who was born in this county 
January .">. 1851. This respected couple have been 
•ailed upon to lay one child in the grave — Frankie 
'.'. who died in infancy. The three bright and 
tromising children who are still with their parents 
ire Ida A.. Walter C. and Edna M. 

Every enterprise which concerns the industrial 
uid social progress of .Moultrie County finds an 
■tlicicnt and active promoter in Mr. Bean, and he 
s one of the live incorporators of the Moultrie 
.ounty Board of Agriculture. lie is a stockholder 
n this institution and for seven years he has he- 
Onged on its Board of Directors. He has also held 
he office of School Treasurer, and with his noble 
wife i- an active member of the Christian Church. 
lie possesses a beautiful farm of one hundred and 
twenty-eight acres, upon which he has erected excel- 
lent farm buildings and where he has made other 
substantial improvements. Every movement which 
lias for its object the welfare of the farming com- 



munity is of importance in his eye- and he i> prom- 
inently identified with the Farmers' Mutual Benefit 
Association. In politics he is a Republican and he 
has been Chairman of the Jonathan Creek Town- 
ship Republican Committee for six years. 



€MM 




t£y-* 



ICHAEL E. SNYDER is a farmer and stock- 
raiser of Moweaqua Township, who iscon- 
tributing his quota to the preservation of 

" its prosperity as a rich agricultural centre. 

He was born April I. 1889 in a pioneer home in 
Brown County. Ohio. Jacob Snyder was the name 
of his father, and he was born in one of the Rhine 
Provinces in Germany. His father, who bore the 
same name as our subject, was born in the same 
locality as his son, and resided there until 1824. 
In that year he came to the United States with five 
of his seven children, and he lived in Pennsylvania 
until 1827. when he became a pioneer of Ohio. He 
resided for a time at Cincinnati, but lie finally 
bought a farm in Brown County, where he made 
his home until his mortal career was ended by death. 

The father of our subject was reared in the land 
of his birth, and was there married to Elizabeth 
Shilp, who was a native of the same locality as her 
husband. In 1821 Mr. Snyder came to this coun- 
try, bringing with him his wife and two children 
that had been born to them in their old home. For 
a time he was a resident of Pittsburg, but he sub- 
sequently removed to Cincinnati, which was then 
only a small place, and he bought farm land now 
in the heart of the city. A few years later he re- 
moved to Brown County and bought four hundred 
acres of fine land. Located two and one-half miles 
from Carlvle. and three miles from Arnheiin. 
There his years were busily and profitably passed 
until death released him from life. He anil his 
good wife repose peacefully side by side in the 
pleasant Lutheran churchyard at Arnheiin. They 
reared twelve children to lives of industry and to 
right living. 

The early life of their son Michael, who forms 
the subject of this brief sketch, was passed in his 
native county, and liis education was conducted in 



310 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



its public schools. In 1865 he left Ohio to take 
up his residence in Illinois, where lie shrewdly con- 
ceived that a young man of sufficient enterprise 
and capability could do well in agricultural pur- 
suits. His brother Daniel came with him, and to- 
gether they bought a farm in McLean County, near 
the town of El Paso. In 1875 he disposed of his 
share in that place at a good price, and coming to 
Moweaqua Township, purchased eighty acres of 
land on section 32, which has since been his home, 
lie has bought other land, and now has one hun- 
dred and forty-eight acres, that is admirably tilled, 
and yields abundant harvests in repayment for his 
hard toil. 

On May 18, 1875 was the date of the marriage 
of our subject to Miss Maggie Nottbook, a native 
of Moweaqua Township, and a daughter of Will- 
iam and Wilhelmina Nottbook, of whom a bio- 
graphy appears elsewhere in this work. Mr. and 
Mrs. Snyder have been blessed with the following 
four children — Annetta, Willie N., Elizabeth and 
Minnie. Our subject and his wife are found among 
the most respected members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and their place in the community is 
among the people that are held in the highest con- 
sideration for kindly and upright lives. Our sub- 
ject was formerly a Democrat, but he is now a 
stanch Prohibitionist in word and deed. 



MERSON RHODES, a respected and worthy 
citizen of Cushman and one of the promin- 
ent business men of that village, being en- 
gaged in merchandise and the transfer of grain, 
was born in what is now Moultrie County, 111., 
June 2'.». 1837. lie is a son of .John and Rachel 
(Ccn tony) Rhodes, the former being a native of 
North Carolina, born in 1808, and the latter being 
bom in Kentucky, in 1811, It was in 182!» when 
this couple were married in Indiana, and three 
years later they came to Shelby County, 111., in Feb- 
ruary. 1832. and became pioneers here. Roth died in 
Moultrie County after the division of counties was 
effected, the mother dying in 1879 and the father in 



1887. This departed couple were the parents of 
nine sons and one daughter, and live of these still 
survive. The children are, namely: Margaret, now 
Mrs. Souther, resides in Texas; Levi, died in 1862 
from the effect of measles while in the army, leav- 
ing a widow; William was twice married and lives 
at Anna, 111.; our subject; one who died in early 
infancy; Francis Marion died in 1862 while quite 
young; Loren and John who also died in early 
childhood; Hilery is married and lives on a farm 
in this county and Alfred, who is married and liv- 
ing in Bethany, 111. 

The gentleman of whom we write was united in 
the bonds of marriage upon New Year's Day. I857j 
with Miss Matilda Roney, who was born in this 
county in 1835. Her parents, Joseph and Eliza- 
beth (Henderson) Roney. were very early settlers 
of Illinois and both of them natives of Kentucky. 
Soon after marriage Mr. Rhodes went South taking 
a tour for his health, and decided to make his 
home in Texas for seven years. It was in 1866 
when he returned to his native county and three 
years later he returned to Texas, where he remained 
until 1883. While a resident of the Lone Star 
State he was a stock-dealer most of the time, and 
during a portion of his residence there he was on 
the Buffalo Range. In the fall of 1873 he built a 
mill, Caddo Johnson, Texas, investing several thou- 
sand dollars in this enterprise, which resulted in 
very serious embarrassment two years later by 
reason of its destruction by tire, lie was a frontiers- 
man for many years and had frequent encounters 
with hostile Indians. Upon December 28. 1879, lie 
had the misfortune to lose his companion by death. 

In the fall of 1883. Mr. Rhodes returned to his 
native county and married Maria Selby, who was 
born in this county in 1842, and whose parents 
were pioneers in the early days and still reside 
here. Her paternal grandfather. Joshua Selby, 
came to this county in 1830, and her parents, Nich- 
olas and Sarah (Goodman) Selby, were natives of 
Indiana. Immediately after his second marriage 
Mr. Rhodes returned to Texas and brought his 
family to Moultrie County, where he has since re- 
sided. 

The nine children by the first marriage are all 
living, namely: Theodore. Serilda J.. Barton. .Mar- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



.-ill 



garet, John, William, Minnie, Charles and .lames. 
Five of them are residents of this county and four 
live in Johnson, Tex. To thesecond marriage one 
child was born, October 12. 1hk.">, Gracie Gertrude 
by name. After his return to Illinois Mr. Rhodes 
was a farmer and operated a sawmill for about 
three years, lie then engaged in buyinggrain and 
afterward combined that business with merchandis- 
ing, lie carries a full stock of general merchan- 
dise, groceries, provisions, farm machinery, hard- 
ware, etc. Mrs. Rhodes has been the Postmistress 
at Cushman for about a year, and her husband was 
honored with the Deputyship. This lady is a 
worthy and consistent member of the Christian 
Church. Mr. Rhodes is a Democrat in politics and 
takes an active interest in political affairs, serving 
a> School Director. 



4^ 



«^> 



1SAAC RICIIK 
Siding on sect 
trie County, \ 



SAAC RICHEY, a fanner and stock-raiser re- 
•tion 13, Sullivan Township, Moul- 
was born in Bedford County, l'a.. 
May 7. 1845. lli> parents were Abraham and Eliz- 
abeth (Bollman) Richey, ami were natives of the 
Keystone Mate. The father died in this county in 
1881, and the mother, who still survives, resides in 
Jonathan Creek Township, this county, she is 
now in her eighty-third year and has been the 
honored mother of nine children, five sons and 
four daughters. Of the latter only one remains 
on earth, but the sons are all living. 

Our subject came to Illinois with his parents in 
1866, and settled in Jonathan Creek Township as 
his father had purchased a farm there, on which 
the mother now lives. Mr. Richey has been twice 
married, his first wife being Ruth Homan, a na- 
tive of Kentucky. They were married in that 
Slate in 1879, and the young wife was called from 
earth about a year later. Our subject was a second 
time married, taking as his wife Mi>s Anna A.. 
daughter of David Kirkpatrick. Mrs. Richey is a 
native of Kentucky, and was born in .January. 
1859. Her parents still reside in the latter State. 
To this happy union four children were born, of 



whom one. Oliver .1.. is deceased. The remain- 
ing sons are: Clarence 1).. Jessie Karl and Clyde L. 

The business of farming has been the vocation 
to which Mr. Richey has devoted himself with en- 
ergy and enthusiasm throughout life, lie owns a 
fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres, with 
good improvements and in a high state of cultiva- 
tion. A beautiful park surrounds his home and 
gives to it a charm which few houses can boast. 
The refinement and culture which is implied by 
thus beautifying one's abode is a delightful acquis- 
ition to any neighborhood. 

Mr. Richey is liberally inclined both in politics 
and religion. He has always voted for Republican 
candidates for President, but in State and local 
matters he uses his own judgment in selecting the 
best man for the place and is governed in this by 
purely business principles. He never made any 
profession of religion, yet gives liberally of his 
means to the support of the Gospel and other re- 
ligious and benevolent enterprises. He at one 
time belonged to the Patrons of Husbandry, but is 
not now connected with that body. The estimate 
in which he is held by his fellow-citizens is shown 
by the fact of his being twice elected to the office 
of Township Collector of Taxes, and his having 
been called upon to serve as Supervisor of Roads. 



ydLLIAM .1. EDDY, a leading physician of 
Shelbyville. Shelby County, his native city. 
\JHJ/ was born October 13, 1857. His father, 
the late William Eddy, a former well-known citizen 
of this county, was a native of the county of Cork, 
Ireland. His father was born in the same county 
as himself, and was derived from Scotch ancestry. 
He was a shoemaker by trade and spent his entire 
life in Ireland. 

The father of our subject early acquired the 
shoemaker's trade of his father, and followed it in 
his native land until his emigration to this country 
in 1847. He landed at New Orleans, and coming 
directly to Illinois, located at Galena, and was ac- 
tively engaged in the manufacture of shoes in that 



3 1 2 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



city for several years. In 1856 lie came toShelby- 
ville and worked :it liis trade here until l*7ii. when 
he removed to liis farm near Lakewood, and was 
prosperously engaged in agricultural pursuits from 
that time until death closed his busy career in 
August, 1890, and deprived the county of a most 
worthy citizen, who had contributed his quota to 
its advancement. He was a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, and as a man of upright 
character was in every way deserving of the re- 
specl accorded to him. He was twice married. The 
maiden name of his first wife, mother of our subject, 
was Mary .1. Roberts. She was a woman of many 
excellent qualities, and was a consistent member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. Her birthplace 
was in Cornwall, England, and she was a daughter 
of John s. Roberts, who was a native of the same 
shire as himself, lie came to America with liis 
family in 1840, and first settled in Pennsylvania. 
after a residence there of a lew years became one 
of the pioneers of Grant County, Wis. In 1856 
he came from there to this county, and identified 
himself with its farmers, buying a farm in Dry 
Point Township, on which he made his home until 
his death. The mother of our subject departed 
this life in 1865. The father married a second 
time, and by each marriage had four children. 

Dr. Eddy was given every advantage to secure 
a liberal education, laying a solid foundation in 
the city Schools of Shelbyville. Three years' at- 
tendance at the Normal School, one year at Valpa- 
raiso, Ind. and two years at tin- State Normal at 
Caibondale, 111. still further advanced him in his 
studies. During that time he taught two terms of 
school, and employed his leisure hours in studying 
medicine. He further prepared himself for the 
profession that he proposed to adopt for his life- 
work by becoming a student in the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, at Chicago, from which 
he was graduated with a high standing in 1885. 
He at once opened an office in his native city, 
where he is well-known and popular, and soon won 
favor in his professional capacity, as he showed in 
his practice that he possessed in a full degree the 

requisites of a true physician — a sound knowledge 
of medicine, skill in diagnosing a case and in ap- 
plying remedies, and true tad and courtesy in his 



intercourse with his patients. He is a member of 
the Shelby County Medical Society, and also of 
the Illinois State Medical Society, the American 
Association and of the Central Illinois District 
Medical Society. Religiously, he and his wife arc 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

The Doctor was happily married in September, 
1888, to Miss Carrie Chafee. a native of Ypsilanli. 
Mich., and a daughter of Dr. Noah F. Chafee. a 
well-known physician of this city, with whom our 
subject is associated in practice. We are pleased to 
incorporate in this sketch a brief account of the 
life of Dr. Chafee. He was born in Vermont, Feb- 
ruary 6. 1833, a son of Daniel and Miranda ( Haven) 
Chafee. who were also natives of the Green Moun- 
tain State. His father was a farmer, and died in his 
native State in 1839, leaving a widow and three 
sons. The mother removed with her children to 
Wayne County. N. V.. and three years later took 
up her residence in Monroe County. Mich., where 
she married again. 

Dr. Chafee grew to manhood in Michigan, and 
in 1862 came to Illinois. He stopped during the 
summer at Shelby ville, where, in the fall of 1862, 
he enlisted as assistant Surgeon in the Fourteenth 
Illinois Infantry, he having previously graduated 
from the Medical Department of the Michigan 
University in the spring of 1862, and he therefore 
went to the front well prepared for his duties, and 
there gained a valuable experience amid the trying 
scenes on Southern battlefields and in army hospi- 
tals during the two years that he remained in the 
service. In 1863 he was with (Jen. Sherman. In 
1864 he was in Georgia, and at Atlanta was taken 
prisoner while in the performance' of his duties in 
earing for the wounded and dying, and was held 
in Libby Prison three weeks. After that he was 
returned to Springfield, 111., anil as nearly all the 
men in his regiment were still prisoners, he waa 
discharged. 

After the war Dr. Chafee returned to Michigan, 
and practiced medicine in Lenawee County until 
1884, when he came again to Shelbyville. and for 
some years has been associated iii his profession 
with his son-in-law, Dr. Eddy. 

In April. 1864, while on a furlough, he was mar- 
ried to Miss Josephine Mc.Math. a daughter of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHK A I. KF.CORD. 



3 1 3 ■ 



Samuel and Caroline McMatli, and a aative of 
Michigan. They have had five children, three of 
whom died in childhood, and the others are Carrie, 
wife of Dr. Eddy, and Laura, who lives with her 
parents. 

Dr. Chafee is a sound Republican, and always 
take* interest enough in public affairs to vote, but 
doc- not give much time to politics. Religiously, 
he is of the Methodist Episcopal faith. He is a 
thorough temperance man. and is in all respects a 
person of high character and standing as a physi- 
cian and a citizen. His record as a Surgeon in an 
Illinois regiment during the war is commemorated 
by his connection with the Grand Army of the Re- 
public. 



B. TITUS. We arc pleased to present to 

our readers a biographical sketch of one of 
the prosperous citizens, thoroughly educated 
((*£/ gentlemen and old settlers of Sullivan, 
Moultrie County, lie is one of the best known 
characters in this pari of the county, and after hav- 
ing been an active and successful attorney, is now 
leading a retired life and looking after hi> real- 
estate interests in the place, lie has been a resi- 
dent of the place since 1856, and one of its attor- 
neys since 1862. The well known attorney, Hon. 
John R. Eden, and . fudge Meeker, have been his 
partners. 

Some of the most valuable buildings in Sullivan 
have been put up by Mr. Titus, notably the Opera 
House Block, which he owns, and he has in the 
COUntj sonic twelve hundred acres of land, most of 
it being in Sullivan Township, and all of it being 
finely improved. He i> one of the large property 
Owners Of the county, and the improvements upon 
his land have been mostly placed there by himself, 
lie was County Clerk from 1865 to L869, and while 
Supervisor of Sullivan Township, was Chairman of 
the Board. He has always been a live Democrat, 
and is frequently a delegate to state conventions. 

Our subject was born in Brookville, Franklin 
County. Ind.. and received his education in Miami 
College, being graduated in the Class of '58, and 



receiving the two degrees of Bachelor of Arts, and 
Master of Arts. While in that institution, one of 
his instructors was Prof. David Swing, who i> now 
so notable as a preacher in Chicago. After leav- 
ing .Miami he entered the Law School at Cincinnati, 
and was graduated at the Cincinnati Law College 
in the Class of '60. lie then spent two years in 
a law office in Cincinnati before coining to this 
place and also spent some time in teaching. He i> 
a notable linguist, being the master of five differ- 
ent languages, and stands high among scholarly 
men. 

Mr. Titus has two children — a son. William R., 
who is a practical fanner in Sullivan Township, 
and a daughter Minnie, who is still at home with 
her tat hei- attending school and studying music, in 
which latter branch she is quite skillful. As a 
publiG-spirited man. a broad thinker and a pro- 
gressive citizen, Mr. Titus is a prominent figure in 
Sullivan. 




AMUEL WILSON. Many of the best char- 
acteristics in every branch of social and 
Vv^Ur , '" lll ""' ,t 'i a l life, are the outcome of the 
brawn and sinew of what is frequently 
called the middle class of society; in reality, the 
best class, for in it is usually found a common 
sense and practical view of affair- that is often 
wanting in both the highest and lowest classes. 
Our subject, although having filled a humble posi- 
tion in the ranks for some time, is one who by per- 
severance, energj and native ability has acquired 
much that many a richer man. and one who is 
pleased to think himself of a better class, is want- 
ing in. He is the owner of a neat little farm in 
Rural Township, having been a residenl of Shelby 
County since 1 875. 

Mr. Wilson was born in Delaware County, Inch. 
February :>*. 1848. He is a son of William and 
Lydia (Antrim) Wilson, natives of Pickawaj 
County. Ohio. They were married however, in 
Indiana, and resided in that State the remainder of 
their lives. The father died in 1863 at the aire 



31 1 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of forty-live. They were the parents of nine 
children, eight of whom lived to I"' grown. They 
were: Sarah, Robert, Samuel, Emma. Alva, Lizzie, 
Martha and Florence. Of these Roberl and Alva 
arc deceased. 

After the ileal h of out subject 's fat Iter, his mother 
married a second husband, but there were no chil- 
dren by this union. She is still living in Dela- 
ware C ty. lml.. and is tin- object of the filial 

affection and care of her children. Our subject's 
advent into this State was made in 1875. lie 
worked by the year on a farm until 1877. when lie 
was united in marriage to Mary Ann Beckett, a 
daughter of William Beckett. She was born in 
I tica, N. Y. Our subject and his wife have two 
children, Anna and Lenora, who are the pride and 
hope of their fond parents. Politically he of whom 
we write feels that his interests are best furthered 
by a union with his class, and he is a member of 
the Fanners' Mutual Benefit Association, although 
formerly he was a Republican. In his religious 
connection he is united with the Church of God, 
as i^ his wife. He operates eighty acres of land. 



^+£ 



(S- 




— > 



, ARNABAS W. FULTON, a well-known and 
influential citizen of Moultrie Count v. hears 



'Jj | a prominent part in various local affairs. 
He has an established reputation as a good 
farmer, and an upright man. and were it for no 
other reason save liis valiant services as a soldier in 
the late war he would deserve representation in 
this volume. In agricultural affairs he has been 
very especially successful and is now the owner of 
three hundred and twenty acres of as line land as 
is to he found in the county. This goodly tract is 
located mi section 5, Lowe Township, and is well 
developed and is supplied with a full line of farm 
buildings. 

The parents of our subject were among the earli- 
est settlers of Moultrie County, coming here in 
1882 shortly after their marriage in Kentucky. 
Both were natives of Kentucky and bore the names 
of John B. and Amy (Hagden) Fulton. Upon their 
arrival in this county they located in Jonathan 



(reek Township, where they improved a tract of 
wild land and passed their remaining years. During 
the first years of their residence here they endured 
all the hardships of pioneer life, but by unflagging 
perseverance and indomitable energy they con- 
quered adversity and in their declining years were 
surrounded by the comforts for which they had 
labored so arduously in earlier life. All who love 
their country and are interested in its develop- 
ment, will hold in reverence the names of John B. 
Fulton and his good wife. 

The sixth in a family of eight children, our sub- 
ject was born in Jonathan Creek Township, this 
county, April 19, 1810. His earliest recollections 
are of the scenes of frontier life and he has not 
only been an interested witness of the growth of 
this section, but has contributed his quota to its 
progress. He deserves especial mention not only 
as a pioneer but also as a brave defender of the 
Union. He was in his early manhood when the 
war broke out and all the enthusiasm and patriot- 
ism of his nature were fired in behalf of the Gov- 
ernment. Accordingly he enlisted in August, I862j 
in Company C, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth 
Illinois Infantry, and served until the close of the 
war. 

When the Government had no further need of 
his services he returned to Jonathan Creek Town- 
ship and resumed farming, to which he has ever 
since devoted his attention. He was married in 
that township in November. 1868, to Elizabeth 
Maston, a native of Coles County, III., and their 
union washiest by the birth of two children — 
William, who died when one and one-half years 
old. and Barnabas, who is still under the parental 
roof. The wife and mother passed from earth at 
her home in Jonathan Creek Township. October 
28. 1873. 

The COZy home of Mr. Fulton is presided over 
by a lady of intelligence and refinement . whose 
maiden name was Sarah Maston and who was horn 
in Jonathan Creek Township, September I'-'. 1854. 
Her parents were .lames and Mary (Campbell) 
Maston, the former of whom died in this township. 
The marriage of our subject and his estimable wife 
was solemnized March 23. 1874. and the congenial 
union has been blest by the birth of one child— 







'I 



RESIDENCE OF ANDREW 5ENTEL, SEC . 9. , LOWE TP„ MOU LTR1 E CO., I LL 




RESIDENCE OF C. W. CROUDS ON , 5 EC. 2., EAST NELSON TP., MOULTRI E CO., ILL 




RESIDENCE OF B . W. F U LTON , SEC. 5., LOWE TR , MOULTRI E CO. ,1 LL. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



317 



a sod — [saac W. Mr. Fulton continued to reside 
in Jonathan Creek Township until 1875, when he 
came to Lowe Township and settled on section .">, 
of which he has since been a resident. Politically 
Mr. Fulton is a Democrat, believing that the prin- 
ciples nf that party are besl calculated to advance 
the interest of the nation. Socially he and his wife 
are highly esteemed for their hospitality and many 
noble attributes of heart and mind. 

The attention of the reader is invited to a view 
of the commodious residence and other prominent 
buildings on the farm of Mr. Fulton. 



^€>*<§^ 




NDREW SENTEL. The soil of this 
county being very fertile and the mar- 
' ket facilities excellent, a great number of 
£/ agriculturalists secure a competence by the 

cultivation of a moderate acreage. One of these 
successful farmers in Moultrie County is he whose 
name introduces these paragraphs, lie owns and 
operates eighty acres in Lowe Township on section 
9, and by close attention to his business, wise man- 
agement and industry, he makes of his farm a more 
remunerative piece of property than do some who 
have many more acres. In all his enterprises he 
receives the cheerful co-operation of his amiable 
wife, to whom his success is largely to he attribu- 
ted. 

The natal day of Andrew Sentel was .March 7. 
1886, and lie was born in Ross County. Ohio. He 
is the son of the late John Sentel. a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and Catherine (Reedy) Sentel. who was 
born in Ross County. In the fall of 1845 the 
parents removed from Ross County, Ohio, to 
Coles County. III., whence live years later they 
came to Moultrie County and settled in Sullivan 
Township. Their family comprised eight children, 
our subject being nexl to the oldest. He passed 
his younger years in Ross County where he gained 
tlic rudiments of his education. Later he attended 
school in Coles County, although his educational 
advantages were limited to the district schools of 
those days. 

Mr. Sentel was first married January 3, 1 K.">H. to 



Miss Mary Montgomery, a native of Ross County, 
Ohio, who died July 22, 1881, in Lowe Township. 
The present congenial companion of Mr. Sentel, 
who has been his devoted helpmate, was born in 
England January I, 1848, and was known in 
maidenhood as Anna Dalton. She was lirst mar- 
ried to Joseph YVinskill and by that union became 
the mother of one child — lohn I). Mr. Sentel and 
his estimable wife were united in the holy bonds 
of wedlock in Sullivan. 111., September 19, 1882, 
and their union has been blest by the birth of one 
child, a son. Elmer A. 

When Mr. Sentel began life for himself he set- 
tled in Sullivan Township, this county, where he 
lived several years. Next we find him operating 
a farm in Douglas County, but after sojourning 
there four years, he returned to Moultrie Comity, 
and settled in Lowe Township on section 9, which 
has since been his home. In his political affilia- 
tions he is a Republican and has served the people 
in various official capacities, although he prefers 
domestic quiet to the turmoil incident to a public 
life. He is greatly interested in the cause of edu- 
cation and everything pertaining thereto, and has 
served acceptably as School Director. Public 
spirited and enterprising, it is not strange that his 
position among his fellow-citizens is an enviable 
one and that he is regarded as one of the most 
prominent agriculturists of the community. 

The attention of the reader is invited to a view 
on another page of the attractive residence and 
rural surroundings on the farm of Mr. Sentel. 



"> 



/^HARLES W. CROUDSON. A traveler 
(l[ n through the farming lands of Moultrie 
^^Jy County will lie pleased to observe the large 
number of well-improved farms and the numerous 
evidences of prosperity. In Fast Nelson Town- 
ship an estate of eighty acres, which is admirably 
adapted for both fanning and stock-raising, is 
owned and operated by the young gentleman 
above named. A visitor here will see everything 
that is necessary in the way of farm buildings. 






318 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



machinery and all the modern appliances of agri- 
culture. During his residence here Mr. Croudson 
has effected many improvements upon the farm 
and by a proper rotation of crops lias brought the 
soil lu a higl) degree of fertility, so that it is fit- 
tingly classed among the best famis of the town- 
ship. A view of this place appears on another page. 

Douglas County, III., was the native place of 
Mr. Croudson and liis eyes first opened to the light 
July 28, 1862. He was tin- only son in the family 
circle and has two sisters, Sarah M., now the wife 
of .1. W. Bailey, and Lida .1.. who is still at borne. 
The parents. William ami Lucinda (Lawrence) 
Croudson, were natives of England and Ohio, re- 
spectively, ami passed the greater part of their 
lives in Douglas County, this State, where they 
luith died. They were people of steady habits and 
high principles, doingas they would lie done by in 
the various relations they sustained toward others, 
and the record "1 their lives is unblemished and 
worthy of emulation. 

The education of our subject was gleaned from 
the schools in the vicinity of the parental home, 
and his youth was passed in mingled work and 
play, his study developing the powers of his mind, 
while his recreation and boyhood sports developed 
a stalwart physique. Having been reared to farin- 
ing pursuits, when the time came for him to chose 
a calling in life he naturally selected agriculture 
and in his chosen avocation lie has been mure than 
ordinarily successful. Although still quite young 
he is very comfortably situated and the future un- 
doubtedly contains many honors fur him. He 
takes an active pari in political affairs and is a 
Democrat in his views, believing the principles of 
that party are best calculated for the national wel- 
fare lie is greatly interested in educational affairs 

and has held the office of School Director, during 
which time he materially advanced the cause of 
education in the community. 

A \v\\ important event in the life of onr subject 
was his marriage February 11. L886, in Moultrie 
County, III., to Miss Margaret, the daughter of 
William and Sarah Wiley. Mrs. Croudson was 
bora in this county, where she has passed her en- 
tire life and where her parents still reside. She 

has a cultivated mind, a sympathizing heart and 



adds thereto the housewifely knowledge which is 
necessary for all who make their homes attractive 
and comfortable. Into Mr. and Mrs. Croudson 
one child has been born, a daughter, Osa, whose 
birth occurred March 22, 1890. As a farmer .Mr. 
Croudson is enterprising and industrious, well in- 
formed regarding things connected with his work 
and ranks high among his fellow-citizens. 



EREMIAH HINTERLY. Among the most 
valuable factors in the settlement and up- 
building of Illinois has been that portion 
of its population which is descended from 
natives of the German's Fatherland. Their fru- 
gal, industrious, thrifty manner of life and their 
steady devotion to agriculture have aided greatly 
in developing that portion of the Prairie State 
where they made their homes, and have given a 
reliable character to the neighborhoods in which 
they live. 

Mr. llinterlv resides on section 24, Ridge Town- 
ship, Shelby County, and his settlement in this 
county dates from 1858. His native home was in 
Fairfield County. Ohio, where he was born Decem- 
ber 9, 1836, being the son of Jacob and Rachel 
llinterlv. Jacob llinterlv. Sr., the grandfather of 
our subject, was a native of Germany and became 
one of the earliest pioneers of Fairfield County in 
the days when that part of the country was a wil- 
derness inhabited only by savages and wild beasts. 

Our subject had the severe misfortune of 
losing his mother by death when he was but 
a babe, and he was her only child. His father 
subsequently married Rachel Fairchild, and by 
this union two sons wore born — Nathaniel and 
William Henry, both of whom still make their 
home m Fairfield County, Ohio, where they are 
respected and useful citizens. The younger of 
these two was a soldier in the Civil War, and 
being a member of an Ohio regiment was under 
Sherman's command, and was with him in the 
famous '-march to the sea." 

The lirsl affliction of Jeremiah llinterlv was 
followed seven veais later bv the death of his 






PORTRAIT AND P.IOGRAPIIICAI. RECORD. 



:! 1 !> 



father, and he thus became at a tender age a double 

orphan. The sorrowful child was taken cai'e of 
by an uncle, with whom lie passed the remainder 
of bis early years, remaining in his native county 
until he attained his majority. While with bis 
uncle he received training upon the farm and also 
spent two years as an apprentice to the trade ol a 
blacksmith. 

It was in the fall of 1857 that he made his 
first visit to Illinois, but he did not tarry long 
upon that occasion as he returned to Ohio for the 
winter, but the following spring brought him 
again to Shelby County, where lie rented land and 
prepared to establish a home. He chose a bride 
from the daughters of Ridge Township. Shelby 
County, and upon Christmas Day. I860, he was 
united in the happy bonds of matrimony with 
Sarah M. Killam. a daughter of Isaac and Nancy 
Killam. who was born April 2:i, 1*1 I. Her father 
was a Kcntuckian by birth, and having been reared 
as a farmer, pursued that line of industry and was 
married in that State to Nancy Lee, a lad\ of 
Maryland. 

After marriage our subject settled where he now 
resides, his wife receiving one hundred acres of 
land from her father. To this he has added one 
hundred and liffv acres more, and has placed upon 
it all good and substantial improvements. Il i- 
now one of the finest farms in Ridge Township. 
being thoroughly cultivated and giving an excel- 
lent yield. To Mr. and Mrs. Ilinterly have been born 
three children — William II.; Nancy ().. who died 
at the age of ten years; and Cora Ann. The son 
and daughter who are left to them are making a 
line record and are proving both an honor and 
comfort to their worthy parents. The religious 
Connection of the family is with the Christian 
Church, in which they are highly useful and valu- 
able members, being active in every good word 
and work, and willing to aid in every movement, 
both religious and social, which looks to the ad- 
vancement of the community. 

In political matters Mr. Ilinterly is. and always 
has been to a good degree independent, as parlies 
have changed and new isMies have arisen he has 
felt at liberty to take his stand according to his 
convictions and according to what he considered 



the needs of the COUntrj and the policy of wisdom 
and good judgment. He was reared in the polit- 
ical belief of the Democratic party, to which hi' 
adhered until the formation of the National Green- 
back party, the doctrines of which he judged to 
bi' llii' best for the financial success of our country. 
His interests being identified with those of the 
agricultural community, he has now allied him- 
self with the Fanners' .Mutual Benefit Association, 
and works in accordance with that society for the 
upbuilding and prosperity of the farmers. 

Jacob Ilinterly. Sr.. the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was married before he came to the United 
States, and. as we have said, settled in Ohio in the 
very early days. He reared two sons and two 
daughters — John. Jacob, Mary. Mis. Telweiller; 
and Elizabeth, Mrs. George Parkenson. 



,*^» QUIRE WOODRUFF, a retired farmer liv- 
^^# ing in a pleasant home on Jefferson Street, 
xd-^3) '°" n ' s ,:in " '" Sullivan Township some 
three years ago and for fourteen months 
made his home in Decatur before coming to 
Sullivan. Moultrie County. lie purchased land in 
Sullivan Township when he first came to this 
county in lcS.">4 and was remarkably successful in 
genera] farming ami stock-raising, so that he now 
owns four hundred and sixt\ -seven acres of as fine 
land as there is in the county, three hundred and 
thirty-seven acres of which is under the plow and 
subdrained with tiling. One bundled and sixty 
acres of this land was obtained by his father. 
Moses, from the Government in 1887 and has 
never been deeded outside of the family. -Mr. 
Woodruff has had unusual success in breeding the 
besf grades of sheep, swine, cattle and horses. He 
was born near the county seat of Fountain 
County. I ml.. .Inly 29, 1827, his father, being a 
native of New Jersey ami a son of Samuel A. 
Woodruff of the same Slate, but descended from 
old New England stock. 

The grandfather of our subject learned the trade 
of a tailor in New Jersey, and married Miss .loan 



320 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Potter and after the birth of their children they 
emigrated with their family to Ohio, settling at 
Shakers' village and joining that peculiar sect, and 
lived there until her death. Somewhat later her 
husband came to Indiana and died in the home of 
his son Aaron Woodruff in Fountain County, 
being then past seventy-four years of age. He ad- 
hered to the Shaker faith till his death, although 
his sons Moses and Aaron, when young men broke 
away from this faith and came to Indiana, there 
beginning life as farmers. This was just after the 
marriage of .Moses Woodruff with Miss Margaret 
l'etro. a native of Pennsylvania who came to Ohio 
when ten years of age. They were married in 
Monroe County. Ohio, after which they came to 
Indiana and made a settlement in the woods in 
Fountain County. They were without means and 
did genuine pioneer work in that new region, and 
there Moses and his wife lived and died. Moses 
passed away in 1M.'5K when less than forty-two 
old. and his faithful wife survived him more than 
twenty years and died November 11, 1860, at the 
age of about sixty-eight years. Moses Woodruff 
was an lniversalist in his religious belief and his 
wife died in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. 

Squire Woodruff is the first born of Ids parents 
and lie and his brother Martin, a farmer near 
Sullivan, are now all that remain of the family, as 
their >ister Mary A. died in infancy. The Bret 
marriage of our subject took place in Fountain 
County, Ind., he being then united with Miss 
Ascnath Marvin of that county, who died in 
Moultrie County. III., January 5, IH;>1, at the 
early age of twenty-six years. The second wife 

of Mr. W buff to whom he was united in this 

county bore the maiden name of Mary lleffel- 
Bnger. She was born in Pennsylvania and came 
when quite young lirsl to Indiana and later to Ill- 
inois, and when thirty-one years old passed away 
from this life March II, 1869. The third marriage 
of Mr. Woodruff united him with Mary A. Yake- 
ley. His fourth wife was formerly .Miss Eliza- 
beth Kepler. She died September 12, 1882. Our 
Subjecl was again married to Hannah Horn who 
was horn in Washington County, Pa., and came lo 
Illinois after herfirsl marriage. Mr. Woodruff had 



children by four of his wives and nine of them are 
living, namely: Ethan A.. Mary E., Elias P., 
Martin A., Ascnath, Cora B., Helen, Margaret A. 
and Edith D. The last three are unmarried and 
make their home with their father. 






fc*++*L 



<« IjfolLLIAM VOGEL. The substantial farmers 
\pj// of Shelby County are a class to whom all 
W^l right minded citizens feel that they owe a 
debt for their share in effecting the prosperity 
which makes this county so popular as a place of 
residence and business. Were their work sub- 
tracted from the records of the county, little would 
remain to show its value Such an one is our sub- 
ject, who resides on section 12, Prairie Township, 
and who has been a citizen of this county from the 
spring of 18(>2. being one of the first to settle on 
the prairie. He had purchased eighty acres of prai- 
rie land and forty acres of timber land, the pre- 
vious year, and made his home upon them in the 
spring, since which time he has devoted himself 
unceasingly and indefatigably to the work of forc- 
ing the rich soil to give forth its wealth. 

William Yogle was born in the Kingdom of 
Prussia, Germany, July 22, 1831, and is a son of 
Charles Yogel. Two brothers and two sisters of 
our subject are in the United States, namely: Fred, 
who resides in Holland Township; Herman, whose 
home is in Wisconsin; Augusta; and Minnie, the 
wife of August Wilke. ( >ur subject is the first one 
of the family to come to the United States, as he 
crossed the ocean in 1857, and first made his set- 
tlement in Cook County, this State, where he 
worked as a farm hand until he decided to come 
farther South and devote himself to the culture of 
the soil in Shelby County. Three hundred and 
sixty acres of rich and arable soil now constitutes 
the farm which he has transformed from a wild 
prairie to a well cultivated estate, and upon which 
he has placed beautiful buildings. 

The marriage in 1862 of William Vogel and 
Elizabeth LutZ, united a couple who were destined 

to have a happy and harmonious life together. The 

lady, like her husband, was born in Germany, but 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



32] 



had been in this country for a number of veins. 
To them have been born four children, namely: 
August W., Harmon C. F., Albert II. and Ida. 
These children are becoming what their parents 
would have them be, honorable and worthy citi- 
zens of the Prairie State, which has become to them 
a dearly Loved home. 

American politics have proved a subject of in- 
terest to Mr. Vogel, and he has informed himself 
intelligently in regard to them, although he does 
not feel bound to govern his vote by the dictates 
of any party organization. In regard to local mat- 
ters he casts his ballot for the man and the meas- 
ures which seem to his judgment conducive to the 
peace and prosperity of the commonwealth, but 
uiion national issues he usually votes the Repub- 
lican ticket. Both he and his efficient and excel- 
lent wife are earnest and active members of the 
Lutheran Church, in which they were brought up. 
Stock farming has largely engaged the attention of 
our subject, and he has been successful in its prose- 
cution, as any one must be in Illinois, if he under- 
stands this branch of agriculture, and devotes him- 
self to it with assiduity. The worthy lives of Mr. 
anil Mrs. Vogel and their family area standing re- 
proach to all who complain of hard times and pov- 
erty which they have incurred by their own lack 
of principle and a disregard of the industrious ap- 
plication of their time and strength. 



V 



♦=♦=» 



r 



X 



ylLIJAM S. SHIREY. Our subject belongs 
to that class of people that have formed 
W^ the brawn and sinew of the social and busi- 
ness life in America. A farmer himself, residing 
on a beautiful tract of land on section .'Mi, of Lov- 
ington Township, Moultrie County, his father was 
a mechanic and manufacturer, and such were his 
resources, the quickness of perception of his keen 
mind and shrewd look, that had he been placed on 
a desert island he could have built up a small vil- 
lage for himself, with all the accessories necessary 
to civilized and refined life. Our subject's father 
was tin' Late Samuel Shirey, who was born in Frank- 



lin County. Pa.. April 26, 1806. His mother. Miss 
Barbara Ann Shade in her maiden days, was bora 
in Pennsylvania, April 24, 1 808. 

Samuel Shirey was a wagonmaker by trade and 
this business he followed throughout his early life, 
afterward being engaged in farming. The first 
part of their married life was passed in Greencastle, 
Pa. Thence they removed to Maryland, and then 
returned to Pennsylvania, where they continued 
to live until the spring of 1861, when they deter- 
mined, for the sake of their growing sons, to re- 
move to a State where there was a broader tield 
and better chances for young men. They came 
to Moultrie County and settled in Lovington Town- 
ship, wliere the father died June 20. 1870. The 
mother survived for some years, her decease taking 
place April 2, 1889. They had a family of ten 
children of whom our subject was the ninth in 
order of birth. 

William Shirey was born in Greencastle, Cum- 
berland County, Pa., January 26, 184(5. He came 
to the Prairie State with his parents in the spring 
of 1861, and continued under his parental roof 
until he became of age and was ready to take upon 
himself the responsibilities of a home. He was 
married in Macon County, April 5, 1866, to Miss 
Mary C. Coc, a daughter of John and Rachael 
(Kay lor) Coe. The father passed away in Macon 
County, this State. The mother died in Loving- 
ton Township at the residence of her son William. 
Mrs. Mary C. Shirey was born in Ross County, 
Ohio. After the wedding the young couple settled 
first in Macon County, where they continued to 
live until the spring of 1869, when Mr. Shirey 
came to Moultrie County and settled in Lovington 
Township, where he has since been a resident. 

It is not every man who has concentration of 
purpose and patience enough to be a farmer. 
While there are always any number of details 
about a farm to be worked out. the principal work 
of planting and waiting for the outcome, is one 
of weary patience that is frequently tried to the 
uttermost by the thousand and one drawbacks that 
are inevitable to agriculture — drouth. Hood, rust, 
grasshoppers, early or late frosts, are only a begin- 
ning of the trials that one might mention, that a 
farmer must endure patiently and uncomplainingly. 



322 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and for which no one is to blame. He of whom 
we write has placed excellent Improvements on his 
farm and is the owner of three hundred and twenty 
acres of good land, well located, watered and 
drained. The latest improvements in agricultural 
implements are in use upon the place, and every 
acre is made to produce to the uttermost. He is 
engaged in general farming. Their home is an 
ideal one in point of comfort and attractiveness 
from a domestic point of view; not hung with 
the richest tapestries, boasting no paintings by 
great masters, it is yet the abiding-place of content, 
and a pleasant assurance that each member of the 
family is the recipient of the affection and loving 
confidence of the others. Mr. and Mis. Shirey are 
the parent- of four living children, whose names 
arc John Alpha. Willis 11.. Myrtle M. and Gracie 
Alice. Other little ones have come to the parents 
as buds of promise, but drooped and withered in 
their infancy and were gathered up by the Divine 
hand, and now shed the sweetness of their spirits 
in a higher world. 

Mis. Shirey is an amiable and womanly woman, 
a discreet and wise mother, who studies the inter- 
ests of her children, not from an envious or vainly 
ambitious standpoint, but seeking to help them to 
lie men and women whose principles of right and 
honor shall be so high and perfect and whose in- 
tellects shall he so developed, that they will he 
honorable additions to whatever phase of life they 
may lie placed. 

lie of whom we write has held many of the 
township offices, in local political life. lie has 

been elected Highway Commissioner, in the smaller 
places an important Office, that is not always so 
conscientiously attended to as it should he. hut 
Mr. Shirey 's constituents have no reason to com- 
plain of him in this respect, for he fully realizes 
that the public highways are the veins and arteries 
through which llow the wealth of the nation. He 

has also held the position of Treasurer of Loving- 
ton Township, and that even more important post, 
that of School Director. This is, indeed, an almost 

sacred Office, for the selection of • teachers and 

the government of school affairs is one which 
-In >ii 111 he given the most minute attention and 
wisest judgment. In his political relation- he is a 



member of the Republican party and the tenets 
anil doctrines of that body are to him vital, by 
both association and inherited opinion. Mrs. Shirey 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
while her husband is liberal in his religious belief. 
Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
and also fraternizes with both Odd Fellows and 
Knights of Pythias. 

The indomitable spirit that our subject inherits 
from his father is apparent in all his dealings. 
While living in Maryland. Samuel Shirey met with 
a severe loss by the burning of his wagon shop, 
and also his blacksmith shop, which was connected 
with the first-named. In this catastrophe he lost 
nearly all he had. hut was undismayed and man- 
fully set about retrieving his position. 



$+${ 



~S 



OlIN SIMS, is a general farmer on section 
27, of Flat Branch Township, Shelby 

County, and here owns one hundred and 
sixty acres of well-improved land, and forty 
acres on section 26, which is covered with small 
timber. His home was originally procured as a 
homestead claim. It was almost all unbroken in 
1855, and Mr. Sims has since made it a good farm, 
placing many valuable improvements upon it. His 
Success in an agricultural direction has been at- 
tained mostly through general farming and stock- 
raising. He came to this county from Macoupin 
County, where he had settled in lK.'i,S. being one 
of the earliest to locate there. 

On his advent into Macoupin County, he pro- 
cured a farm, upon which he placed some improve- 
ments, he later came in 1>C).">. to this county, lie 
was bom in Madison County, this Slate, live miles 
east of Edwardsville, January 19, 1820. His par- 
ents were natives of Kentucky. His father, Austin 
Sims was however, horn in North Carolina, hut 
removed at a very carh age to Kentucky, with 
his parents, and was there reared. He is of South- 
ern parentage, although his ancestry is for the most 
part Scotch. The father of Aust in Sims. Sr.. who 
was horn and reared in North Carolina, from u liich 
state he served through the Revolutionary War, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



323 



In- having fought at the battle of Cowpens. lie 
later went to Kentucky, and then proceeded to 
Southern Illinois; afterward to Morgan County, 
where both lie and his wife died, he at the age of 
eighty-three years, and she eighty-one years old. 
Mr. Sims and wife were, early in life, members of 
the old school Baptist Church. 

Austin Siins, Jr., was reared to manhood in Ken- 
tucky, and there married his wife. The lady's 
maiden name was Jennie Nivens. She was born 
and brought up in Kentucky, being a member of 
an old and highly esteemed family in that State. 
After the birth of two children Austin Sims, Jr., 
and wife removed in 1818. to this state locating 
on some Government land in Madison County. 
In 182*. Mr. Sims went with his family to Morgan 
County, and entered some land here, being one of 
tin- first pioneers of that county. There he and 
his wife spent the active years of their life, and 
there Mrs. Sims died and was buried. Later her 
husband came to Christian County, this State, and 
died there at the age of eighty-six years, his wife 
was not so old by twenty years at the time of her 
decease. They were leading members of the Chris- 
tian Church and were among the first adherents of 
that reform in Kentucky, becoming interested in 
it at first through the preaching of Dr. Alexander 
Campbell, who was a personal friend. They fol- 
lowed his teaching of the New Testament with 
great care and zeal. 

Our subject was one of a family of six children, 
of which he and his sister, now Mrs. Polly Wilco, 
of Blue Mound, Macon County, are the only sur- 
viving members. He was reared to manhood in 
Morgan County, and there married Catherine 
Weller. The lady was born in Kentu -kv in IK IK, 
ami was young when her parents came to Morgan 
County, where she was reared until her marriage. 
She died at her home in this township. October 26, 
1881. She was a worthy woman and a kind and 
tender mother, highly looked up to. not only by 
the members of her family, but all those who knew 
her. She was a devoted member of the Christian 
Church. 

Our subject was one of ten children born to his 
mother; four of these died, namely. Joel, Robert, 
Alexander and Samuel. The living children are 




Lorinda. George W.. John 1'.. William .1.. ami 
Henry. Lorinda is the widow of Samuel Tulley. 
and resides in this county; George W. look to wife 
Emma Tulley and they reside in Union, Ore.; 
John F. occupies the father's farm, his wife being 
Lucy Ransford; William .1. married Juliana Tulley. 
and resides on a farm in this township; Henry re- 
mains at home witli his parents anil runs a part of 
the farm. Mr. Sims is a member in good standing 
of the Christian Church, lb- i> a sound Democral 
in polities. 



-*- : : : -js&— *- 



ON. CHARLES VORIS. The town of 
Windsor. Shelby County, is conspicuous for 
the number of young men that take a leail- 
t^) 1 ing part in commercial life. It is compar- 
atively a young town and fresh, vigorous young 
blood sustains its interests, ami the moderation of 
middle age receives the reverence that is due it. 
Our subject is one of the men of more advanced 
years, who holds the impoi tan t position of Post- 
master in the town of Windsor, lb- was bora in 
Summit County, Ohio, March 21, 1838, where his 
early life was spent on a farm. When about eigh- 
teen years of age, he left home to take a position 
in life for himself. At this period, the most san- 
guine time of youth, all things seemed possible to 
him, and the golden possibilities seemed just be- 
yond his reach, lying waiting for him to stretch 
out his hand in their direction. 

Air. Yoris' first venture was iii Galesburg, Knox 
County, this state, but there he only spent about 
six months, and then worked fora while on a farm. 
Minnesota was next in the way of his perigrina- 
tions, and then- he lived about -i\ months, when 
he returned to Galesburg, residing there a shorl 
time. He next went to Taj lor County. Iowa, and 
there was engaged in opening up a farm. To this 
he devoted three years, and in February. I860, he 
came to Windsor and engaged in the grain and 
lumber business, and in connection with this, in 
1862-, he opened a dry-g Is store, lie continued 



324 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the lumber business about two years; while en- 
gaged in this line, carrying a very good stuck, 
his mercantile business was conducted under the 
best auspices. He continued in the grain trade 
for fourteen years, and during that time lie 
also was engaged in the banking business with 
J. D. Bruce, with whom he was also in company in 
his other lines of commercial life. The firm was 
known as Bruce, Yoris & Co. They dissolved 
partnership in 1873 and since that time Mr. Voris 
has been engaged in the real-estate business and in 
farming. He has always been an active agent in 
the affairs of town and county. 

lie of whom we write was elected to the General 
Assembly in 1866, re-elected in 1868, and in 1870, 
received the honor of election to the Senate from 
the Seventh District, and in 1872 was again re- 
turned from the Thirty-first District. During this 
term he was Chairman of the special committee on 
stock-yards, and acted on other important commit- 
tees. During his services as Senator, lie did effici- 
ent work in gaining advantages for his district. 
He served on the Railroad and Penitentiary Com- 
mittees, and on Corporations. He was also a 
member of the committee on the rules that should 
govern the Senate. 

Mr. Voris has served in various local offices, and 
t'ni some time has been a member of the City Board, 
His appointment as Postmaster was con tinned in 
July, 1889. It is hardly necessary to say that lie 
has taken an active interest in politicial affairs as 
he had been so identified with the Government of 
the State. He is an ardent advocate of the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party. He has been solic- 
ited by the Central Republican Committee to 
assist in the present campaign in Ohio. 

He of whom we write obtained the charter for 
the Bloomington and Ohio River Railroad, now 
known as the Wabash, running from Bement to 
Effingham, and of this road he was the first Presi 
dent, For ten years he was engaged in the mill- 
ing business in Windsor, and dining that length 
of time, the reputation that he had previously 
built up as a business man of sterling integrity and 
unquestioned honor, was confirmed. His products 
were always of the bet character, and his dealings 
with all parties was characterized by an upright- 



ness and sense of honor that could only redound 
to his favor. 

Mr. Voris' marriage took place in Shelby County, 
his nuptials being celebrated November (i. 1860. 
His bride was Miss Mary Jane Templetoii. who was 
a native of the county in which she was married. 
Only two children were born of this union: 
Annette and Julia, the latter deceased. 

Our subject, on his mother's side, hasa complete 
family record comprising over eleven thousand 
names from the landing of the "Mayflower" to 
1874 ; and over seven thousand names on his father's 
side, from 1638 to 1883. 



# 



^N^ 



jj^k.IMROD TAYLOR. One of the well-known 
jjj farmers residing on section 1 1, Lowe Tow n- 

l\,g£) ship, Moultrie County, is a son of .lames 
and Sarah Taylor. The father is still living, but 
the mother passed away some time since in Douglas 
County, this State. They had a family of eleven 
children, of whom our subject was the eldest, and 
he was born in Tippecanoe County, fnd., May 2, 
L842. 

Our subject was eight years old when bis parents 
came to Illinois and settled in Douglas County, 
where this son was reared to manhood and received 
his education and training upon the farm and in 
the district school. He remained under the pa- 
rental roof until he reached the period of man- 
hood and was married in Moultrie County. March 
1, 1861. his bride being Mary J. Nelson, a native 
of Virginia. After living upon his father's farm 
for a tew years he removed with his wife to Texas, 
but not being satisfied with life in that region, he 
remained there only about eighteen months. 

Returning to Illinois. Mr. Taylor settled on the 
tract of land where he now resides — a line farm. 
well improved and comprising some eighty acres. 
Six children have been granted to this worthy 
couple, three of whom died in infancy and the 
three who survive are .lames V.. Noiah and Har- 
vey. The principles of the Democratic pai"tj' em- 
body the political views of Mr. Taylor, and he is 
interested in the progressof that party, although 




j) 




JOSEPH WALKER- 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



327 



nut .-in active politician. The office of School Di- 
rector has been well tilled h\ him, and while an 
incumbent of that position he did much to for- 
ward the educational interests of the township. 
Both he and lii> good wife :wv earnest .-111(1 active 
members of the New Light Church, and he ever 
takes a prominent part iii religious movements. 



OSEPH WALKER. Although our subject 
makes his residence in the town of Wind- 
snr. Shelby County,and thus enjoys the ad- 
vantages of town life, he is actively engaged 
in farming. Mr. Walker is an omniverous reader, 
anil being a thoughtful man who judges and 
weighs for himself, he has the advantage of some 
of his fellow-men. whose views of general matters 
and current topics are only those of some one else. 
Original to a refreshing degree, our subject is very 
pronounced in all his views. He is a progressive 
man although not readily attracted by every new- 
idea that for the moment is paramount, being prac- 
tical in all his affairs. 

The original of our sketch was born in Fayette 
County, Ohio, March in. 1814, and thus it is seen 
that he had lived a long and eventful life. The 
early part of his life was Spent in the woods during 
which time he was engaged in clearing, and in his 
native county. and he repeated the same experience 
in Payette County. Ind.. where he went when 
about nine years of age. In 1837 In- came West 
and spent two months engaged in trading, visiting 
different parts of what was then considered the far 
West. At the end of that time he returned to 
Payette County. Ind.. and launched into the busi- 
ness of buying and selling cattle and hogs, finding 
lii^ market in Cincinnati. They were not shipped 
as now, by rail, hut our subject was obliged to 
drive them over the public highway. 

September 20, 1847, .Mr. Walker was united in 
marriage in Payette County, Ind.. with Miss Sarah 
W. Dorsey, and with her he began the journey of 

life, with a realization of the responsibilities that 
he had taken upon him. By this marriage he be- 
came the father of two children, whose names arc 



respectively Sophronia and Amos W. The daugh- 
ter became the wife of James I la rise I. of Ash Grove 
Township. Amos W. i- a teacher and has attained 

a wide reputation as an educator of advanced and 
progressive methods and theories. 

.Mrs. Sarah W. Walker died in Payette County. 
Ind.. about three years after their marriage and 
after his bereavement Mr. Walker returned to Illi- 
nois and settled permanently in Shelby County, in 
1859. Prior to this he had lived here in 1842, but 
his stay had been comparatively short. In com- 
pany with another man he had purchased twenty- 
thousand acres of land in Kansas. In 1866 he 
Settled in Windsor Township and was from that 
tinicuntil 11S84 when he removed to the village Of 
Windsor,engaged in farming. He owns about six 
hundred acres of kind in the county and consider- 
ing his various possessions, must he accounted a 
wealthy man. 

Although Mr. Walker is a farmer and has been 
such for many years, he has never bound himself 
down to the drudgery of agricultural life, trading 
in live-stock having been his chief occupation. 
Politically he is in sympathy with the promoters 
of the Greenback party. He is highly esteemed in 
the community of which he is a citizen and hK 
opinions arc regarded with a ureal deal of respect. 
His portrait is presented in connection with thi- 
brief biographical review. 




14=- ox - CHARLES I.. HOANK. who is now liv- 
ing a retired life in Sullivan, Moultrie 
County, has made his home in this locality 
since 1854, and in the years which have 
come and gone has occupied a prominent place in 
public affairs. 1 Ic has been prominently con ncct eel 
with both the business and official interests of the 
county and is widely known throughout this part 
of the State. The story l his life is as follows: 

Charles I.. Roane was born in Loudoun County, 
Va.. October :i. 1820, and i^ the son of James 
and the grandson of William Roane. The latter, 
a native of the old Dominion, belonged to the 

F. F. Y.'s; he spent Ins entire life in Virginia and 



328 



PORTRAIT ASD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



died when well advanced in years. The father of 
our subject was born and reared in Virginia and 
became a contractor and builder of turnpike roads. 
In Loudoun County he was joined in wedlock with 
Mrs. Mary Bartlett. daughter of Col. Timothy Tay- 
lor. The Colonel was born in Bucks County. Pa., 
and came of one of the old and highly respected 
families of the Keystone state. 

Mr. Taylor removed to Loudoun County, Va., 
and after some years, on the breaking out of the 
War of IH12 he enlisted and became Colonel of the 
Fifty-sixth Regiment of Virginia Volunteers. His 
two sons were also in that service, one serving a-. 
Colonel, the other as Adjutant and the old Colonel 
commanded a regiment engaged in protecting the 
city of Washington against the British forces. Fa- 
ther and sons escaped uninjured and Col. Timothy 
Taylor spent his last days in Virginia. The daugh- 
ter Mary grew to womanhood in her native county 
and when she had attained to years of maturity 
gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Bartlett who 
died, leaving two children. She afterward became 
the wife of James Roane and unto them were born 
four children, of whom our subject and his sister. 
Mrs. Clark of Virginia, are now living. The latter 
is a widow of Leonard Clark, a Union soldier of 
the late war who laid down his life on the altar of 
his country, .lames Roane and his wife continued 
their residence in Loudoun County, Va., for some 
years, the husband there dying in 1832, when 
past middle life. His widow spent her la-t days 
in Harrison County. W. Va., where she lived to a 
ripe old age. An intelligent and cultured lady, 
she had many friends and was highly respected by 
all who knew her. 

The subject of this sketch is the eldest of the 
parental family. After his father's death he was 

tenderly cared for and reared by his mother until 

able to care for himself. He is truly a self-made 
man and deserves no little credit for the success 
which has crowned his efforts. As before stated 
he came to Moultrie County, 111., in 1854, and 
soon afterward, his fellow-townsmen having recog- 
nized his worth and ability, was appointed Deputy 
County Clerk. A shorl time elapsed and he was 
elected to the position of County Clerk, which he 
filled acceptably four years, then in January, 1862, 



embarked in the general merchandise business.estah- 
lishinga store at the southeast corner of the square 
in Sullivan where he carried on operations for 
twenty-three years. Mr. Roane possesses good 
business ability, is energetic and enterprising and 
soon won a liberal patronage which constantly 
increased until his large trade netted him a good 
income and he became one of the substantial citi- 
zens of the community. His success was truly de- 
served for he tried to please his customers and 
honesty and fairness characterized all his dealings. 

In the meantime Mi'. Roane was nominated, in 
1883, on the Republican ticket for the Legislature 
and when the election returns were received it was 
found that he had been elected by a good majority 
Lo represent the district which includes Moultrie. 
Shelby and Effingham Counties. He was appointed 
on several important committees, including those 
of Banking and Drainage, and was one of the 
members sent to visit and report on the stale 
charitable institutions. His course as a member of 
the House won credit for himself and his constitu- 
ents and he formed many pleasant acquaintances 
among the prominent men of the Stale. As before 
stated Mr. Roane continued in the mercantile busi- 
ness for twenty-two years, at the expiration of 
which time he sold out. Later he built and oper- 
ated a tile factory for a few years, but it was sub- 
sequently destroyed by tire. He has now retired 
from business life but is still interested in Decatur 
and Sullivan property. 

In the city where he yet makes his home. Mr. 
Roane was united in marriage with Miss Lucy Gar- 
land, a native of Bedford County ,Va., and a daugh- 
ter of Nicholas A. and Mary (Mitchell) Garland. 
The family came to Sullivan at an early da\ and 
Mr. Garland built the first mill at that place, oper- 
ating it for more some years. Subsequently heand 
his wife removed to Springfield, III., where he en- 
gaged in merchandising. He was also Deputy 
Sheriff of the county for some time and with his 
wife spent his last days in the capital city. Mrs. 
Roane is one of quite a large family. She has been 
a true wife and her union has been blessed with 
five children, four of whom are yet living, namely: 
Lucy, wife of W. A. Cash, a commercial traveler 
residing in Decatur; Fannie, wife of John K. Mini- 



PORTRAIT AND P.K HiRAPIHCAE RECORD. 



329 



seywho is employed as book-keeper for the linn of 
St m Hi ni tV: Bird, wholesale grocers of Cairo; Charles, 
wIki wedded Eva Woodruff and is now engaged in 
the lumber business in Campbell, Franklin County. 
Neb., and Austin at home. One daughter, Mary, 
is now deceased. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roane are members of the Presby- 
terian Church and are people of worth who rank 
high in social circles and are widely and favorably 
known throughout the community. 



* 



M byUn ' 

WW service 



■■IELIAM V. CARR, who has been appointed 
facie Sam to take charge of the postal 
v.ce at Stewardson, Ills., was horn 
in what is now Dry Point Township. Shelby 
County. October '.>. 18-14. He is a son of Elias and 
Nancy (Siler) Carr, natives of North Carolina and 
Tennessee respectively. The father of our subject 
was horn in I HIM. 1 1 is father having died in Ten- 
nessee, his mother, with a family of four chil- 
dren, three of whom were girls, came to Illinois in 
lHKi. The family first lived one year on Sand 
Creek, Shelby County, they then settled in Dry 
Point, and were thus the tirst settlers in that part 
Of the country, and in fact, as early as any who 
located in the country. 

Here the father of our subject grew to man- 
hood pursuing farming for a living. He passed 
his remaining years in Dry Point Township 
and died in the year 1848. He was a prominent 
member of the Methodist Church, being a Class- 
Leader at the time of his death. The mother of 
our subject came with her parents to the State of 
Illinois and the family settled in Cumberland, 
where her lather. Benjamin Siler. passed his 
remaining years. While a young woman she mar- 
ried Mr. Carr. whose death she did not long sur- 
vive, following him in a few months, her decease 
taking place in 1849. 

The original of our sketch is one of nine ehil- 
ren. live of whom are still living, all being resi- 
dents of Shelby County. .Martha is the wife of 
the Rev. Mr. Middle-worth. Mary married George 
Huffer. Jefferson W.; John and our subject. 



William V. was only four years of age when he 
was left an orphan and hi- young life was spenl 
with various persons. His sister, Mrs. Huffer, was 
a foster mother to him for six years which he 
spent in her household. 

Educational advantages in those early days were 
limited and our subject was enabled to attain 

only the common blanches. When there was 
school, held in a log house, after he had attained 
the age of nine years, he was obliged to walk three 
miles in order to reach it. While a mere lad he 
was obliged to work his own way. doing whatever 
he found to do in order to get a living. In these 
days when children are so tenderly cared for and 
enjoy the comforts, even among the poorer class. 
that were considered the most refined luxuries at 
the time our subject was a boy. it makes one sad 
to think how little youth he had. 

The three brothers in our subject's family, all en- 
listed and each served faithfully during the Civil 
War. William V. Carr enlisted in 1863 as a pri- 
vate of Company A., Fifty-fourth Illinois Infantry. 
He served until the close of the war, being muster- 
ed (jut November Hi. 1865. He was a participant 
in the battles that occurred at the siege of Vicks- 
burg, was with the Red River expedition, and 
was at the capture of Little Rock. Ark. While 
near that place, in August, 18(34. lie was taken 
prisoner at Batesville, where he remained until 
January. 1865. He then joined his command 
at Hickory Station. Ark., where he remained 
until he was mustered out at Ft. Scott. After 
the war our subject resumed farming in Prairie 
Township and continued this occupation until 
1888, when he removed to Stewardson. and in 
April, 1889, was apppointed Postmaster. 

In 18(57. the original of our sketch was united 
in marriage to Miss Deborah Blue, a daughter of 
Erasmus Blue. She was born in Fairfield County, 
Ohio. By this wife our subject is the father of 
one daughter, Drotha, who i- bright, intelligent 
and winsome. Politically Mi'. Carr is a Repub- 
lican in party preference, using his influence and 
vote in its favor and having all confidence in its 
platform. He is a member of the ( .rand Army of 
the Republic, and finds much pleasure in recount- 
ing with an old comrade, common experiences 



330 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



incident to the war. He still owns his farm of 
sixty acres upon which is a good tenant, he also 
has a handsome property in Stewardson. 

John Can*, a brother of our subject was hum in 
Shelby County in 1K42. He enlisted in 1861, in 
the Thirty-fifth Illinois Infantry, in which he 
served until 1866, having re-enlisted in the regu- 
lar army. During his military experience lie was 
never either wounded or taken prisoner. After 
the war he returned to Shelby County and has 
since been engaged in fanning in Ridge Township, 
where he owns two hundred acres of land in a line 
State of cultivation. He invited Caroline Downs 
tn he his life partner, sharing with him its pleas- 
ure.- and burdens. They are the parent,- of eight 
children. 



vss^. AMIEL 1). WEST is a prominent and well- 
^j£ known citizen of Moweaqua, Shelby County- 
WJl) who has held important civic positions 
in the city government. For many year- 
he was among the leading mechanics of the county, 
and conducted a good business as a blacksmith 
here until he retired October, 1890 in favor of his 
son Frank. Our subject was horn at Sempronius, 
Cayuga County, X. Y.. August 12, 1821. His par- 
ents were Thomas and Hhoda (I)unhar) NY est. and 
they were natives of Oneida County, that State. 

Mr. West was reared in Wayne County, N. Y.. 
whither his parents removed in 1827. As soon as 
he was large and strong enough to handle the tool- 
In began to work with his father in his smithy, 
and thus early acquired a good knowledge of the 

blacksmith trade. At the age of twenty-one he 
rented his father's shop at South Butler, Wayne 
County, and carried on his calling there some 

year-. In the spring of 1854 he came to this 
county, as with characteristic shrewdness and fore- 
sight In- Saw that .-killed mechanics would he in 
demand in a new ami growing country, lie came 
hither by rail to Chicago, and from there h\ the 
same means of transport to Springfield and Dec- 
atur, and from the latter place with a team to 

Moweaqua, which he had selected as a suitable loca- 



tion to begin his new life, tie bought a small shop 
in the village and at once went to work at his 
trade, which he increased from year to year, until 
he was conducting a flourishing and paying husi- 
ness as blacksmith at the time ol his retirement. 

Our subject was married in May. 1X44 to Miss 
Emma Baggerly, a native of Ontario County, N. Y., 
and a daughter of Peter and .lane Baggerly. For 
forty-six years they walked together through the 
sunshine and shallow that lay across their pathway, 
and then Death parted them, removing the faith- 
ful wife from the home that her presence had glad- 
ened SO long. She and our subject were blessed 
with two children. Frank B. and Jennie. The 
former married Mollie Weakly, and they have four 
children — Mabel, Bertha, Delia and Samuel. Jennie 
married Joseph B. Longevan, and they have two 
children living. Claud and Dwight. 

Mr. West was a Republican from the time the 
party was organized until 1888, and since then he 
has been a Democrat and a Prohibitionist. His 
fellow-citizens, appreciating hi.- worth as a man of 
exemplary habits, unswerving honesty and truth- 
fulness in every wind and act. and his capability, 
have often called him to responsible positions. He 
has served as a member of the City Council, and as 
President of the Board, and also as a member of 
the School Hoard. At one time he was elected 
Police Magistrate. He was also Justice of the 
Peace three terms, and has been Notary Public for 
upward twenty years. 



— ; S~ 



^^=®. 



~^iff, 



n>^<m 



-5— 



ENRY DIEPHOLZ. The gentleman whose 

name is at the head of this -ketch and of 
whom it is our pleasure to give a short his- 
(G) lory in outline, is a native of Germany, be- 
ing there horn September II. 1840. Up to his 
fifteenth year he passed his boyhood days in his 
native land being engaged upon a farm and in 
school work, which in Germany is obligatory upon 
all the subjects of the Emperor. Thus he was in a 
manner fitted for the duties of manhood, although 

it must have taken him -ome time to adjust him- 
self to American manners and customs and ways Of 



PORTRAIT AND BF RAPHICAL RECORD. 



33 1 



thought, on coming to this country. On leaving 
borne, he came to America landing from a German 
steamer a1 Baltimore, Md., and from there went to 
Cincinnati, Ohio, lie was first employed near Cin- 
cinnati in the mixed duties of attending to a brick 
yard, and farming, and was thus engaged for four 
years, after which he came to Madison, this State. 

While in Madison Count}', our subject was em- 
ployed as a farm laborer and continued work in 
this way for four years. *>n his marriage, lie 
rented land which he operated for four years and 
at the expiration of thai time, came to Shelby 
County and settled in Richland Township, where 
he has since been a resident. Here he is the owner 
of three hundred acres of finely improved land. 
Upon this tract he has erected a good and substan- 
tial set of buildings. His home is comfortable and 
pleasant and his barns adequate for the large crops 
which arc annually his farm products. 

Mr. Dieph'olz was married in Madison County. 
111. to Miss Caroline Wirth. who like himself, was 
a native of Germany, hut who had emigrated to 
America at an early age. Our subject and his wile 
arc the parents of four children, whose names are 
Fred .1.. Henry. ( aroline and Hermann. IK- of whom 
we write is an honorable and upright man who i> 
highly regarded by his neighbors and fellow-towns- 
men, lie has been elected to till several important 
offices in the township government and has been 
Assessor of Richland Township for three years, 
also Highway Commissioner for one term and has 
done efficient service as School Director. In politics, 
the original of our sketch is a Democrat. Religi- 
ously he and his wife are communicants of the 
Lutheran Church of their township, and have ever 
been generous supporters and faithful adherents of 
that religious body. 



ENRY C. FISHER, an Influential fanner re- 

Y J siding in I. owe Town-hip. Moultrie County. 

\4y was horn in l.oami Township, Sangamon 
County, 111., January 31, 1846. He is the 
son of John B. and Nancy I). (Webb) Fisher, na- 
tives of Kentucky, who were married in Harrison 



County, that state. At an earl} day they re ved 

to Illinois and settled in Sangamon County, where 
they reared a large family of children, eleven of 
whom lived to attain to maturity. A' the break- 
ing out of the Civil War the father enlisted in an 
Illinois regimenl and served until the Government 
had no further need of his services. Being hon- 
orably discharged he returned to his home and re- 
sumed operations on his farm, where his death 
occurred after a long and useful life. 

Henry C, of this sketch, was reared to maturity 
on a farm and received a practical education in 
the common schools. Until he was married hespenl 
his time under the paternal roof, with the excep- 
tion of four years -pent in different places. A 
very important event in his life and the source of 
great happiness to him. was his marriage March 14, 
1M77, in Douglas County. III., to Miss Mary Alice 
Reeder. This estimable lady was horn in that 
place duly HI. 1>C)7, and is the daughter of John 
and Mary (Harter) Reeder. also natives of Doug- 
las County. Mr. and Mis. Reeder were natives of 
Ohio, and reared a family of eleven children. Mrs. 
Fisher being the eighth. 

The first home of our subject after his marriage 
was in l.oami Township. Sangamon County, whence 
after a residence of one year he removed to Chris- 
tian County. III., and sojourned there for one year. 
Next we find him in l'iatt County for two years 
and then in Douglas County for six years and 
finally in the spring of 1887 he settled in Lowe 
Township, this county, and he has been so well 
satisfied with his purchase here that he has decided 
to make it his permanent home. He owns eighty 
acres on section 17. and is also the owner of one- 
half section of land in Iowa. His farm buildings 
are first-class, while modern machinery and im- 
provements are all to he found here. 

Five children have come to bless the congenial 
union of Mr. and .Mrs. Fisher, named as follows: 
John F... Minnie M.. Lulu. May Olive, and Willie. 
As a School Director Mr. Fisher has aided in bring- 
ing about the presenl efficiency of the neighboring 
schools and in his present position of Clerk of the 
School Board he is spoken well of for his capabilit\ 
in that position, lie i- identified with the Repub- 
lican party and never fails to east his vote and ex- 



332 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ert his influence for the principles in which he 
believes. As a neighbor he is cordial and friendly, 
in domestic life affectionate, and in his business 
relations to be relied upon, lie is therefore re- 
garded with respect and lias many warm personal 
friends, lie and his amiable wife an- active mem- 
bers of the Christian Church. 



ON. JONATHAN MEEKER. The little 
city of Sullivan, in Moultrie ( 'ounty, counts 
among its citizens a number <>f men of un- 
usual intellectual grasp and acumen, whose 
experience in life has been such as to bring them 
prominently before their fellow-men and prove the 
sturdy and stanch material of which they arc made. 
Among such whose professional ability as well as 
personal qualities commend them to our readers, we 
are pleased to mention the gentleman whose name 
appeal's at the opening of this paragraph, lie is a 
lawyer of more than ordinary ability and a man 
of massive frame and commanding presence. 

Our subject was horn in Bennington Township 
in that part of Delaware County which is now in- 
cluded in Morrow County. Ohio. .Inly 2."), 1831. 
Mis father. Ambrose Meeker, was born in Orange. 
N. J., and Grandfather Meeker was a farmer and 
spent his last years in New Jersey. His wife's 
maiden name was Miss Tompkins. 

The father of our subject was hut two years old 
when his parents died and he was cared for by his 
maternal uncle, and at the aye of fifteen was made 
an apprentice to learn the trade of a blacksmith at 
Newark. N. .1. After completing his apprentice- 
ship he started for the then far West, walking over 
the Alleghany Mountains to Ohio and settled in 
in that State at Newark. Licking (ounty. Here 
he opened a shop and followed his trade for a time 

before removing to Delaware (ounty. where he 

bought a farm and for one year attended to cul- 
tivating it. He then relumed to Newark and re- 
sumed business as a blacksmith, remaining there 

until 1832, when he carried on the same business 



at Etna after which he became a pioneer at Mays- 
ville, Union ( 'ounty. 

The young man bought a tract of timber land 
and erected a shop, carrying on blacksmithing and 
farming together until 1847, when he went to 
Hancock County. 111., making the removal by teams. 
There were five families in the colony and they 
prospected first in Nauvoo. then in Clark County. 
and in February. 1H4H. they came to Sullivan, 
which was then a small hamlet in a sparsely settled 
country with no railroad facilities. The land about 
here was then owned by the Government and Mr. 
Meeker purchased some property in the village 
besides forty acres of partly improved land and 
two hundred and forty acres of wild prairie land. 
Customers came to his shop from as far away as 
Douglas and Piatt Counties, and his business pros- 
pered, making him content to remain here for the 
remainder of his days. His death occurred in 
1881, when he was eighty-two years old. 

Hannah Ilartwell Meeker, the mother of our 
subject, was a native of Plymouth. Mass.. her parents 
being descended from the first settlers of Plymouth. 
She had two children, our subject and his sister 
Koxanna. the wife of the Hon. John R. Eden. Her 
death took place in February. 1*48. The pioneer 
school of Ohio afforded all the advantages which 
these children received in their early days, and the 
log schoolhouse, the puncheon seats, the wide fire- 
places and the unglazed windows were familiar to 
their childhood. 

Jonathan Meeker began work 11)1011 the farm 
while still ipiite young, and after coming to Illi- 
nois worked with his father in the blacksmith shop 
and attended the academy in Sullivan, and in 1858, 
at the age of twenty-six, having devoted himself 
to the study of law. was admitted to the bar and 
commenced practice in Sullivan, which has been 
the scene of his labors from that day to this. Be- 
sides his professional duties he has been somewhat 
interested in farming, and has made this his recrea- 
tion from intellectual effort. 

The young lawyer soon began to think of estab- 
lishing himself in domestic life and in November, 
I860, he married Nancy Barker, a native of Hush 
(ounty. Ind.. and a daughter of Robert and Mary 
Barker. Five children came to bless this union, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



388 



oamely: Gertrude, Estella, Clara Belle, Raymond 
and Grace. To these children their parents are 
giving the very best advantages for a liberal edu- 
cation. Clara Belle and Raymond arc graduates 
of Butler University, in Indiana. 

The public career of the Hon. Jonathan Meeker 
began as early as 1852, when he "as elected as one 
Of the village Trustees, in which office he served 
for several terms. Soon after this he was elected 
.lust ice of the Peace and he has represented the 
township as a member of the County Board of 
Supervisors. He was elected as Representative to 
the Illinois State Legislature in 1870, and placed 
upon the bench of the County Judge in the year 
of 1877, which honorable office he held for nine 
years. At the beginning of the present year he 
formed a professional partnership with D. R. Pat- 
terson. Esq., which liids fair to be a business alli- 
ance which will benefit both parties and increase 
their efficiency. This honorable gentleman will no 
doubl continue to augment his already fine repu- 
tation as a member of the liar and as a public- 
spirited citizen for many years yet to come. 



- OC 3 



i#lgll-^f:ill#i€ 



m 



~o2: 



OIIN W. Wool). The acquisitive faculty is 
one which some men possess in a high de- 
gree, and in which others are almost totally 
deficient. We frequently associate charac- 
teristics which arc not admirable with one who is 
thus endowed. This, however, is neither just nor 
correct, for this faculty is as distinctly a gift of the 
Creator as is a mechanical, musical or poetical gen- 
ius in people whom we cannot laud too highly for 
the results of their work. The name that heads 
this sketch is that of a man who possesses the ac- 
quisitive faculty in a large degree,and at the same 
time, he is generous and open-hearted to a fault. 
lie is a prosperous, well-to-do farmer, owning' four 
hundred ami fifty acres of fine land upon which 
are the best improvements, a pleasing and attrac- 
tively built house, good barns and granaries, sheds 
and outbuildings for the shelter and protection of 
his stock. 
Our subjed was born in Moultrie County. 111.. 



February 28, 1850. His parents were Joseph M. 
and Purletha (Patterson) Wood. Datives of Ken- 
tucky aird Illinois, respectively. For a further his- 
tory sec sketch of .1. A. Wood in another part of 
this volume. lie of whom we write was reared on 
a farm, and received the educational advantages 
common to hoys of his age and position in life. 

(In reaching uianh 1 he was attracted by the 

charms and virtues of Miss Mary .1. Kirkwood. and 
November 2, 1871, their nuptials were celebrated 
at the home of the bride's parents, w ho were .lames 

and Ann .1. Kirkwood. Mrs. W 1 was horn in 

Ross County, Ohio, December 31, 1852. 

The married life of Mr. and Mrs. Wood was 
blessed by the birth of seven children, two of whom 
were taken into the fold by the Good Shepherd, 
while yet in the purity of infancy. Five of their 
children reached years of maturity: Minnie S.. died 
February 22. 1891, at the age of seventeen years. 
The living children are: M. Kosella. Joseph W.; 
.lames A. and Freeda E. Our subject in his relig- 
ious belief is non-sectarian, which does not. how- 
ever, indicate that he is either infidel or atheist, as 
he believes fully in the goodness and niercj of :i 
Divine Creator and Father. In political affairs he 
is an ideal follower of Tolstoi, making no active 
opposition to any political party or measures, and 
in consequence favoring no party. He does not 
vote because it is contrary to his religious belief to 
do so. leaving all political matters to solve them- 
selves 1>\ natural evolution, that is guided and 
governed l>\ ( rod. 



<«\ » I I.I.I A M WEAKLY. Among the best farms 

\ / .in sect ion :'. 1. Kidge Tow nship, Shelbj 
vV County, will lie noticed by every stranger 
or passer-by the finely cultivated acres ami good, 
neat buildings of the excellent farmer whose name 
appears at the head of this paragraph. His father, 
Benedict Weakly, was born in Maryland. March 
24, 17*7. and his mother. Margatha Mathews, a na- 
tive of the same State, was liorn May 1. I T '. > 7 . They 
were married December 22, 1816, and made their 



$34 



PORTRAIT AND 15IO( IRAPIIK AL RECORD. 



tirst home in their native State, removing after- 
ward t" Fairfield County, Ohio, and in the summer 
of 1843 emigrated to Illinois and settled^in Ridge 
Township, Shelby County, where they spenl the 
remainder of their days; the father was called 
hence November 1 I. 1858, and the mother followed 
1 1 i 1 1 1 i" the grave April 1 5, 1 878. 

This worthy and venerated couple hud ten chil- 
dren: Robert, Rebecca, Nancy, John, 1 [enry, James, 
Margaret, Mary, William, and George. Robert is 
a farmer in Kansas; Rebecca was the wife of David 
Ewing and died in Ridge Township, September 16, 
1843; Nancy married Richard Keirn and died in 
Assumption, 111.; John died in South Dakota, July 
25, 1888; llenrj is a clergyman and farmer resid- 
ing in Ross Township; James died in Kansas, in 
Harper County in July, 1889; Margaret was the 
wife of Samuel Smith and passed away in Tower 
Hill Township, September 21, 1885; Mary died in 
infancy; William is a farmer in Ridge Township; 
and < leorge died in infancy. 

William Wcakh was born in Fairfield County, 
Ohio, Augusl 5, 1835, and was about eight years 
old "hen he came to Shelby Count) with his par- 
ents and here in Ridge Township, where he grew 
to manhood he lias made his home from that day 
to this. He has always followed agricultural pur- 
suits and is the owner of two hundred and eighty 
acres of land which are highly cultivated and in a 
splendid productive condition. In his political 
views he is strongly inclined to believe in the doc- 
trines which arc promulgated iii the platform of 
the Republican party . 






t OKI. T. WALKER. The name at the head 

Of this sketch is that Of one of the linn of 
Walker A ( 0., who are dealer- in grain and 

owners of the Moweaqua elevator, which 
has the capacity for storing sis thousand bush- 
els. They have besides cril>s for sixty thous- 
and bushels of corn and fifty thousand bushels of 
oats. Mr. Walker has had the management of the 
elevator for the pasl three years. Under the 
present management the firm l>uv and -ell from two 



to four thousand bushels annually. They deal 
chiefly in corn, and their business ill this direction 
is the largest of any in the county. Our subject 
brings to it a judgment and executive ability that 
could not fail of success. 

Prior to coming to this place. Mr. Walker engaged 
in business at Lawrence, Kan., dealing largely in 
grain and live-stock, lie came to this county in 
June. 1888. Our subject was horn in Madison 
County, [11., October 13, 1835. He was only three 
years of age when his parents, Edwin and Rebecca 
(Chance) Walker, removed to Lebanon, St. Clair 
County, where he was reared and educated. There 
he was married to Miss Eliza Alexander, she was 
born and reared in our subject's adopted county, 
and her parents I )avid and Mary (Thomas) Alexan- 
der were early settlers there. Her father, Mr. Alex- 
ander, went there from Pennsylvania when quite 
young. His wife was a native of the county and 
a sister of Col. John Thomas, whois yet a resident 
of Belleville, having attained an honorable old age. 

After marriage, our subject and his wife lived 
in St. Lawrence County on a farm for a period of 
three years, and then moved to Macon County. 
settling in liiue Mound Township, at a very early 
day on an unbroken farm which was a part of the 
railroad lands of that State, liv unceasing efforts 
the\ improved it and made a fine place on which 
they lived for some years. Later they purchased 
a farm near the present village of Walker (so 
named in honor of our subject). This place they 
also improved bul -old on going to Kansas, in Aug- 
ust, 1*7;!. While in Kansas he spentsome months 
of each year in the mining districts of Breckenridge, 
Colo. On leaving Kansas he came to t li i> place 
where he has since been a resident. 

Since Mr. Walker'- advent in Moweaqua he has 
been President of the Village Hoard for one year 

and is ex-Mayor also Of the town. While in 

Kansas he was Probate Judge in Anderson County 
for one term, less a year, at which time he re- 
signed to uo to Lawrence County, Kan. While in 
Macon County, he was for four year- Supervisor 
of Macon Township. His first vote after reaching 
his majority was casl for President Lincoln and 
since that time he has been an active and ardent 
Republican. 




ar~/ 





(JTQ^ C^f^V ^ ^ 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



33 < 



.Mr. Walker mel witli a bereavement in the loss 
of his first wife who died in Maeon ( 'ounty, in June 
1863, being at the time only twenty-seven yesfrs of 
age. She lefl three children, I^awson L. Bertha 
and Mary E. Lawson is now engaged in business 
with his father, and the same traits thai have made 
Lis father successful are apparenl in theson. Bertha 
is the wife of Henry Nougle and living in Blue 
Moundville, Macon County. Mary E. is the wile 
ofWesley Langley. They reside in Lawrence, Kan. 

Mr. Walker was a second time married. The lady 
whom lie prevailed upon to become the mistress of 
his home was Mrs. Amelia A. Patton, nee Mason, 
a nativeof Lowell. Washington County, Ohio. She 
(•.■une West when a young lady, as a teacher lint 
was soon married to William Patton in Iowa. Mr. 
and Mrs. Walker are religiously inclined. Mr. 
Walker being a member of the Methodist Church 



young man. hi- ability and devotion to hi- calling 
have been recognized ami he ha- charge of a good 
practice in the place which he has chosen for his 
home. 

When engaged in making mud pies and distill- 
ing queer concoctions when a boy, Dr. Kisser showed 

-mall promise of being the wide-awake and able 

young physician that he now i.-. lie was born in 
Troy, Madison County, this State, January 1,1863. 
His father. Henry A. Risser, was by birth and par- 
entage a German, bill emigrated with his uncle to 
America when about seven years of age, his par- 
ents having both died in < .eriuaiiy prior to his com- 
ing to America. On reaching manhood he was 
married in Chillicothe, Ohio, to Miss Cecelia Zan- 
ders, who was born in the Buckeye State. After 
marriage they began their life together in St. Louis, 
Mo., where they remained about one year and then 



and his wife, a Baptist. They are both uni 
however, in their sympathy for everything that 
relate- to the well being of their fellow-men. They 
are one. also, in their love for home and home en- 
joyments. 

Mr. Walker's mother is still living, making her 
home with her -on Elijah in Mason County; -he 
was born in March 1812. Her husband's natal 



ted settled in Troy. Madison County, this State, of 



which they have since been residents. The father 
was engaged there as a merchant. 

Our subject was brought up in the village of 
Troy where be remained until he had attained to 
manhood. He received his education in the Troy 
schools where he studied until sixteen years of age, 
after which time he was engaged for three years in 



year was 1819. He lived until 1849. Our subject teaching school, hut during vacation- and in the 
IS one of four children: John'W., Klijah. Edwin interim- of his work he was pursuing his medical 
and .loci T. 



c=1 



~S 



£+£ 



l>3_ 



Tli 



frf=j?REI)ERICK W. RISSER, M. I>. 

Ing art i- one that has many disciple 



heal- 

;, but 



studies to which he had determined to devote him- 
self. In the fall of 1882 Mr. Risser entered the St. 
Louis Medical College and pursued his course for 
a period of four years, during which he did excel- 
lent work. In 1886 hi' was graduated from the 
college and received his diploma. 

Looking about for a good place in which to 

locate, our subject was charmed with the village of 
Strasburg and its surrounding country ami dc- 



coinparatively few capable followers. Each 
Spring season sees hundreds of young men turned 
out from our medical colleges with the degree of termined to here build himself up a profession, and 
M. I). A few of these are at once so fortunate as in this place he has been ever since the commence- 
to -lep into a good practice. Others spend a short ment of his career as a professional man. lie en- 
time in seeking for a location, and not being able joys an extensive practice and ranks among tin- 
to wait for the happy chance that shall give them best physicians of Shelby County. Broad minded 
an exerci-e of their healing ability, t urn to some and progressive, he does not recognize anj pain or 
other profession or business. Still others patiently suffering that it is not within the realm- of science, 
woo fortune in theirchoseil calling until that tickle at least, to alleviate. 

lady smiles upon their efforts. Our subject has been lie of whom we write was married in Strasburg, 

one of the fortunate ones, for although vet a very October 10, 1888, to Miss Mary Doehriim.a daugh- 



:;.",* 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fcer of Ernst F. and Mary (Wirth) Doehring, who 
are residents of Prairie Township. Mrs. Risser was 
born in Madison County, this State, September lx, 

1865. Dr. and Mrs. Risser are the proud parents 
of one child who bears the sweet Southern name of 
Nita. She was born August 5, 1889. Our subject 
and his wife are both members of the Lutheran 
Church. The\ are popular young people in Stras- 
burg, taking readily the social position to which 
their culture and natural advantages cut it le them. 
A lithographic portrait of Dr. Risser is presented 
on another page of this volume. 




hbt 



bILLIAM ELDER, now a retired banker, 
'/ living in Sullivan, was engaged in busi- 
ness here from 1870 until lXHo, during 
which time his bank was known as the Farmer's 
and Merchants' Hank, hut it was operated by our 
Subject as a private hank, and is now run in the 
same way by Mr. William Steele. William Elder 
came to this county in the fall of 1834, and has 
since made his home in what is now Moultrie 
County, with the exception of four years when he 
resided in Dallas County. Iowa. After coming 
here he took an interest in agriculture and im- 
proved three or four farms, taking them as raw 
Government land in their prairie state and trans- 
forming them into finely cultivated estates. 

Our subject came to this county from Morgan 
County, where he had lived with his parents lor 
a short time only. lie was horn in Jefferson 
County, Tenn., May 17. 1824, his father being of 
Tennessee birth and coming of Southern stock. 
The .Judge in his early days was a farmer, and 
while pursuing that calling was united in marriage 
with Miss Didana French, a native of North Caro- 
lina, who had he]' early education in Tennessee. 

After marriage .lames Elder and his wife lived 
for some years in Jefferson County. Tenn.. and in 
the spring of 1833 they set out for Illinois, coming 

according to the fashion of that day. with teams 

and wagons overland, cooking their meals by the 
roadside and camping out at night. They made 
their first settlement at what is tin' present site of 



Waverlv. Morgan County, where they remained 
for some eighteen months, after which they jour- 
neyed on to this section, where they secured and 
improved a new farm in Hast Nelson Township. 
Moultrie County. After a short time .lames Elder 
established a store in that part of the county and 
was one of the first merchants in this county and 
his trade extended throughout almost every town- 
ship, few of the pioneer families of the county 
failing to he included in his list of customers. In 
the fall of 1845 he sold out his store and coming 
to Sullivan, Intilt an hotel on the present site of 
the Eden House and also put up a store on an op- 
posite corner. His executive abilities were now 
severely taxed, as while carrying on the store and 
hotel he was also cultivating a farm. He finally 
closed out his business interests in the town and 
for a while devoted himself exclusively to agricul- 
ture. 

The first bank which Sullivan ever saw was the 
Elder Bank which was established by Judge James 
Elder in 1868, and which is perpetuated in the 
present existing bank. Heoperated this until 1870 
when, upon January (!. he passed away, being then 
well along in years, as he was horn in December. 
1803. He had served the county for a number of 
years as County Judge and has represented this 
district in the State Legislature for some years. He 
was a prominent man in the county for years, and 
highly respected in the Republican party, to which 
he attached himself after abandoning the old Whig- 
party of his early days. His excellent wifesur- 
vived him for several years, dying in 1882, having 
reached the limit of three-score years and ten. 
Throughout all her long .'mil godly life she has 
been a member, and a consistent one. of the Bap- 
tist Church of which her husband had also been a 
member during his earlier years, although later in 
life he identified hinself with the Methodist Epis- 
COpal ( 'hiirch. 

lie of whom we write is the eldest surviving 
member of the children of his parents. < >ne sister 
of his. Mrs. Dr. Lewis, lives in Texas; another sis- 
ter. Mary, is the wife of \Y. P. Corhin. a furniture 
dealer in Sullivan. The lady to whom Mr. Elder 
was united in marriage bore the name of Louisa 
Ewing and she was horn in White Count v. 111., 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



333 



May 11, 1828. Her father, Judge R B.Ewing was 
reared in Kentucky although a Tennesssean by 
birth, and came to White County. III., where early 
in the '20s he married Miss Elizabeth Culberson, 
after which he removed to Logan County and 
afterward to Moultrie County. He was for years 
Judge of both Moultrie and Logan Counties ami 
for many years held the office of . Justice of the 
l'eaee. lie was a leading man in that vicinity 
during the early days. He had been a merchant 
and farmer for years and came to Sullivan in its 
pioneer days, in fact before the organization of 
the county. 

Judije Ewing was a Representative in the Legis- 
lature of Illinois and served his constituent* well. 
lie was from early nianh 1 prominent in the Re- 
publican ranks and also a leading member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, filling the office of 
( llass-Leader for many years and preaching as a local 
minister on this circuit and in the county for many 
years. Many funerals in all parts of this county 
have demanded his services, and he was a leading 
man in everyway, lie wasborn in 1801, and died 
June ss, 1ST."), being full of years and honors. His 
widow >till survives, and now in her eighty-fourth 
year makes her home with her daughter, Mr-. 
Bristow. 

The wife of our subject is one of the five surviv- 
ing members of her parents' family. Three of 
her brothers were soldiers in the War of the Rebel- 
lion and all lived to see the old Hag triumphant 
and to return to their homes, two of them having 
since died. Mrs. Elder is a bright and very intel- 
ligent lady and is prominent in Sullivan church 
and social circles. Mr. Elder has tilled most of Un- 
church offices and is now Trustee of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, lie is a Republican in his 
political views and a stanch advocate of the prin- 
ciples and policy of the party which placed -old 
Abe" in the Presidential chair. He has met with 
some financial reverses but has never allowed a 
misfortune to place him where he could not hold 
up his head as an honest business man who is de- 
termined to deal with his fellow-citizens on the 
basis of integrity. 

The two children of our subject were Belinda 
Estella. a bright ami beautiful daughter who died 



at the age of sixteen years, and .lames \V.. who i- 
at present the Mayor of Sullivan and a stock-buyer 
in business, lie is a highly respected and promi- 
nent citizen of this city and i- united in marriage 
with a lovely and intelligent companion who bore 
the maiden name of .lulietta Newcome, and whose 
early home was in Mattoon, 111. Nine children 
have been born to them, two of whom. Louisa and 
James, have passed on to tin- care of tin- Good 
Shepherd above. Those who are living are: Will- 
iam ( ).. Arthur. Degratia, Belinda, Loanna, Lavina 
and Richard. 



V 



t^T REDERICK SCHUETZ, a prosperous farmer 
— to residing on section 29, Lowe Township, 
1 made his first settlement in Moultrie County 
in March, 1877. He was born in Prussia, Germany, 
January 19,1840, being the son of Frederick Schuetz 
who lived and died in his native land. This SOD 
Frederick is the only one of the family who has 
ever come to the United stall'.-. He left his native 
land in 1864 and - i landed in New York Har- 
bor where he at once took car- for the Great West, 
com in»' on without stopping to Bloomington, III. 
lie was now utterly alone and among stangers, as 
there was nota man. woman or child in the 1 nil i 1 1 
State- who was known to him. but he found that 
although in an alien land he was not outside the 
bound- of human kindness and friendliness, audit 
was not long before he felt at home even among 
strangers. He first served as a farmhand but finally 
decided to be more independent and having 
learned the method- of agriculture employed in 
this country, rented land and began to work it. 

The land which Mr. Schuetz first rented and 
which he took charge of in 1866 was located in 
McLean County, and he continued in that county 
for some seven years, after which he went to Piatt 
County and rented laud there and afterward re- 
moved from there to Moultrie County. He wa- now- 
prepared to purchase property and bought the 
land which he now own-, which wa- at that time 
but very little improved, being nearly all raw 



340 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



land. He now lias most of this under the plow 
and in a richly productive condition and has 
placed upon his farm a pleasant, commodious resi- 
dence. 

The marriage of our subject took place Febru- 
ary 26, 1*(!7. that united him with Mary Railing, 
who was born in Prussia, Germany, March '.K 1844. 
and came to the United States alone, being the 
only one of her family in this country. To this 
worthy couple Lave been horn ten children, namely: 
Minnie, horn October 2. 1867; Otto February 11. 
L869; Emma, November 22, 1870; Mary, October 
lit. 1X72; Fred, June 30, 1*7 1 : Sophia. August 6, 
1876; Lizzie. July 27. 1879; Willie. December 6, 
L881; Edward. May 27. 1885, and Lydia, Decem- 
ber .">. 1**7. 

Mr. Schuctz has a handsome farm of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres, which is now in fine condi- 
tion and very productive. It is in fact an ideal 
] i 1 i ii< lis. farm and well worthy the notice of the 
passerby. This worthy family are prominently 
identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
which thc\ are ever ready to assist in every good 
work and casl their influence upon the right side. 
The declarations of the Republican party embody 
the political belief of our subject and he casts his 
vote with the candidates of that party. 






\m 



■&.\ 



!i*=^ 



« felLLIAM r. McGUTRE belongs to one of 
\ / those Tennessee families who emigrated to 
V V Illinois many years ago and found upon 
the prairie the air of liberty and the institutions 
which (hey desired for their children. The year 
1850 is the date of his ti 1st coming to Moultrie 
County, and he has been in the business of mer- 
chandising most of the time since 1853. 

( >ur subject wa^. born in Jefferson County. Tenn., 
September 17. 1829, and is the son of Thomas and 
Rachel (Ashmore) McGuire, Tennesseeans by birth, 
of whom more is told at length in the biography 

of their son. Joseph II. McGuire, upon another 

page of this l k. Iii 1840 the family removed to 

Illinois anil made their first home in Colo ( ounly. 
where they resided until they came to this section. 



The early life of William McGuire was spent upon 
a farm and he assi>ted his father until he started 
out for himself. He thus gained a thorough knowl- 
edge of farm work and a sound and hearty con- 
stitution as well as invaluable habits of industry 
and application. 

Margaret Ashmore. a daughter of Alfred Ash- 
more, became the wife of our subject in 1856. she 
was horn in this county and had been brought up 
here and by the judicious training and education 
which had been given her she was well titled to till 
the position which she occupied. The ordinary 
trials of a young wife and housekeeper, were sup- 
plemented within four years after her marriage by 
the cares and anxieties which befell the wives of 
soldiers, fur in 1861 her husband enlisted in the 
service of his country, being mustered into service 
with Company F. Forty-ninth Illinois Infantry. 

The regiment with which our subject was con- 
nected was commanded by Col. William Morrison, 
and Mr. McGuire served under him, until 1863, 
when he received an honorable discharge on ac- 
count of a wound received in the battle of Ft. 
Donelson. This wound had very serious effect upon 
his constitution as the injury resulted in partially 
paralyzing his left side. After recruiting from tin- 
injury Mr. McGuire engaged in the business of 
merchandising at Bethany and has since that time 
continued in this line of work. 

A truly patriarchal family of twelve have clus- 
tered around the fireside of our subject, and nine 
of this number arc living, whose names arc as fol- 
lows: James I., an implement dealer in Bethany; 
Thomas a druggist of Bethany; William who is in 
the store with his father: Clarence, Claude, Mary 
I-',., wife of Thomas Lytic of Decatur: Rachel A.. 
Cora and Nannie. The members of the family 

Seem to inherit the ability and characteristics of their 
parents and although still young the sons and 
daughters are adding to the family reputation by 
their good judgment, business qualities and attrac- 
tive traits of character. 

The Republican party in its declarations em- 
bodies the political principles which our subject 

considers a -ale guide for State and nation. Mr 

has been a member of the Board of Supervisors for 
some fifteen years and Justice of the Peace for the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



3 1 1 



same length of time and still holds this latter 
office. For more than forty years be has been a 
member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
and for a number of years, lias served as Elder 
therein. He is identified with the Knights Tem- 
plar and also with the Grand Army of the Re- 
public, in which latter organization be has been 
Commander of the Washington Alexander Posl No. 
17ii. Aside from his business in Bethany he was 
for one year carrying on mercantile business in 
Dalton City. 



— <gy 



;>*<§^ 



JAMES GAVIN, an early settler of Mowea- 
qua Township, Shelby County, and one of 
the substantial, well-to-do farmers of this 

/ county, was horn in County Monaghan, Ire- 
land. November 1. 1*17. to Michael and Anna 
(Higgins) Gavin. His parents were also natives 
of that county, and his mother spenl her entire life 
there. The father and fiveof thechildren came to 
America, and the former passed his last years in the 
home of our subject. 

He of whom we write was reared to agricultural 
pursuits, and carried on his occupation on his na- 
tive soil until 1852, when he came to the United 
States, sailing from Liverpool and landing at New 
Orleans alter a voyage of nine weeks. He came 
from there to Naples, in tin- Slate, by the way of 
the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, and from there 
went to Exeter, Scott County. His means were 
very limited at that time, and he sought employ- 
ment on a farm to earn his living, lie worked by 
the month for a year, and then farmed as a renter 
the following live years. lie was industrious and 
frugal, anil at the end of that time had money 
enough saved so that he could purchase land of his 
own. and he became the possessor of ninety acres 
on section 28, Moweaqua Township, and ha- re- 
sided here continuously since. He has provided 
his homestead with a line set of frame buildings, 
and has added to his farm by further purchase so 
that it now comprises three hundred and sixty 
acres of choice land, that is well improved. He- 
sides this he owns four acres of land in the village 



of Moweaqua. and fourteen acres of land adjoining 
the village, which constitutes a valuable property. 

In 1868 Mr. Gavin look unto himself a wife in 
the person of Mrs. Ellen (Roche) Ilarty. who looks 
well after his comfort, and has materially aided 
him in the acquirement of his possessions. She 
was lii nil in Limerick. Ireland, in 1833. Her par- 
ents, David and Ellen Roche, came to this country 
ill 1852, resided in the State of New York until 
1858, and then came to Illinois. They lived in 
Decatur for a time, and then bought a farm in Ma- 
con County, where they dwelt some years. Dis- 
posing of that place, they removed to Moweaqua. 
where they passed their remaining years. 

Mrs. Gavin was first married to John Ilarty. a 
native of County Armaugh, Ireland, lie died in 
1866. Mr. and Mrs. Gavin have two children. 
Maria and .lames. The family are members of the 
Catholic Church, and are much esteemed in the 
community. Mr. Gavin is a true Democrat in 
politics. Heisan intelligent man. who is well read 
and posted on all general subjects, and in the man- 
agement of his affairs has shown himself to lie pos- 
sessed of sound discrimination, foresight, and an 
excellent knowledge of his calling. 



^p*v TJRTLS W. BROWN. The center ..f a great 
(ll n " r;, ' n producing country, the commercial 
^^&y populace abounds in middlemen who deal 

exclusively in the chief products of the State. 
Our subject, Mr. Brown, is one of these operators, 
being' a large grain dealer, buying from the farm- 
ers and finding a market in the eastern metropoli- 
tan cities. lie has displayed such quickness of 
perception, knowledge of the resources of the 
country and influences upon the trade, that he has 
gained the confidence of both factions or classes of 
people with whom he deals. The farmers know- 
that in selling to him. they get a reasonable price, 
and eastern buyers and elevator owners arc aware 
that the grains they get of him arc the best that 
the country produces, and are willing to make 
concessions in his favor. 

Like most of the inhabitants of the Central and 



342 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RKCORD. 



Western States even yet, our subject is of Eastern 
paientage, and also of birth. 1 1 is father was Job 
Brown, a native of New Jersey. His mother was 
Phoebe Williams, who was probably born in New 
York. They firsl settled in New Jersey where 
they continued to reside for five years, lie was a 
carpenter by trade and was constantly so employed 
in his early home. They removed from New 
Jersey to Ohio, and settled in Butler County, 
where they remained about two years, and then 
settled in Johnson County, hid., in the village of 
Edinburg. There they lived for nine years and 
then came to Illinois early in lsstio and settled in 
Clay County, where they remained until their 
dei -ease. 

Our subject is one of eighl children, the family 
comprising live sons and three daughters. Of 
these, he of whom we write was the eldest, having 
been born in New Jersey, August IK, 1 JS42. He 
made his home with his parents until he was about 
twenty years old, coming with them to this State 
early in the '60s, and with the exception of the 
time spent in the war. he has ever since here made 
his home, early engaging in business for himself 
and acquiring business ways and knowledge. 

When that terrible period in our country's 
history began, at the tiring of the first gun of Ft. 
Sumter, .Mr. Brown responded to the call for 
volunteers and enlisted in the army in 1862, 
joining Company C, of the Ninety-eighth Illinois 
Regiment. He served until tin' close of the war. 
seeing much hard fighting and a great ileal of 
both good and bad on both >ide>. He took part 
in the battles of Chickainauga, Mission Ridge, and 
was through the siege of Atlanta. Ga., at the 
battle of Selnia. Ala., at Montgomery and .Macon. 
Ga. lb- was so fortunate as throughout his 
service to have escaped >iekne^s and bore the hard- 
ships of army life with fortitude and an admirable 
spirit that made the best of all discomforts that 
could not lie remedied. He received his discharge a1 
Springfield, this State, after which he returned to ; 
(lay County, 111.. .'iid engaged in farming, 
remaining there frore 1869 until the fall of 1872, 

when hi- came to Moultrie County. 

Upon M'ttlini_ r in this county, the gentleman of 
whom we write engaged in farming and stoek 



raising, his residence and place of business being 
in Dora Township. lie was thus occupied for 
nearly seven years, when he removed to Lovington 
Township, and has here resided for two years. 
during which time he was engaged in farming. 
The next change was made to the village of 
Lovington, and here he has been engaged in 
active commercial business. He has sold agri- 
cultural implements and dealt largely in stock, the 
grain business, however, occupying the greater 
portion of his time and attention. 

Curtis W. Brown left the bachelor ranks when 
in Clay County. 111., and February 3, 1866, was 
united in marriage to Miss Minerva Price, who 
was a native of the same county in which their 
marriage was solemnized. Mrs. Brown is an 
admirable lady and has been a true helpmate and 
companion to her husband. The rearing of her 
family has not left her a great (leal of time for 
social pleasures, for she has had the care as well 
as maternal duties, of ten children. Their names 
are as follows: l-.lnia. Mollie. Guy, James. Iuis, 
Charles, Albert. Emma, Ida and William. Most of 
the children arc sturdy and original young people. 
with a strong vital energy, and having ideas of 
their own regarding their individual and personal 
rights. 

Politically, our subject ca>t> his vote with the 
Republican parly, having great faith in the leaders 
and executives that in the wisdom of the party 
have been placed at the head of the nation. That 

his fellow-townsmen have reposed the greatest 

confidence m his judgment and intelligence and 

ability as a manager, is evidenced by the fact that 

he has been appointed to many local offices in the 
gift of the township. While in Clay County, for 

two years he hehl tin' office of Collector, and also 
served as Sel 1 Director and Highway Commis- 
sioner. Since coming to Lovington Township he 
has filled most acceptably the chair of Supervisor 
for a space of one year, and has also been a 
member of the Village Board. In his social rela- 
tions he i> a member of the Masonic fraternity 
ami also belongs to the Lovington l'ost of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. Mr. Brown is a 
public spirited and generous man and has always 
shown himself ready in any time of emergency' 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



343 



either for the country :it large, or the locality in 
which he resides, to become an active and respon- 
sible party in the upholding <>f the principles <>1' 
righl and justice. 




AMUEL F. GAMM1LL. There is no 
broader field for a man to become familiar 
with the phases of human nature, than in 
the business of a merchant, nor can one 
gain a more intimate knowledge of family life, 
unless it be in the legal profession, and a broad- 
sonled man who is in sympathy with his fellow- 
creatures has in this calling an unparalleled oppor- 
tunity for doing good. Especially is this true of 
one engaged in general merchandise, for one will 
make many sacrifices of pride and self-respect if 
one family is in need of the necessities Of lite, and 
happy is the man whose position enables him to 
respond to his generous impulses and relieve these 
necessities. 

The gentleman of whom it is our pleasure and 
privilege to here give a short biographical sketch 
is a general merchant in the village of (Jays being 
the oldest merchant here wlio has been thus en- 
gaged. He was born in Whitley Township, this 
State, June 2(1, 1841, and is a son of Andrew and 
.lane (Whittes) Gammill, both natives of North 
Carolina, who with their respective families, moved 
to Tennessee. Our subject was but two years old 
at the time of his emigration to that State, having 
been carried thither on horseback from North 
Carolina to Tennessee, in which county the young 
people married, and after which in 1832, thc\ emi- 
grated to this state, settling in Whitley Township, 

being among the firsl settlers on Whitley (reek. 
There they entered some land and pursued their 
calling of farming. They continued to reside 
here, with the exception of the years |S|7 and 
1848, when the;) lived in Coles County, one year 
of which time they made their home in the house 
built and formerly occupied by Thomas Lincoln, 
father of Abraham Lincoln. 

The father of our subject died in 1867, at the 



!ige of sixty-seven years. The mother passed 

away in 1876 at the age of seventy-four \ ears. 
For years they had been consistent and conscien- 
tious members of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. Flcven children clustered about their 

fireside and board. One of these dieel in child- 
hood and ten lived to be grown. They are by 
name Adaline, Caroline Lucinda, William .lames, 
.lames Newton. Madeline. Louisa. Samuel F. ami 
Nancy I., and F.lein W. Adaline married Joseph 
Hendricks, and died at Ottumwa, Iowa. Caroline 
married John Shoemaker, of Coles County; Lu- 
cinda was united to J. H. Whetstone, of l'omona, 
Kan. William resides in Woodford, Cal. .lames 
was a member of Company E. of the Fifth Illinois 
Cavalry, and died of smallpox, while in service. 
.lames Newton is a resident of Hickman. Neb. 
Madeline is the wife of John T. Alexander, of 
Ottawa, Kan. Louisa has been three times wid- 
owed, her first husband was George Curry, the 
second was James Kennel', and the third Joseph 
Havden. She now resides at l'omona. Kan. 
Flem W. is the wife of Thomas Kimball of Whitley 
Township. 

Our subject was reared upon a farm. His 
school days were limited but being an ambitious 
boy and fond of reading, he made up by outside 
work, many of the deficiencies of his school life. 
During the early part of the war. soon after the 
firing of the first gun, our subject enlisted. Sep- 
tember 7, 1861, and was mustered into service with 
Company II. of the Seventh Illinois Cavalry. He 
was mustered out November 1. 1865, having re- 
enlisted in 1864. Hi' entered as a private, but 
was advanced to the post of First Lieutenant. 
having tilled all the ranks below, except those of 
Orderly Sergeant and Second Lieutenant. That 
lone- period of bloodshed was one in which our 

subject lived a life-time of adventure and experi- 
ence, most of which was of a bloody and terrible 
character. He was a participant in the following 
engagements: that of Madron. Mo.. Corinth, and 
was in the lead of Grant's army to Coffeyville, 
Miss., on the Grierson raid from LaGrange, Tenn., 
April 16. 186:!. and landed at Baton Rouge, La.. 
May 2. 1862. During this march they covered 
eiuht hundred and fifty-three miles and the raid is 



:;i I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



memorable in the memory of him of whom we 
write as being the hardest trip taken during the 
war. lie was also present at the siege of Ft. 
Hudson, a participant in the battle of Collierville, 
Tenn., Campbellville, Tenn., and was with ( ten. 
Smitli in Mississippi, starting with his army in 
February of 1864. The battle of Nashville, Tenn., 
September 15 and 1(1. 1864, has left a deep and 
lasting impression on the memory of our subject. 
He also took part in several minor engagements. 
On returning home, Mr. Gammill resinned farm- 
ing and in 1869 came to (Jays and established his 
present business house. IIi> marriage took place 
in l*7:i when lie was united to Margaret C. Wilson. 
a daughter of John and Charity Wilson. She was 
bom in Ash Grove Township,Shelby County. Four 
children have been the outcome of this marriage. 
Their names arc Mack. Tola J., Stella May. and 
one who died in infancy. Mr. Gammill affiliates 
with the Republican party and in recognition of 
his loyalty as well a> his fitness as a man of intel- 
ligence and firm standing in the community, he 
was appointed Postmaster at (lays, which position 
he held for twelve years, in his religious prefer- 
ence, he with his wile, is a member of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church. He i> one of the thin- 
ning ranks of the (.rand Army of the Republic, 
being a veteran who thoroughly enjoys, when at 
reunions, a recital of tin' striking experiences that 
he or other comrades had while in the war. Not 

slow to recognize bravery in friend or foe. many 
a piquant and spicy story is at his tongue's end. 




\ I 



»II.I.IAM KAMI'/.. One of the substan- 



i I tial farmers of the township anil a man 
y V who. having had experience in two coun- 
tries in his chosen calling, and having profited by 
the example and results in original experiments 
among the Germans in an agricultural way, Mr. 
Kanitz has been enabled to make a success of buc- 

COlic life, that while it has not been void of pleas- 
ure' and beauty, has been an advantage to him 
pecuniarily. He is now a resident <m section 34, 
of Lowe Township, Moultrie County, whereon he 



has a line farm that boasts of the best improve- 
ments. It is as fertile and prolific as constant cul- 
tivation and intelligent care will make it. 

Mr. Kanitz is a native of Germany, as hi- name 
would indicate, having been born in Saxony, 
March 2(1. 1830, and being a son of Godfried and 
Theresa Kanitz. There were seven children in the 
family, four sons and three daughters, and of these 
three sons were attracted to the United States by 
the superior advantages that it offered young men 
who are industrious and ambitious to acquire 
homes and fortunes for themselves. The three 
who came hither are Charles, who is a fanner in 
Moultrie County. Edward, who. however, was 
killed by lightning in Christian County, this State, 
and our subject. 

The original of our sketch passed his boyhood 
on the farm in his native land, and in addition to 
the manifold duties of the fanner's lad. which he 
early learned, he acquired the miller's trade, and 
having this for his main resource, in 1853, ac- 
companied by his brother Charles, he came to the 
United Stales. Their passage hither was made in 
a sailing vessel which landed in New Orleans, and 
in that strange cosmopolitan city, they met many 
of their own countrymen, and divers were the ad- 
vices given the young nun as to the best place to 

locate, but with a customary German confidence 
in one's own judgment, they determined to decide 
that important matter for themselves. They went 
to St. Louis and were occupied in that cit\ as 
common laborers. At the time, our subject was 
afflicted with that dread disease which attacks 
mam foreigners who have not yel become ac- 
climated, and many a time, while shaking with 
ague, has he longed for his native land, but he 
was in the position of the general who had burned 
his bridges behind him, for he was without money, 

and so obliged to remain here. 

In 1854, he of whom we write came to this state 
and located in Sangamon County, where he was 
engaged for several years as a farm hand. From 
there he went to Marion County, and four years 
later, in [871, he came to Moultrie County, first 
settling in Arthur, where he purchased some land, 
a part of which, however, he donated for railroad 

purpose-. In 1874 he traded this land for that 






<V- 



•^J& 



-«v* 





QM1A- 




fj 4 



CAAlZ^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



3 1 7 



which lie now owns in Lowe Township, lie is now 
the proprietor of three hundred and sixty acres of 
good land which beat's fair improvement. Al- 
though he is m general farmer, Cor some • ears he 
has followed stock-raising and in that specialty 
has made great advancement in the breeding of 
fine stock. 

Mr. Kanitz, while in St. Louis, took upon him- 
self the responsibilities and obligations of married 
life. In 1856 he was married to Caroline llines, 
who was horn in Lowenstein, Germany. She came 
with our subject and one brother to this country, 
and the friendship that was formed on the way 
over ripened into an affection that ended in a 
wedding. .Mr. Kanitz's brother, with whom she 
came hither, was by name Frank limes who died 
later in .Montana. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kanitz are the parents of nine chil- 
dren whose names are Richard. Frank. Henry. 
Joseph, Charles, Emma, Josephine. Ella and Anna. 
They are all bright and intelligent young people, 
who are bound to make themselves a place in the 
world. Politically our subject is a Democrat, his 
early training preparing him for a recognition of 
the merits and advantages of that party. In his 
church relations, he with his amiable and admirable 
wife who has ever been a loving and tender help- 
mate to him and a fond and careful mother, is a 
Baptist. 



VXIEI, YANTIS. The mind of a man who 
J has lived four-score years, is to him a kinu- 
p^K ilniii in which he can send out the mes- 
sengers and servants of thought, memory 
and reflection, and live over the pleasures of the 
past that have grown intense under the magnify- 
ing influence of time. He realizes in a subdued 
way the pains which at the time of their experi- 
ence, seemed tragedies, modified and made inter- 
esting by the lapse of years. Content has come to 
gently round off the afternoon with its golden glow 
of sunset. Our subject, who has ascended the sun- 
lit heights, looks hack over a broad expanse of ex- 



perience in :i land where experiences are ever fresh 

and invigorating. 

On the opposite page appears a portrait of Mr. 
Yantis. who is an old settler and successful farmer 
and stock-raiser living on his homestead, located 
on sections 211 and .10. of Pickaway Township. 
Shelby County. This tine farm is the same which 
he secured from the Government in a raw. prairie 

state uprising two hundred and forty acres. His 

purchase was made in 1853, and since that time he 
has bent every effort to making the farm a model 
of agricultural neatness and productiveness. Our 
subject came here from Pickaway County, Ohio. 
lie was born September 15, 1^11. in Frederick 
County. Md. His father was Henry Vantis.a native of 
Maryland and his paternal grandfather was John 
Yantis, who came to America from Germany prii >r to 
the Revolutionary War and made settlement in 
Maryland. As far as our subject knows, his grand- 
father did not. however, take part in the war. but 
after the death of his wife, he went to Ohio with 
his sons, where he remained until his death. His 
wife was a native of Maryland, who lived and died 
there at an advanced age. 

It was about 1815whenJohn Yantis, our subject's 
grandfather, came with his grown sons to Picka- 
way County, and there he lived for a time in the 
unbroken wilderness. After a time he went with 
his son William to Franklin County. Ohio. at which 
place he died when past ninety years of age. His 
death, however, was caused by an accident while 
he was assisting his son in rolling logs. He and 
his wife were members of the Presbyterian 
Church and politically he wasa Democrat. Henry 
Yantis. the father of our subject, was probably the 
eldest of his father's children, of whom there were 
seven. four sons and three daughters. He attained his 
growth and manhood in Frederick County, Ohio. 
and was married to Miss Catherine Yantis, an own 
cousin, whose father had emigrated from Germany. 
The parental family comprised five children, 
namely: Lydia, Solomon. Elizabeth and Catherine, 
besides the subject of this notice, the latter being 
the only one now living. 

Our subject's family settled in Pickaway County. 
Ohio, when he was but a lad and they there began 
life as pioneers in the woods. Henry Yantis and 



:U8 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his two suns cleared three farms in thai county and 
there our subject's father died when at the age of 
eighty-seven years and nine months. His wife 
had preceded him to a better world some time 
at the age of seventy- live years. They were mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church and were good, 
true, unaffected pioneer people. Our subject he- 
came of age in Pickaway County and there in 1833 
married Elizabeth Longenbach^ a sister of [saac 
Longenbach, a history of whom may be found un- 
der the biographical sketch in another part of this 
volume. 

Mrs. Yantis was reared in Pickaway County. The 
young couple took up the burdens and joys of life 
together and after the birth of all their children 
but one, they left Ohio, coming with teams by way 
of the overland route and living a camp life on the 
way. They made the journey one of pleasure in- 
stead of discomfort and enjoyed the trip probably 
more thoroughly than do we of to-day, who are 
hurried from one end of the country to another in 
the space of a few hours. They reached theirdestina- 
tion without accident, and at once settled on the 
tract which Mr. Yantis had secured previous to 
bringing his family hither, havingmade a journey 
on horseback and reconnoitered the country well 
in order to select a good location. They began life 

in their new lionu an entirely unbroken farm, 

and although then- were many privations and in- 
con veniences in living so far from neighbors, they 
made the conditions as pleasant as possible and the 
children grew up knowing that they held resources 
within themselves irrespective of others. 

After securing their home, our subject, and his 
wife took pleasure in bringing about them com- 
forts and even luxuries of life. They put upgood 
buildings <>n their place ami as they were the rep- 
resentative people of their township and leading 
citizens thereof, they were naturally the center of 
social life. Mrs. Yantis passed to the other world 
February Hi, 1890, alter having lived with her 
husband in a close and tender companionship for 
fifty-seven years, she was born December 2, 1809. 

She was a noble w an being of the liber of which 

heroines are made, and her character was beautified 
by a lovely temperament and genial, kindly man- 
ners. She was a good wife and mother and a kind. 



thoughtful neighbor. She was the mother of fifteen 
children, six of whom, however, died. They were 
Mary, David. Mary. Sarah, Lydia and Jacob. 

The living are: Samuel, George, Henry, Solomon, 
Elenore, Isaac, Daniel. Barbara and John W. George 
\V. i> a farmer in this township, ami made mistress 
of his heart and home. Miss Lucinda Tolly, who 
died, and he later married Mrs. Mollie smith. 
Henry is a merchant in Vantisville. this township, 
and married Barbara Longenbach. A biographical 
sketch of Solomon may be found in another part 
of this volume. Elenore is the wife of Nathan Kil- 
lam, and now resides in Elk County. Kan., on a 
farm. Isaac took to wilt- Emma Pogue, and lives 
in Moultrie County. Daniel is the proprietor of a 
livery stable at King City, Mo. He took to wife 
Mary A. Klar. Barbara is the wife of .lames Mur- 
cer and they live on a farm in Texas County, Mo. 
John, who i> a resident of Shelby ville, first married 
Lucy .lames, who died, and afterward took to wife 
her sister Cordelia- 
Mr. and Mrs. Yantis have for years been mem- 
bers of the Reformed Presbyterian Church and are 
highly regarded among the people, lie has been 
the Assessor of the township for three years and 
has had other local offices. He is an adherent of 
the Democratic party both by tradition anil con- 
viction, for. as will be seen above, his father and 
grandfather before him were followers of thai party. 

Our subject cast his first Presidential vote for lien, 
.lacksi in. 







EN.IAMIN F. M« MKNNAMY. M. D. The 
life of a country physician is one of many 
trials and hardships and yet of real satis 
faction in consideration of the fact that 
the one who lills this place is of value to a 
large community of families. To him lhe\ appeal 
in times Of distress and sorrow. lb' is the first 
one to whom they turn for sympathy when a new 
life begins and an old one passes away and his is 
the kind hand which administers relief during 
days and weeks of Suffering and languor. One 

who worthily appreciates his opportunities for in- 



PORTRAIT AND UK >< ! RAI'HICAL RECORD. 



349 



Buence in this capacity can do perhaps more to 
establish a proper standard of living in a country 
community than any other man. not even except- 
ing the spiritual adviser. Such an opportunitj has 
been appreciated and improved by the worthy 
gentleman whose name appeal's at the head of this 
paragraph, and whose pleasant home is at Bethany, 
Moultrie County. 

Dr. McMennamy came to Bethany in 1876, and 
is a native of Macon County, this State where he 
was born October 21, 1847, being a son of John 
II. and Nancy (Hill) McMennamy. John McMen- 
namy, the grandfather of our subject, located in 
Macon County at a very early date, settling on a 
farm there, and when the county was organized 
he was made its first sheriff. He subsequently re- 
moved to Texas where he died in Grayson County. 

The father of our subjeel was born in Tenn- 
essee and came with the family to Illinois, and 
there married a Miss Clark, after which ho remov- 
ed to Texas where his wife died. Subsequent to 
this he returned to Macon County, this State, and 



28th of May to Anna E. Smith, daughter of 
S. King Smith of Ml. /ion. This lady was horn 
in Princeton, Ky., September 7. 1852, and to her 
have been given four children, the two who are 
living being Francis Earl and Clifford Dale. He- 
sides the practice of medicine the Doctor carried 
on a drug business in Bethany from 1K77 to 1886. 

The declaration and platform of the Democratic 
party express the political views of Dr. McMen- 
namy. but although he has held some local offices 
he takes only a modicum of interest in political 
movements, especially upon the local Stage. He, 
however, believes it to be the duty of every loyal 
citizen to cast his vote upon every occasion when 
a question comes up for decision or a name i> 
presented for office, as only by doing so can the 
rights of citizenship be maintained. 

An excellent and extensive practice has been built 
up by this worthy physician and as it is found- 
ed upon his devotion to his profession and to the 
humane interests of his calling, and has been car- 
ried on with unflagging interest and enthusiasm. 



married Nancy Hill who became the mother of our coupled with true research and scientific study, it 

is a practice which will continue to improve in 
both quality and extent for many years. Both he 
and his lovely and capable companion are mem- 
bers and active workers in the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian Church and their pleasant home is the 
scene of many social reunions among tin- hot 
circles of Bethany. The Doctor is also identified 
with tin- Ionic Lodge, No. 312 A. K. A- A. M. Ib- 
is also a member of the Central District Medical 
Society and the Illinois State Medical Society. 



Subject and two other children, none hut Ben- 
jamin, however, having survived. Their mother 
died in Macon County in 1849, and in 1X7H the 
father again removed to Texas and there died the 
the following year. 

The early life of our .subject was passed upon 
the farm and he received his education ai a semin- 
ary which was then located at Mt. Zion, and so 
well did he avail himself of his opportunities for 
instruction that he was soon fitted for the profes- 
sion of a teacher, which he pursued for a number 
Of years. In 1869, after he had reached his maj- 
ority, he took up tin 1 study of medicine with Dr. 
N. G. Blalock. then a well-known practitioner of 
Mt. /.ion. hut now making his home in Walla 
Walla. Wash., and in 1N72 graduated from the 
Chicago Medical College. The first place at which 
the young doctor hung out his professional shingle 
was at Mt. /ion. lint after he had attained a little 
more experience he decided to come to Bethany, 
as he believed that he would here find a better 
field for the fulfilment of his ambition. 

The same year in which our subject took 
his degree he was united in marriage upon the 



"S) 



^H^ 



.= 




F LEXANDER WARD. Whether it is that 
Shelby County is especially notable for 
the longevity Of its inhabitants or not. the 
>J writer is not certain. It is a fact, how- 

ever, that almost all of the gentlemen whose history 
it has been our pleasure to write, have passed the 
meridian of life and tin majority of them are 
pioneer settlers who can look back upon the growth 
of the county from the earliest occupancy, when 
deer, and wild turkeys were much more fre- 



350 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



quently seen than the face of a neighbor. Our 
subject is one of the many whose experience in- 
cludes the changes through which his vicinity and 
county have passed. Now residing on section I. 
Ridge Township, he was born April 21. 1 833, in 
( )k:nv Township, and isa son of John and Cather- 
ine ( Loin) Ward. 

The grandfather of our subject, James Ward, 
resided in Kentucky, and thence three of his sons. 
namely, William L., John and James, came to 
Shelby County. Of these. William L. first came, 
his advent being in 1K2K. He located in what is 
now known as Todd's Point, where lie entered a 
tract of land upon which he resided until about 
1 Mf>(>. when he removed to Pickaway Township, 
residing there until his death, which occurred in 
July, 1*72. James Ward came to the comity in 
1845 and resided in Okaw Township. Later he 
removed to Dry Point where he died about the 
year 18li(i. John Ward was born in Trumbull 
County, Ohio, hut when very young his parents 
removed to Kentucky, where he grew to manhood. 
He first came to Illinois in 1830, stopping for a 
time in Shelby County and then went back to 
Kentucky, but in 1K.">2 he again returned to Shelby 
County, and in August, that year, was united in 
marriage to Catherine Lohr, who was reared in the 
same neighborhood with her husband in Kentucky. 
At the time of her marriage her home was in 
Morgan County. 111., where her family were early 
settlers. 

After marriage the young couple located in < tkaw 
Township where they entered laud and experienced 
all the ups and downs of pioneer life. He was. 
however, successful and became the owner of over 

two thousand acre- of land, a large proportion of 
which he himself entered. He followed stock-rais- 
ing principally, being especially interested in the 
breeding Of cattle and mules. He died in March. 
1880, being over seventy years of age. His wife 
died iii L870. He was always interested in politics, 
both national and local. At lirst belonging to the 
old-line WTiig party, he afterward became a Repub- 
lican. IK- was a member of the Christian Church, 
being a generous supporter of the same. He was 
a broad-minded, public-spirited man. interested in 
all public enterprises that promised to be to the 



advantage of the people. He was well and favor- 
ably known throughout Shelby County as a man 
of unstained honor and integrity. 

John and Catherine Ward were the parents of 
eleven children, one of whom died in infancy, one 
in childhood and one daughter was accidentally 
killed when ten years of auc Eighl of the chil- 
dren lived to lie grown; of these our subject is the 

eldest; .lame- W. lives in Decatur. 111.: Lucinda i- 
the wife of .lames Sudduth and resides in Spring- 
field, .Mo.; John W. died in Okaw Township; 
Charles resides in Shelby ville; George W. died in 
the latter place; Elizabeth is the wife of George 
A. Roberts and lives in Shelby ville. and Benjamin 

F. makes his home in Lincoln. Neb. 
Our subject grew to manhood in his native town- 
ship and he distinctly remembers pioneer days 
when deer and other game were plentiful. He at- 
tended such school.-, as were provided and in Sep- 
tember. 1859, was married to Cordelia Van Ilise. a 
daughter of James II. and Sarah Van Ilise. She 
was born in Fairfield County. Ohio. December 2. 
1838. The first home of the young couple was 
upon the place where he now resides. It then, 
however, comprised only ten acres of ground, 
hemmed in by a rail fence, their lirst dwelling be 
ing a Log cabin which was primitive, indeed. Four 
years after marriage the log cabin gave way to his 
present residence, and since that time he has madi 
many chanties in his home and placed many sub- 
stantial improvements upon his place. Mr. War* 
is now the owner of six hundred acres of land. 
three hundred and seventy-three acres being lo- 
cated in Shelby County, and the balance in Moul- 
trie County, on which he has g 1 buildings. 

Five children are the fruit of the union of our 
subject and his estimable wife. They arc. Abraham 
L.. Catherine. Edward 8., George A. ami Ulysses 

G. Mr. Ward is a stanch Republican in politics 
and always votes at general elections for the man 
he believe- best litted for tin otlicc. He himself 
has never been ambitious to lie an office-holder. 
Socially he is a member of the Association of 

United Workmen. Our subject is especially in- 
terested ami engaged in the stock business, buying, 

breeding, Shipping, etc.. stock to the metropolitan 
markets. His history in itself is an apt illustration 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



351 



of what a 111:111 may accomplish in the fertile lands 
of the Middle States, by hi* own efforts, alone and 
unaided, but with ambition, industry and per- 
severance. 



Hah 



f* 



HARLES W. DICK. Among the prominent 
- agriculturists of Lowe Township. Moultrie 
County, who had their birth across the seas 
but who have brought to their adopted country 
the valuable characteristics which belong to the 
men of their native land is the resident on section 
8, whose name appeal's at the head of this sketch. 
His parents. Charles and Fredericks (Ilinnak) 
Dick, were liom in Germany and spent their 
days in their native land. Our subject was the 
only child by this marriage and was born in Zeitz, 
Germany, December 18. \x->:,. 

After receiving the ordinary education provided 
for the German youth, our subject upon reaching 
manhood learned the trade of a weaver and be- ■ 
came a journeyman, working at his trade in 
various parts of the country. He emigrated from 
Germany to America in 1854. landing in Sew 
York in September of that year. Traveling Wes1 
lie came to Columbus, Ohio, where he found em- 
ployment in Pickaway County, Ohio, busying him- 
self at farm labor at the wages of x ' s per month. 
working for such wages two years. 

The marriage of our subject look place in Pick- 
away County, Ohio, June l<t. 1856, his bride being 
Miss Anna R. Herrmann who was born in Shwele- 
walte, Germany, December lit. 1s.'!l'. Her parents 
were Gottlieb and Eva li. (Schnyder) Herrmann, 
both of German birth and who died in the old 
country. Mis. Dick came to America in 1855, mak- 
ing her home iii Pickaway County and lived there 
and in Madison County, Ohio, until 1862, when 
ihe\ came to Illinois and settled in Moultrie 
County. They tried various parts of Moultrie 
County, living for two years in Lovington Town- 
ship then in Lowe Township where tliev have since 
1m en residents. 

Mr. and Mis. Dick have been the happj parents 
Of seven children, two Of whom tliev were called 



upon to resign to the Good Shepherd. Those still 

living are: Henry L. who married Dora Koken- 
doffer; John W.; Samuel who married Hattie Mor- 
row; Sarah M., wife of James A. Hook, and Louisa 
A. who is an accomplished lady and school teacher. 
Since coming to America this gentleman has de- 
voted himself entirely to agricultural pursuits as 
he found this more profitable upon our fertile soil 
than the pursuit of his trade. He owns one hun- 
dred and sixty acres and has made excellent im- 
provements upon his farm. He lias tilled and tilled 
well some of the local offices in the township and 
is highly respected not only by his neighbors but 
by all with whom he came in official relations. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dick are members ot the German 
Baptist Church, and in their religious connections 
are highly honored for their true Christian lives 
and earnest helpfulness in every good cause. Mr. 
Dick is a public-spirited man and an earnest pro- 
moter of every movement looking to the progress 
of Lowe Township and Moultrie County. 



/ 



•5-==*: 



OHM BUSHART. It has with too many been 
the belief that if a man is once a farmer he 
must always continue to be a drudge, and 
that his working days would only end with 
his call to the grave; but many are finding that 
this is not so. and thai by hard work, enterprise 
and thrift in their early days and through the 
strong 'period of middle life they may so arrange 
their affairs as to take comfort during their declin- 
ing years. This has been the case with the retired 
farmer whose name appears at the head of this 
writing, and whose resilience in Moultrie County, 
dates from L855. 

Mr. Bushart was bom in Perry County, Ohio, 
November 15, 1822, hi- worthy and respected par- 
ents being Jacob and Magdalena (Croomrine) 
Bushart, both of them natives of Pennsylvania. 
I'lii'\ resided on a farm in Perry County, Ohio, f<Jr 
some years after their son John came to Illinois, 
when they followed him and made their home with 



352 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



this son. until the death of the father .-it the age of 
nearly ninety years, and thai of tin' mother al the 
age of eighty-two. 

The seven children of ilii- excellent couple were 
oursubject; William, who was a soldier in the One 
Hundred :in<l sixteenth Illinois Infantry, and was ; 
mortally wounded at the battle of Vicksburg; Sam- 
uel, who i- a farmer in .Moultrie County; Elizabeth, 
who married Charles Tharp and resides in Allen 
County, Ohio; Sarah J., who married Joseph Smutz 
and lives at Cerro Gordo, 111.: Jacob, who was a 
soldier in an Ohio Regiment and was killed at 
Muifreeslioro; and Eliza, who married John Goetz, 
of Moultrie County. 

The subject of thi- sketch is the oldest of the 
family, and was reared upon the farm, his school 
days being ver\ limited. When quite young he 
engaged as a farm hand, working by the month. 
and early struck out for himself. When twenty- 
two year- he resolved to establish a home of his 
own and took to himself a wife in the person of 
Catherine Patterson, daughter of Alexander Pat- 
terson, she was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
where .Mr. Bushart was residing at tin 1 time of their 
marriage, his parents having removed to that 
county when lie was bu1 a hoy. After marriage lie 
worked al farming with the exception of three 
years when he was in other business. 

Iii 1855 John Bushart came to the Prairie State, 
and as he was still a | r man and unable to pur- 
chase a farm, he rented land and worked as besl 
he could. About two years after coming to Moul- 
trie County, he had accumulated some money and 
purchased forty acres of raw land, going in debl 
for a part of it. lie worked hard to pay off this 
indebtedness, and before he had completed the pay- 
ment, he purchased more. By ureal exertion and 
due economy In' succeeded in his endeavors. He 
continued farming until the fall of 1889, when he 
retired from active life, being then the owner of 
four hundred and fifty-nine acres of land, upon 

which lie had placed good improvements, and in 
which lie has laid over fifteen mile.- of tiling. In 
1887 he purchased fourteen acre- of land in Beth- 
any, on which he erected one of the handsomest 
and most comfortable homes to he found in Moul- 
trie County. This i- situated in grounds which 



have been adorned and beautified, and here he and 
his interesting wife find a happy home. 

While on the farm. Mr. Bushart paid consider- 
able attention to stock-raising, and also bought and 
-old live stock. All but one of the seven children 
of this family are still in life and health. They 
are as follows: Mary E.: Eli. who died at the age 
of thirteen years; George W., a farmer in Missouri: 
John J., Sarah J.. Laura, the wife of X. B. Allison, 
of Mattoon. 111.: and Tunis V .. who married Lydia 
llagerman. 

The political belief of Mr. Bushart is in accord- 
ance with the declaration of the Republican party, 
in the prosperity of which he feel- ureal interest. 
Before removing to Bethany he resided in Dora 
Township, and while there held various local offices, 
which he always rilled conscientiously and with 
benefit to the community, lie is a man of deep re- 
ligious convictions, and has long been a member 
of the ( Christian Church. 



[0< 



•1[ 




A RUN LANJXiREBE. The great com- 
monwealth of Illinois is the home of many 
self-made men. but none whose Lives afford 
a better example of untiring industry, 
faithfulness and zeal in personal affairs, than can 
lie found in the subject of this brief biographical 
notice. He owns and occupies a farm in Moultrie 
County, consisting of one hundred and twenty 
acres pleasantly located on section 10, Lowe Town- 
ship. He has erected thereon a comfortable and 
substantial dwelling, good barns and other out- 
buildings, and is successfully carrying on mixed 
farming, lie and his faithful wife ha ve done much 
hard work, and their home is the result of labor 
upon which they may well look back with mingled 
feelings of sorrow and joy. 

Germany is the native home of Mr. Landgrebe, 
and he was born June 28, 1889. His parents, also 
native- of the I-'atlicrland. bore the names of Jacob 
and Christine (Fisher) Landgrebe. After their 
marriage in Germany they settled first in their na- 
tive land, whence they removed in 1857 to Amer- 
ica. Their first home in the United States was in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



353 



Sangamon County, 111., when' they sojourned until 
1866, being employedas farmers. Thence they re- 
moved to Moultrie County and settled in Lowe 
Township, where the mother died Augusl 3, 1878. 
The father still survives and makes his home in 
Lowe Township. Through bis unceasing efforts be 
has become well-to-do, and better than worldly 
prosperity, has by his honorable dealings and up- 
right life, gained the confidence of all. 

The birth of Martin Landgrebe took place in 
Germany, June 8, 1839, and he was the third of 
the eight children born t<> his parents. When his 
father and mother crossed the broad Atlantic to 
make a home in America, he accompanied them 
and with them located firsl in Sangamon County, 
and later in .Moultrie County. His youth was 
passed in much the usual manner of farmers' hoys 
at thai early day. and the education which lie 
gleaned from the ordinary text books of the times, 
while not extensive, was very thorough. Through 
subsequent reading he has become well informed 
on all subjects of importance, and'being a pleasant 
conversationalist, is very popular. 

The presiding genius in the home of Mr. Land- 
grebe is the lady who became his wife October 1, 
1863, and who was known in maidenhood as Sarah 
Ann Harbur. She is the daughter of Levi and 
Mary (Sawyer) Harbur, who died in Sangamon 
County. 111. Mrs. Landgrebe was born in Sanga- 
mon County. February 16, 1845, and received not 
only a good common-school education, but also that 
careful home instruction which fitted her for the 
duties of wifehood and motherhood, and have 
given her a prominent place in the society of this 
locality. (If the eleven children horn to them, six 
are living, viz: Mary C, horn August f>. 186;"). and 
is the wife of John Schable; Jacob I... horn Decem- 
ber 17. 1866, who married Ruth Shonkwilea; I.ana 
E., bom April 3, 1871; Joseph W., September 6, 
1873; Benjamin F., December 29, 1x77; and Daisy 
I).. February 16, 1882. 

Mr. Landgrebe dates his arrival in this county 
from the year 18(i7. when he settled on section 10. 
I. owe Township. He has embellished his farm with 
all modern improvements and buildings, and has 
placed the entire tract under good cultivation, lie 
lias taken an active part in local affairs, votes (he 



Democratic ticket, and has held the otticesof High- 
way Commissioner and School Director a number 
of years, and is now School Trustee to the satisfac- 
tion of all concerned. A devout Christian, his 
membership is in the Missionary Baptist Church, 
where he is a Deacon. He holds a prominent place 
among the people of (his section, and is generally 
respected for his honorable dealings and good char- 
acter. Our subject is one of the first settlers in 
this township, and when he lirst came here the land 
on the southeast corner of section HI. was at that 
lime a large lake of water, and he says he could 
travel from his place to lieinent across the prairie. 



!>*<S 




/ 



i A 7 



LLLIAM H.TAYLOR, The businessmen 
of Dalton City are well-known throughout. 
Moultrie and adjoining counties as worthy 
of high esteem on account of their thorough going 
integrity, their active enterprise and their prompt- 
ness in responding to the necessities of a business 
life. They have brought forward the financial in- 
terests of Dalton and made the young town one of 
mark in the county and throughout this portion 
of the State, and it is well for the rising generation 
tostudy not only their methods hut their characters, 
as they are worthy of emulation. 

The lumber merchant whose name appears at the 
head of this writing, located in Dalton in 1881, 
establishing the business which he has since con- 
ducted continuously. He was horn in Wayne 
County, 111.. May 23, 18. r >3, being a son of Robert 
and Mahala (Hawk) Taylor, both natives of Ohio. 
who settled in Wayne County in 18.">3 and are 
still residents there where the father is carrying on 
a farm. 

The subject of this sketch is the third in a fam- 
ily of seven living children, there being nine in 
the number originally, lie was reared upon the 
farm and educated in the district schools, and in 
March. 187."). he went to Macon County and pur- 
sued farming until 1880, when he began work in a 
lumber yard. In the fall of 18811 he came to Dal- 
ton City and took charge of the lumber business 
for s. D. M e, becoming in 18,s;i .•, partner in the 



354 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business, and two veins later assuming the pro- 
prietorship and establishing also :i trade in agricul- 
tural implements. 

Mr.Tayloi was married in January, 1 88 1 ,*to Anna 
Bottemfleld, daughter of John and Maria Bottem- 
field, of Macon County, III. Hit nativity was in 
Ohio, January 30, 1857. Sin- has two lovely and 
interesting children, Edna Verne and Lynn. A 
number of local offices have been filled by Mr. 
Taylor to the satisfaction and profit of the com- 
munity, lie is a Republican in his political ties 
and an earnest advocate of the principles announced 
in the platform of that party. The Methodist 
Episcopal Church forms the religious home in 
whose communion and labors Mr. Taylor chooses 
to place himself. 



i ^ i ) ' i I ; 



m « - I * 1 * p i it * T< 



lisoX SWEET, a genera] farmer and stock- 

I raiser of I'enn Township. Shelby County is 
V_/ ranked among the most thrifty and enter- 
prising men of his class in this section of the 
county, lie was horn in Russell, Geauga County. 
Ohio, February 19, 1841. lie comes of one of the 
pioneer families of that State, where his father. 
Daniel Sweet, was also bom, his birthplace being 
in Ashtabula County. He, in turn, was a son of 
Louis Sweet, who was born and reared, and mar- 
ried in the good old New England State of Conn- 
ecticut. In the prime and vigor of manhood he 
had emigrated from that section of the country to 
to Ohio and was one of the early settlers of thai 
Slate, lie resided for a time in Ashtabula County 
and then cast in his lot with the pioneers of Gea- 
uga County, locating in Russell Township, where 
he cleared a farm from the forest, upon which he 
lived until death terminated his earthly career. He 
served with credit in the War of 1812, and was a 
pensioner the last years of his life. The maiden 
name of his wife, grandmother of our subject, was 
l!cise\ Woodbury. 

The father of our subject wasbutan infant when 

his parents look up their abode in the wilds of 

Geauga County, where he was reared to a sturdy 

maul d under pioneer influences. In his youth 



the country surrounding his early home was still 
mostly in its primitive condition and bears, wild 
turkeys and other kinds of game roamed through 
the forests which have since given way to rich 
farms and busy towns and cities. For many years 
there were no railways and the pioneers had to 
market their produce ami obtain their supplies at 
Cleveland. Mr. Sweet early learned the trade of a 
carpenter and was prosperously engaged at that 
for several years. He still resides at Russell and is 
well known in that part of the country where the 
most of his life has been s-pent. The name of his 
wife was Plulcna Millard, and she was born in the 
town of Kirtland. Lake County, Ohio. Her father. 
Brazil Millard, is thought to have been born in 
Vermont, and was a pioneer farmer of Ohio. lie 
spent his last years with his son in Michigan. The 
mother of our subject died in August. 1890, leav- 
ing behind her a record of a lib' well-spent. But 
two of her eleven children are now living, our sub- 
ject and his brother Edwin, the latter residing on 
the old homestead at Russell. Ohio. 

Orson Sweet, of whom this biography is written, 
was reared to agricultural pursuits in his native 
county and made the best of his opportunities to 
obtain an education at the public schools. When 
thirteen years old, the manly, resolute young lad 
began to earn his own living by working on a farm 
by the month, receiving at first hut £N a month. 
This was a hard training for a boy hut lie obtained 
a good insight into the best methods of carrying 
on farming while he worked out. which he con- 
tinued doing until his marriage. lie then bought 
forty-two acres of land in Chester Township, in 
his native county. There was a small frame house 
and barn on the place, and about thirty acres of 
the land were under cultivation. 

In 1869 our subject sold his Ohio farm as he had 
decided that the Prairie State afforded a wide- 
awake young farmer superior opportunities for 
carrying on agriculture, and coming to this county 
lie bought the farm where he now resides on sec- 
tion 33, Penn Township, and a view of which is 
shown elsewhere in this volume, lie had devoted 
his whole energies lo the betterment of his farm 
and to the business of stock-raising, and already 
occupies an important place among the principal 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



357 



stock men of this vicinity. lit- makes a specialty 
of raising thoroughbred Short-horn cattle, Per- 
cheron and Harabletonian horses and Chesjer-white 
liogs. 

The marriage of our subject with Miss Ervilla 
Pelton took place in I860. .Mrs. Sweet is also a 
native of Russell, Ohio and is a daughter of G. S. 
and Lydia (Bailey) Pelton. To her and our sub- 
ject has been horn one daughter, lona. She mar- 
ried Jacob L. Fryar, of Maysville. Mo., and is the 
mother of these six children — Herbert Orson, Art- 
hur Lee. Mark Herman. Ada Blanche. Nellie Grace 
and Walter. Mr. and .Mrs. Sweet are members in 
high standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and regarded as among our best people socially. 
He is a member of the Farmers' Alliance but in 
politics he is unswerving in his allegiance the Re- 
publican party. 



^HOMAS II. CHOWDER, Perhaps there is 
JmS^v no family in Marrowbone Township whose 
V — J various members are more prominent in 
social, political, agricultural and religious circles 
than that represented by the gentleman whose 
name appears at the head of this writing. Such a 
circle is broadly and thoroughly influential in 
upbuilding the material interests as well as the 

social and moral characteristics of a neighbor! d. 

A more complete history of the parents of our 
subject will be found in the sketch of David M. 
Crowder, which appears upon another page of this 
Record. 

In a family of ten children our subject is the 
fourth in order of age, and was horn in Jennings 
County, Ind.. March 31, 1835. lie was about 
three years old when his parents came to what is 
now Moultrie County. III., and his life to manhood 
was spent upon his father's farm in what is now 
known as Marrowbone Township, lie resided at 
home until his marriage, which event took place 
in Sullivan. October 11. 1855. 

The lady who became Mrs. Thomas II. Crowder, 
bore the maiden name of Mary McCord and is a 



daughter of John and Elizabeth McCord. who 
died in Marrowbone Township. She was horn in 
Jennings County, Ind.. December l*. 1834. Her 
two children are John U. (who married firsl Miss 
Dora Hampton and subsequent to her death was 
united with Miss Katie Mott) and a daughter. 
Mary K.. who is the wife of F. I). Henneigh. 
Mrs. Mary Crowder hail hut a short experience 
of married life, as she died at her home in Marrow- 
bone Township, March l."i. I860, leaving a wide 
circle of friends to mourn her loss. 

The second marriage of Mr. Crowder took place 
in Marrowbone Township, June 20, I860, his bride 
being Miss Louvins Bosley, who was horn in 
Shelby County, this State. February 1. 1837. 
Seven children have crowned this union — Sarah 
I!.. who died when young; William F... who 
married Miss Nellie Jordan; Mattie M.. the wife of 
W. II. Logan; Andrew who died in childhood; 
Armilda 1!.. Viola G. and Thomas II., Jr. 

Farming and stock-raising in Marrowbone 
Township have fully employed the energies and 
enterprise of our subject and he has employed the 
wise plans and shown the absorbing attention in 
business which have brought success. Upon his 
farm he has erected an excellent set of buildings 
suitable for carrying on the work and sheltering 
his stock, and he is the owner of between four 
hundred and five hundred acres of excellent land" 
I lis well known reputation as a judicious and 
intelligent gentleman has led his fellow-citizens to 
twice elect him to the office <>f Supervisor of 
Marrowbone Township, lie is considered a leader 
in the Republican ranks and takes an active part 

in local politics. For v than twenty years he 

lias been an Elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church in which his wife is also a member ami 
where they are esteemed as conscientious and 
devoted helpers in every good work. 

The introduction of Short-horn cattle in this 
section of the country may just 1 \ he credited to 
this enterprising gentleman, and he is in the 
possession Of the Only full set of American Herd 
Hooks in Shelby and Moultrie Counties, lie also 
makes a specialty of South Down stock as well as 
Carriage, coach ami draft horses. lie takes a great 

interest in every phase of the subject pertaining 



358 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



to tine stock and is thoroughly informed in 
regard to this matter, being considered the 
fountain head of information on thesnbject. The 
beautiful buildings upon his farm and his delight- 
ful residence, a view of which appears on another 
page, speak forth their own praise of the system- 
atic, conscientious and cultured gentleman whose 
estate they crown. 



ffiOHN R. SHELTON, a farmer residing on 
section 2. I. owe Township, was born in 
-^ I Chatham Township. Sangamon County. 111., 
vj^jjil 1 April 28, 1833. His father, the late William 
Shelton. was a native of Virginia, while his mother, 
whose maiden name was Prudence Neal, was born 
in Kentucky. They came to Illinois early in life, 
and after their marriage in Sangamon County, set- 
tled in Chatham Township, where after a long and 
honorable life, the father died about 1878, at the 
age of seventy-two years. The mother survives al 
an advanced age and makes her home inSangamoil 
( ounty. 

The seven children born to this worthy couple 
were named as follows: William, John R.. Amar- 
ine, Daniel M., Zarilda, .lames and George. The 
second son, John R., the subject of this biographi- 
cal notice, was reared to manhood in Sangamon 
County, his youth being passed in much the usual 
manner of farmer-' hoys of that period. He gleaned 
the rudiments of his education from the primitive 
text hooks still in use in the district schools, and 
this knowledge has been enlarged and broadened 
through subsequent study, until he is dow thor- 
oughly informed on all events of local and general 
importance, and an agreeable conversational 

with whom many a pleasant hour may he passed. 

When ready to establish a home of hi- own. our 
Subject left the parental roof, and with his bride, 

began life on a farm in Loami Township, lie has 
ever received the cheerful co-operation of his wife, 

with whom he was joined in the holy bonds of 
wedlock in Loami Township, Sangamon County. 
November 30, 1854. Mis. Shelton bore the maiden 
name of Eliza J, Kinney, and was the daughtei of 



the late Henry and Margaret (Dorronce) Kin- 
ney, natives respectively of Madison and Oneida 
Counties, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney passed 
the first years of their happy wedded life in 
Loami Township, whence after a sojourn of many 
years, they removed to Chatham village and there 
the mother died in September. 1883. The father 
afterward made his home in Springfield and also 
with our subject until his death in Springfield, 
April 2, 1889. His family comprised five children, 
namely: Daniel. Clarissa. Caroline. Eliza J., and 
Rebecca M. 

The birthplace of Mrs. shelton was Loami Town- 
ship, Sangamon County, and her natal day October 
!». 1 JS34. Under the careful training of her parents 

she grew to a noble womanh 1, well fitted to take 

charge of a home of her own. Her first home after 
marriage was in Loami Township, but later she and 
her husband settled in Chatham Township. This 
was not their permanent home, however. In Sep- 
tember. 1874, they came to .Moultrie ( 'ounty. where 
they purchased a farm on section 2, Lowe Town- 
ship, and here they still remain. The farm com- 
prises one hundred and nine acres, and he has a 
neat set of buildings, including a commodious, 
conveniently-arranged residence, where comfort 
reigns supreme and hospitality abounds. 

Seven children have been born of the happy 
wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Shelton; William and 
Lewis are deceased, the former dying at the age of 
one year and the latter when seven years old; 
William (2d) died in Lowe Township in 1876 when 
Seventeen years old: Richard is a farmer in Color- 
ado; Luella is the wife of Frank Kagey; Charles 
and Caroline M. are still at home. M is. Shelton is 
a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, to 
which she has belonged since 1865. Her maternal 
great-grandfather was a .surgeon in the Revolu- 
tionary War and lost his life at Ft. DuQuesne. On 
her father's side Mrs. shelton is of English ex- 
traction, and On the maternal side of Irish descent. 

When the preservation Of the Union was threat- 
ened Mr. Shelton was deeply devoted to her wel- 
fare and enlisted in her behalf in August, 1X112. in 

Company B, One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois 
Infantry, serving three years until the close of the 
war, During this time he was on constant duty 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



359 



and the hardships and exposures so undermined 

his strength that he lias since never regained his 
former health. He participated in the following 
important engagements: Magnolia Hill. Champion 
Hills. Jackson, Miss.. Vicksburg, Ft. Blakesly and 
Spanish Fort, besides numerous skirmishes of minor 
importance though not less dangerous, lie was 
with the One Hundred and Thirtieth Illinois from 
the time of his enlistment until May (!, lH(i;i. when 
he was detached and joined the Mercan tile Battery 
of Chicago. After remaining with this battery 
one year he rejoined the regiment with which he 
had originally enlisted. This was consolidated 
with the Seventy-seventh Illinois Infantry, of 
which it was an integral part until peace was 
declared. 

As might he expected Mr. Shclton is a promi- 
nent member of Harker Post. No. IK!*. O. A. R. 
In politics he is a firm Republican, but has never 
been an office-seeker^ preferring domestic pleasure- 
to the turmoil of public life. He is a line type of 
our self-made men. as he entered upon his career 
as a farmer with but little means and only by the 
exercise of ambition and industry coupled with 
practical economy and excellent business judg- 
ment, has he worked his way up to a position of 
importance among tin' most substantial citizens of 
Lowe Township. 






1 ACOB II. 1)1 MOM). Although an Amer- 
ican by birth, education and association, of 
which fact he is proud, our subject is of 
Fiench parentage and ancestry, and all his 
business dealings have been carried on with a dash 
and vivacity for which his ancestors have always 
been noted. Now. at the zenith of his career, lit- 
is a farmer and stock-dealer residing in Loving- 
ton. Moultrie County, but his interests have been 
so large and varied for the past twenty-live years. 
and his exploits in commercial fields have brought 
such sudden and rich returns that one hesitates to 
set him down as a farmer. His name is one that 
is most frequently met with in the environs of 
Paris. 
Our subject's father was William Dumond, who 



was of French parentage. His mother was Martha 
House!, who was born in Steuben County, N. V. 

There they were married and settled on a farm, 
whence they came to Edgar County, this State, in 
1840, where thej lived until their decease. The 
father passed away September 24, 1850. The 
mother's decease occurred in June, 1884. He was 
a farmer by occupation and brought up his sons 
to a thorough knowledge of agricultural work. 
They had six children, three sons and three daugh- 
ters, and of these our subject was the eldest. lie 
was born in Steuben County. X. Y., March L8, 
1835, and came to this Slate with his parents in 
June. 1840. Here he grew to manhood, being 
reared on his father's farm, and although educa- 
tional advantages were not of the best, he man- 
aged to acquire a good and practical education. 
He lived at home with his mother until he be- 
came of age. early shouldering the responsibilities 
and cares of the family as his father had died 
when the son was but Fifteen years of age. 

After leaving home, our subject was engaged 
in a saw and grist mill in Oakland, Coles County, 
for a period of four years, whence he went to 
Vermilion County, this State. His attention was 
attracted thither by the fact that a severe wind- 
storm or cyclone passing through a heavy belt of 
timber in Vermilion County laid low many thou- 
sands of the monarchy of the forest that had only 
to be drawn toa convenient place to be sawed into 
timber. Borrowing the rnonej with which to 
carry out his plans, he erected a sawmill in a cen 
tral location and began the work of transform- 
ing the logs into merchantable shape. Although 
lie got the very small amount of sixty-five cents 
per hundred for his work, he paid tin- amount 
loaned him and had remaining quite a handsome 
interest. He continued there about two years, 
when he traded his interest in the machinery for 
one hundred and twenty acres of land near Oak- 
land, Cole County, and upon this he settled, en- 
gaging in farming. There he remained for thre< 
years, at the end of which time he trailed his 
farm for one hundred and sixtj acres in Moultrie 
County without seeing it. lie-ides tin- he received 
*:il)(l in cash, and this Mr. Dumond considered 
one of the best trades he ha- evel made. The land 



360 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was located in Lowe Township, to which place our 
subject removed and continued to live until the 
spring of 1886, when lie retired from active farm- 
ing and came to Lovington, where he has since 

resided. He is now the owner of eight hundred 
and five aero, seven hundred and sixty of which 
are in one body. 

When quite a young man Mr. Dumond took 
upon himself the responsibilities of married life, 
taking as his wife Elizabeth Kerns. Their nuptials 
were celebrated in Oakland, Coles County, this 
State. November 1!». 1859. Mrs. Dumond was a 
native probably of Pennsylvania, although Ohio 
may have been her birthplace, as her parents lived 
there when she was very young. This marriage 
was blessed by the advent of three children, whose 
names are: Ilattie A., the wife of Thomas Ran- 
dolph, of White County, this state; Henry P. is 
a farmer in I. owe Township; and Kulista died in 
infancy. Mrs. Elizabeth Dumond 's death occurred 
in Lowe Township June Hi. 1869. she was an 
admirable woman, her chief interest being centered 
in her home and family. 

Our subject's second marriage was to Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Hunsinger, the widow of Simon Hunsinger, 
who was horn in White County, 111. By her first 
marriage she was the mother of two children — 
Mary and Willie, deceased. By her union with Mr. 
Dumond she became the mother of one child — 
Arabella. Mrs. Dumond was a member of the Baptist 
Church and a most estimable woman. She died 
July I.".. I**.-). 

The paternal grandparents of our subject were 
William V. and Eliza Dumond, both natives of 
France. The maternal grandparents were Jacob 
and Sarah Housel, natives of New York State. 
Jacob Housel was one of the settlers in Edgar 
County and locaters of the old state road which 
runs from Springfield to tin' State line, and join- 
ing with the road going on to Indianapolis. lie 
located many of the early settlers of Edgar 
County, this State. To Mr. Housel i> due the 
credit of being one of the promoters Of the old 
Terrc Haute and Alton Railroad, now known as 
the "Big Four," running at the present lime from 

Indianapolis to st. Louis, ami in his efforts and 
zeal for the success of this road he so involved 



himself financially that he lost all his property, 
but during the years that have since elapsed he 
recovered to a great extent his financial standing. 
The original of our sketch is a man whose nat- 
ural abilities and pleasing presence have pushed 
him to the front in local public life. He has tilled 
the office of Supervisor of Lowe Township upwards 
of seven years, and for several years was Chairman 
of the Town Board. Mr. Dumond has taken an 
active part in political affairs, being a devoted 
and enthusiastic adherent of the Democratic party. 
Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity 
and has held many of the chairs in that society. 



,*pv APT. JOHN ANDREW FREELAND. To 

(| „ be descended from an honorable ancestry 



' and to trace one's lineage from men and 
women of past generations wdio lived noble lives 
and served their country and their God is a just 
subject for pride and self -congratulation. And such 
a record is his whose name appears at the head of 
this paragraph. 

Capt. Freeland, who resides upon section IT. 
Marrowbone Township, Moultrie County, is the 
son of the late John J. Freeland. who was born in 
Orange County. N. ('.. upon New Year's day. 1798. 
John I' Iceland, the father of John J., was born in 
the same county in 1762, and his lather. James (the 
great-grandfather of our subject) firsl saw the light 
within twenty miles of Londonderry. Ireland, in 
1730. The father of this ancestor, whose name is 
unknown, is said to be one of the Huguenot refu- 
gees who lied from Pickardy. France, and settled 

near Londonderry, Ireland. The persecutions of 
those days sent out from their native homes hun- 
dreds of valuable citizens whose worth was not ap- 
preciated by the Government under which they 
lived, but those lives in foreign lands proved the 
seed-corn from which sprang religious and politi 
cal liberty. 

James Freeland, the great -gra ml fa I her of our sub- 
ject, came about tin- year 17"2."> from Ireland and 
settled on the Schuylkill River, in Gennantown, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



361 



which was afterward the >ite of a notable conflict 
and is mow probably the nmM elegant suburb of 
Philadelphia, After the Revolutionary War he 
removed to North Carolina where his son, James, 
made a matrimonial allianee with Sally, daughter 
of Gov. Dinwiddie, who was Governor of Virginia 
under the British Crown. The great-grandfather 
of our subject took a very active part in all impor- 
tant movements and was one of the prominent 
men of that day. His last days were spent in Ala- 
mance County. X. C where he died at the age of 
eighty-five. 

John Freeland, the grandfather of our subject, 
was born, as before stated, in L762, and was Deputy 
Sheriff at an early age under his father, and like 
him was an active and prominent man. He passed 
the last years of his honorable career upon his 
plantation in Orange County. X. ('.. where he. like 
his father, reached the advanced age of eighty-five 
years. He was an independent soldier in the Revo- 
lutionary War and carried on "bushwhacking" 
against the British. 

John .1. Freeland. the father of our subject, 
resided in North Carolina and w.-r- the proprietor 
of a plantation and numerous slaves and was also 
engaged in the mercantile business. The Govei - - 
nor of the State appointed him Judge of the 
County Court, besides which he held other impor- 
tant positions. He was prominently identified 
with the Masonic order and for many years was 
Master of the lodge and attained the Thirty-second 
degree of Masonry. In his religious life he car- 
ried out the principles of his Huguenot ancestry. 

The new West attracted the attention of John 
• 1. Freeland and he emigrated hither and settle, I 
at Freeland's Point which was named for his 
brother James. It was in 1856 that he came to this 
State with his wife and the younger members of 
the family and here lie engaged in farming and 
passed the remainder of his days, dying in July, 
1 <s 7 7 . at Freeland Point, Marrowbone Township. 

The mother of our subject, whose maiden name 
was Mary Craige, was born in Orange County. X. 
C. June (i. 1801, her patents being Col. David and 
Retty (Burroughs) Craige. who were natives of the 
same county where they spent all their days. 
Eleven children were horn to John .1. and Mary 



Freeland. These five sons and six daughters are 
Charles.), who is a physician at Rogers, Ark.: 
Betty, is the wife of Dr. S. D. Schoolfield of 
Macomb, Miss.; Catherine, a resident of Moultrie 
County: ( aroline. who was the wife of .1. B. Knight, 
and died in Marrowbone Township about the year 
1«7.">: Francis M.. died in infancy; (apt. 
William .1. of whom we will speak more at length; 
Mary, is the wife of Rev. Clark Loudoun of 
Pierre. S. Dak.; Thomas J., of Dalton City, whose 
biographical sketch will he found elsewhere in this 
volume; Sarah .1.. who resides in Moultrie County; 
('apt. John Andrew and Emma T., who is the wife 
of James A. Honey, a grain-dealer of Decatur. 111. 

Capt. William J. Freeland. the brother of our 
subject, was an officer in the Confederate army 
where he played an important part, as he com- 
manded the provost guards of Whitney's division 
of the army, and at the request of Gen. Whiting, 
the right wing of the Union Army at the first 
battle of Bull Run was attacked by him and cap- 
tured the battery known as Old Betsey. He was 
mortally wounded and captured at Fair Oaks and 
dying at Fortress Monroe, was buried there with 
.Masonic honors. Before the breaking out of the 
war he was filling the position of General Superin- 
tendent of the North Carolina Central Railroad. 

John Andrew, who was next to the youngest in 
this large family, was horn in Orange County. X. 
C, October 31, 1839, and his early life was spent 
there until he came to Moultrie County. 111., with 
his father in 1856. lie was living at home when 
the war broke out and at once enlisted under the 
Union flag, May 1. lstl I. being one of the first 
volunteers in Moultrie County. He became a 
member of Company F. Twenty-first Illinois Regi- 
nient which was afterward known as Grant's Regi- 
ment and to whom was given the honor in 1891 
of unveiling the magnificent equestrian statue of 
that hero which has been erected in Lincoln Park. 
Chicago. The young man was mustered into the 
United states service at Springfield, III.. June 28, 
L861, receiving the commission of Second Lieuten- 
ant. He served in that capacity until November 
20th of the same year when lie was promoted to 
the rank of First Lieutenant and received further 
promotion February 17. 1863, when he was given 



362 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the commission of Captain. This position he hold 
until July 5, 1864, when he was honorably dis- 
charged and mustered out of service at Chatta- 
ga, Tenn. 

Our young hero was in the battle of Fredericks- 
town. Mo., which was the first Union victory dur- 
ing the Civil War and remembers being an eye 
witness to the death of the rebel (Jen. Lowe, who 
was instantlv killed in that engagement. For sev- 
eral weeks he was engaged with others in driving 
the rebel General, Jeff Thompson, known as the 
"Swamp Fox." across the White River into Arkan- 
sas, lie took part in the siege of Corinth and saw 
the smoke of battle at Perryville, Knob Gap, Stone 
River, Liberty Gap and Chickamauga. Forseven- 
teen days and nights he was under lire on John- 
ston's retreat from Kingston to Marietta. Ga. 

After being mustered out of the service (apt. 
Freeland returned to the peaceful engagement of 
agriculture, devoting himself assiduously to farm- 
ing and dealing in slock. Previous to the breaking 
out of the war he had been married in .Moultrie 
County, his wedding day being February .">. 1861, 
and his bride Mi>> Elvira Roney, a native of this 
county, who bore to him two children — Alice, who 
died when about five years old and William, who 
was snatched from the arms of his parents when a 
babe of live months. The mother of these children 
passed to the other world April : :i(i. 1866. 

Our subjeel was again married in Moultrie 
Count}*, July 1. 1867, to Mis> Lyda .1. Langton, 
who was horn in Lewiston, Pa., August 13, IK!,"). 
They have had eighl children: William ('..John 
H., Joseph I... Ella I'... May. Maude, Harry L. and 
Homer. May died when she was fourteen months 
old. The family resided in Marrowbone Township 
until 1*7 I. "hen they removed to Sullivan and 
here the Captain undertook the study of law, being 
with Eden & Clark for two years and beingadmit- 
ted to the bar in Kansas in 1*77. In the spring 
of thai year he removed to Kinsley, Edwards 
County, Kan., and pracl iced law there for two years, 

during which time he was elect ed Count v Judge for 

one term and in 1879 returned to Illinois and again 

made his home in Marrowbone Township, since 
which time he has paid his almost undivided atten- 
tion to fanning and raising line horses and cattle. 



Upon his fine farm of two hundred and sixty 
acres Capt. Freeland has made valuable improv- 
ments and within his hospitable home he and his 
lovely and intelligent companion are ever ready to 
extend gracious welcome to every friend who 
seeks their door. One who visits this household 
can but feel that he is the guest of a true gentle- 
man and a genuine gentlewoman and those who 
know the public-spirited course which the Captain 
always pursues in regard to affairs of public import, 
are assured that he is a disinterested citizen of his 
county. He is prominently identified with the 
Washington Alexander Post. No. 17(1. G. A. R. 
and has repeatedly been Commander of the post 
and has been President of the Regimental Associ- 
ation of Grant's old regiment. He is a Royal Arch 
Mason and in politics is a Republican and formerly 
took an active part in political affairs. 



» ILK1NSON PROS. The union of the fam- 
/ ily interests in business enterprises has 
V;'V long been made prominent both in the old 
country and in America. Many prominent firms 
have for generations borne the family name and it 
has been the pride of those thus connected to main- 
tain these business relations and to build up an 
honorable record as a commercial family. So strong 
has been this feeling in some aotable instances as 
lo compel any who joined the linn as members to 
Legally adopt the family name. This union of the 
family affection and business interests is well illus-. 
tsratcd in the record of the well-known firm whose 
name appears at the head of this paragraph. 

The Wilkinson Bros., dealers in lumber, tile and 
coal at Bethany, Moultrie County. established busi- 
ness under the present linn and style in 1KK2. The 
members of the firm are four brothers, namely: 
Jasper N.. John .1.. Warren A.. William W., all of 
them native- of Vinton County. Ohio, and sons of 
Jacob and Mary ( Morrison ) Wilkinson. The par- 
ents were also natives of Ymton County, wore 
there married and reared their family, remov- 
ing to Illinois iii the fall of 1K(>4. and passing the 
winter at Millmino. The following vear thev lo- 




I'OIM'IJAIT AM) liloGKAPIIK XL RE< ORD. 



363 



cated at :i small town (now defunct) which bore 
the name of Dawtown, and the father of the fam- 
ily worked in a sawmill there :i> his liusiuess in 
Ohio had been in the line of operating sawmills 
and gristmills. 

The family removed in 1868 to a farm near Ar- 
genta, Macon County, 111., and there they rented 
land and afterward purchased a farm of three hun- 
dred acres, tilling ami improving it and placing 
upon it fine stock. There the parents still reside 
and the father who lias made a SUCCCSS Of stock- 

raising, i> now engaged in breeding red-polled 

cattle. These faithful parents who have succeeded 
in bringing up to maturity SO tine a family are 
people of true Christian character and prominent 
members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

Twelve children blessed this frugal pioneer home 
and nine of the number are still Living, namely: 
Jasper N., Warren A., John .1., William W., Mary 
E., George E., Charles E., Arthur L. and Luella .1. 
Mary is now the wife of Walter l>. Williams; Jas- 
per N. was born in 1851 and early distinguished 
himself in local circles by his studious disposition, 
lifting himself for teaching at the early age of fif- 
teen. In 1874 he was graduated from tin' State 
Normal University at Normal. 111., and In' is now 
a Professor in the State Normal School at Emporia, 
Kan. He has formed a congenial marriage with 
Miss Nellie Reynolds, of Buda, 111. 

Warren A. was horn December II. ls>.">7. and 
was reared upon a farm until L881, when he came 
to Bethany and engaged in the manufacture of 
tile, being associated with his brothers; he built a 
tile factory, which they still own and operate, and 
thus was inaugurated the successful business which 
bears their name. His marriage with Grace, daugh- 
ter of Dr. Iv A. Piatt, brought him three beautiful 
children, all of whom are now deceased: his wile 
also passed to the other world in 1891. Warren A. 
resides at Bethany and gives his whole attention to 
the business of the firm. John A. was horn Sep- 
tember 23, 1859, and. like his eldest brother, is a 
graduate of the State Normal University at Normal, 
111., being a member of the Class of '85; he also 
i;ives his attention to teaching, being the Principal 
of the grammar school at Springfield, 111.. and Lav- 
ing held the prineipalship of the LovingtOn schools 



from 1885 to 1889. William W. was born Septem- 
ber 1. 1861, and when he had completed his ele- 
mentary education he devoted himself to the study 
of book-keeping and commercial law at Lincoln, 
111., and later attended Bryant A- Stratton's Busi- 
ness College at Chicago. After completing his 
studies he became a useful member of the firm of 
Wilkinson Bros, in 1882. lb 1 and his brother War- 
ren are the active members of the linn ami theeffl- 
cicnt and capable managers, making their home at 
Bethany. 

This honorable and intelligent family have 
shown themselves capable both in the intellectual 
and business world and the parents of these sons 
have abundant reason to rejoice, not only in their 
success in life in their respective fields and in the 
respect which is meted out to them by all who 
know them, but also in their admirable Christian 
characters and in their efficiency in church work as 
they are all workers in the Cumberland Presbyter- 
ian Church, with which most of them are person- 
ally identified. 



4€f 



=^> 



r^-»IIOMAS K. MAYES. The wonderful suc- 
( r~\ cess which has crowned the efforts of thous- 
V_y ands of fanners who came to Illinois in 
poverty, is worthy the annals of the historian. 
The wealth in the soil of the Prairie State like the 
gold hidden in the dross, responded magically to 
the alchemy of the earnest effort, enterprise and 
industry of the pioneer farmer, and astonished the 
world by it^ splendid results. The farming com- 
munity of Dore Township. Moultrie County, gives 
many instances of this success in agriculture and 
one of its fanners who resides within the limits of 
Dalton City, is the gentleman whose name appeal's 
at the head of this sketch. 

Our subject owns fifty five acres of land within 
this corporation, besides two hundred and forty 
outside. He settled in Moultrie County in the 
spring of 1865, ami lias since been a resident of 
Doie Township. He was horn in Mifflin County, 
Pa., April 7. 1*37, being a son of Matthew T. and 
Martha (Ewing) Mayes, the father of our subject 



:k;i 



PORTRAIT AND LKKiRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



being :i tanner by trade. The paternal grandpa- 
rentscame from Maryland, and the parents of our 
subject lived and died in Pennsylvania, and dur- 
ing their later years resided on a farm, where the 
father dieil August .'i 1 . 1845, being then only forty- 
two years i>ld. while the mother survived until 
the spring dI lKtl'.i. and passed away at the age uf 
sixty-seven. 

The four children of Matthew and .Martha 
Mayes are as follows: .lames, who is a resident of 
Lewiston, Pa.: Eliza, who married Mr.G.W. Soult, 
and resides on the old home in Mifflin County, 
Pa.; William E., who resides in Strawn, Kan., and 
our subject, who is the third in order of age. His 
carly life was passed upon the farm, and after tak- 
ing a public school education he received instruc- 
tion in the academy, and in 1 <S ."> 7 . took a business 
course at Pittsburg, Pa., after which he clerked in 
different business houses. 

The marriage of our subject took place Decem- 
ber 2ii. 1861, an*d he was then united with Isabel 
Laugton, who was born ! in Pennsylvania, and is a 
daughter of Joseph I. and Catherine Laugton. 
They continued to reside in Pennsylvania until 
IK().->. when they came lo Illinois and purchased 
one hundred and sixty acres of slightly improved 
land, and proceeded to carry on the business of 
stock-raising. In 1874, Mr. Mayes removed to 
Dalton City, as he had been some time prior to 
this movement appointed station agent, and he 
was also carrying on the lumber business, lie con- 
tinued as Station ami express agenl for two years, 
after which he was for three veai> not employed in 

the former capacity, but in 1878, he took the posi- 
tion again and still continues in it. Al the same 
time he has carried on his farm successfully, but in 
May, IK7.~>. he disposed of his lumber business. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mayes have had seven children, one 
daughter, Harriet ( ).. having died in her thirteenth 
war. The others are as follows: Martha ('.. wife 
of Lowell A. Smith, of Macon County; Anna M.. 
who now has charge of the railroad station at 
Dalton City; Eliza I-'... wife of .lames Freeland, 
"I Macon County; Joseph I.. Matthew '1'.. and 
.lames \V.. who arc at home. In 1875, Mr. Maxes 
erected upon one of the prominent sites of the 
town a tine -tore building, and established a drug 



business which he conducted for some three years'. 
lie has held a number of local ofiices and is a de- 
voted adherent to the principles and policy of the 
Democratic party. He is identified with both the 
Knights of Honor and the Masonic fraternity. 
Mrs. Mayes is a woman of devoted Christian char- 
acter and a leading member in the Presbyterian 
Church. Her pleasant, home is the center of a true 
social life and her gracious hospitality affords a 
hearty welcome to every gUCSt. 



♦=*=» J 



ICHAEL ERHARDT. Among the Ger- 
l man-American citizens who have con- 
/// l» tributed so largely to the development of 
Moultrie County and have been so prom- 
inently connected with its progress, conspicuous 
mention belongs to Mr. Krhardt who owns and 
operates a tine farm on section Id. Lowe Township. 
A worthy representative of the class of fanners 
upon whom the prosperity of the world depends, 
he is pursuing his chosen avocation with energy 
and skill. In every movement that is likely to 
advance the material or moral welfare of the citi- 
zens, he is ever ready to bear what part he can. and 
he and his estimable wife are ever lo be relied on 
when there is need of neighborly service or friendly 
advice. 

Mr. Krhardt is the son of the late ( ieorge Kr- 
hardt. a native of Germany, who was married in 
his native land to Barbara Krhardt. who was of the 
same name but no relative. In 1854 the parents 
emigrated to America and directly after landing 
came to St. Louis. Mo., whence, after a residence 
of one year, they removed to Sangamon County. 
111. Several years afterward they came to Doug- 
las County, where the father died in 1K72. The 
mother survived him many years and passed from 
earth in Moultrie County in 1886. Our subject, 
who was the youngest among live children, was 
born in Germany, November 28, 1850. He was 
only about four years old when he was brought by 
his parents to this country, of which he has ever 
since been a resident. 




i ■■■\ 






' | 





c 



^Tij 



PORTRAIT AM) I'.K MiRAPIIK Al. RECORD. 



367 



After passing the early years of his lite in San- 
gamon County. 111., and gaining the rudiments of 
an education in its district schools. Mr. Erhardt 
accompanied his parents to Douglas County. 
There he was married June II. 1874, to .Miss 
Catherine E. Hoover, daughter of Benjamin and 
Nancy Hoover. Mr. Hoover resides in Arthur, 111. 
He and his wife were the parents of nine children, 
Mrs. Erhardt being the third, and she was horn in 
Pennsylvania December 20, 1851. After their 
marriage our subjectand his wife located in Doug- 
las County where they lived until 1881. 

Upon coming to Moultrie County in 1881 Mr. 
Erhardt located on section 10, Lowe Township. 
where he now owns one hundred and twenty acres 
of good land. Having followed farming pursuits 
from his youth he has acquired a thorough prac- 
tical knowledge of all its departments and has be- 
come known as one of the most enterprising and 
successful farmers of the vicinity. He is a firm 
believer in the principles of the Democratic "party 
and supports its ca ididates with his ballot and in- 
fluence. He has held the offices of Highway Com- 
missioner and School Director and has done efficient 
service for the public in both capacities. lie and 
his wife are hoth active members of the Christian 
Church, in which he has held the Office of Elder. 

They are the parents of four children. Benjamin, 
George, Freddie and Alfred. George and Alfred 
are deceased. The surviving children are receiv- 
ing excellent educations and hid fair to hold re- 
sponsible positions in life. 




v APT. JOHN .1. SIMMONS, who resides on 

section is. of Tower Hill Township. Shelby 
County, was horn in Troy, N. V.. May 7. 
lsi |. When he was very young his father removed 
to Covington, K\ .. and lived there a hoi it t wo years. 
From there he removed to Switzerland County. Ind.. 
where he remained forsevcn years, then he remo\ ed 
again to Cincinnati, and with bis family occupied 
the first house in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was built 
of logs. From the time our subject was a lad of 
fourteen years of age until his parents' death, he 



made himself their protector and provider, supply- 
ing them with all the comforts of life that it was 
possible for him to give them. After he was four- 
teen years of aye he was employed in steam boat- 
ing on various rivers and was thus engaged for 
fifty years. 

In August, 1874, the gentleman whose philan- 
thropic life it is our pleasure here to chronicle. 
and whose portrait is also presented to his many 
friends, came to Shelly County and settled in 
Tower Hill, where he has since been a resident. He 
is the owner and proprietor of two hundred and 
seventy acres of land, upon which he has erected a 
very good series of buildings. His residence, to 
which he has given the very suggestive name 
"Happy Home" is located at only a short distance 
from the meeting of two roads and as the traveler 
approaches he sees the name of the place in large 
letters on the house; of course it attracts much at- 
tention. It is. in fact and deed, a happy home. 

Capt. and Mrs. Simmons, at the present writing, 
( May, 1891) have been married about fifty-seven 
years, and during all this time not an unpleasant 
word has passed between them. Everything within 
and without denotes happiness and comfort. Capt. 
Simmons, who is at an advanced aye. is at the pres- 
ent time in feeble health, and is the object of the 
solicitude and kindest attention of each and every 
member of his family. His marriage took place in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, October 8, 1835, and the cere- 
mony was solemnized by the father of Benjamin 
Harrison, present President of the United States. 
Mrs. Simmons was Miss Elizabeth Gunning,and was 
born near Cincinnati. January II. 1817. Ten 
children were born to this worthy couple and in- 
stead of being cares and sources of trial to their 
parents, as is unhappily loo frequently the case, 
they have been welcome, and grown up both lov- 
ing and beloved among themselves ami bearing a 
tender regard for the authors of their being. In 
name they are as follows: Alonzo. Caroline, Al- 
bert. John J., Temperance .1.. Moses K. and Charles. 
The deceased children died in infancy. Alonzo 
was married to Mary Newbold. Caroline was the 
wife of Monroe Taylor. Albert was united to Lu- 
cindia Frailkill. John J. married Anna Custer. 
Temperance J. is the wife of Marshall Hipes. Moses 



.-"tr.H 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



E. married Elizabeth Elliott. Charles was united 
in Ella Fluckey. 

('apt. Simmons has ever been a supporter of the 
Gospel and he and his wife are members of the 
Christian Church. Socially he lias been united with 
the Masonic fraternity, for main years, and i- also 
an Odd Fellow. His Masonic connection extends 
over fifty years, and his alliance with the < >dd Eel- 
lows for the same length of time. It isa commen- 
tary upon the effect of the use of stimulants that 
('apt. Simmons, who has attained an aye a good 
many years transcending that which is usually al- 
lotted tii man. has never used tobacco in any form, 
and although, having been a river captain for many 
years and associated with men who have the repu- 
tation for indulging in stimulants to an alarming 
extent, he scarcely knows the taste of intoxicants. 

Capt. Simmons is the proud possessor of a line 
orchard covering thirty acres. Fur this he was 
offered $100 an acre, by I >. .lames, who is a prom- 
inent nurseryman in Christian County. The fruits 
that are the outcome of this orchard are as luscious 
as any that come from the Golden state. The 
father of our subject was John W. Simmons, who 
was a native of New York City. He died in 1859 
while on a visit to Wisconsin. Our subject's mother 
was Dolly (Ginison) Simmons, who was born in 
Boston. Mass., and died in Kokomo, Ind. The 
parents of Mrs. Simmons were Robert and Temper- 
ance ( (ox )( •mining. They were horn in Knoxville. 
Teiin.. and died in Indiana. 

The position of chief engineer as well as that of 

Captain was held i>\ Mr. Simmons who is the pos- 
sessor of fifty sets of Government licenses. He 
served through the war, taking part in the marine 

conflicts on different gunboats, s etimes changing 

from as many as five different boats in a single day, 
although he had not enlisted in regular marine ser- 
vice. His daughter, Mrs. Caroline Taylor, at whose 

instance this sketch is written is the mother of two 
children. John s. and Frank S. 

The venerable old gentleman, whose picture 
would serve as a happj representation of the be- 
loved follower of the Master, i- revered by all. All 
his fads and fancies are quaint and benevolenl and 
show a generous spirit. lie has provided a good 
comfortable r n in an outbuilding, which he pre- 



pared especially for tramps or homeless people. 
knowing all to he ( tod's people, and believing it to 
he incumbent on all who are prospered, to care for 
the hclples>. the homeless, and the unfortunate. He 
is a dear old gentleman, and makes one better and 
gentler to come in contact with him. 



t— >J-»J-i~H 



■«■ ' 1 ' 



ROBERT McCLUNG, Among the old resi- 
dents of Moultrie County and numbered 
among her brave boys who were sent forth 
to defend the Hag of our Union we are 
pleased to name the progressive and intelligent 
farmer, whose prosperity we here record. Mr.Mc- 
Clung resides on section 30, Lowe Township, and 
his residence in the county dates from 1859, dur- 
ing which year there were hut seven voters in the 
township and of that seven our subject is the only 
one now remaining within its hounds. 

This gentleman was born in Union Comity. 
Ohio, July 12. 1836, his respected parents being 
Thomas and Elizabeth (Danderson) McClung. who 
had their birth in the Old Dominion and the Buck- 
eye State respectively and who met and married 
in Perry County, Ohio. The first wedded home 
of this couple was established in Logan County, 
that State, where they were earh settlers before 
moving to Union ( omity. 

■■Westward the star of Empire takes its course." 
and following this beacon the family undertook a 
removal with team and wagon from Ohio to Iowa. 
Arriving there in 1844 they prospected for a while. 

hut being dissatisfied with the Hawkeye state they 
turned hack as far as Vigo County. Ind.. where 
they remained for some time and where the mother 
died in 1846. She had hcen the mother of eleven 
children of whom seven grew to years of maturity. 
The father eventually returned to Ohio where he 
remained for several years, hut his liual end came 
in Vigo County, Ind.. while he was making a visit. 
The early Orphanage of our subject by the death 
of his mother when he was ten years old led to his 

making his home with an uncle and both at his 
father'- and at hi- relative's he was thoroughly 
trained in farm duties and prepared for a practical 



PORTRAIT AND I!I( K i RAPIIK AL RECORD. 



369 



life, but in various ways his schooling was inter- 
fered with and liis hunk education was Limited. 
His first coming West was in 1n.~>2 and his first 
settlement was at Monticello, 111., where he made 
the acquaintance of the Piatt family with whom 
he made his home and served as a farm hand. In 
1859 lu- left this family (for whom the flourishing 
coimU of Piatt was named) and came to Moultrie 
County where he rented a farm, but his patriotic 
impulse did not permit him to remain here follow- 
ing the pursuits of peace, lie enlisted in 1862 
and was mustered into service in Company A. One 
Hundred Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry under 
command of Capt. Van Fleet. This company 
served through three years of fatiguing marches, 
severe engagements, numerous skirmishes and 
gained for themselves an enviable renown. 

After the war our subject returned to Moultrie 
County and purchasing eighty acres of rich but 
unbroken prairie soil started in to make his for- 
tune. In his effort he has been unusually success- 
ful and now owns four hundred and eighty acres 
of as line land as can be found in Moultrie County 
and upon it he has placed an excellent farm resi- 
dence, good barns and all the appurtenances which 
belong to a first-class farm. Stock farming has 
been the department of agriculture which he has 
pursued and which has proved profitable to him. 
The happy wedding day of our subject was July 
7. 1872, and his bride, Cordelia Gaul, who was 
horn December 15, 1837, is a daughter of Jacob 
Gaul who came to Moultrie County in 1865 and 
settled upon section t, Jonathan Creek Township. 

The father of Mrs. McClung is a native of the 
city of Philadelphia where he was horn June 9, 
1H11. being the son of John T. and Dorothea 

Gaul, natives of Germany, who came to America 
in an early life and were married in Pennsylvania. 
They made their home in Philadelphia the re- 
mainder of their lives. The mother completed her 
three-score and ten years and the father lived to 
the advanced age of eighty-six. John T. Gaul 
was twice married, his lirst union bringing him 
eight children and his second giving him four 
children — Simon, Adam. Jacob and Sarah. The 
son Jacob learned the trade of a basket-maker 
which he followed in his native citv before remov- 



ing West. He removed to Cincinnati. Ohio, in 
1K.">2. and subsequently resided in Chicago for 
sonic eighteen months, after which he followed 
farming for a short time in Clermont County, 
Ohio. In 1865 he came to Moultrie County where 
he had previously purchased land and where he 
now owns a handsome farm. 

The mother of Mrs. McClung bore the maiden 
name of Rebecca Clarke and was a native of New 
Jersey. Her marriage to Mr. Gaul took place in 
Philadelphia in L835 and her death occurred in 
Moultrie County. III. She was the mother of five 
children, namely. Susannah, who married Samuel 
Smith and died in Cincinnati. Ohio; Cordelia, the 
wife of Robert McClung; Edmund; Rebecca, who 
who married William Merritt and Jacob who died 
in Moultrie County. The mother of these child- 
ren was an earnest and active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Mrs. McClung' has three children with her in 
this life and one who has passed before to the 
spirit land. The living are Isaac. Rebecca and 
Myrtle A. The political views of Mr. McClung 
have led him to affiliate with the party whose 
most notable exponent was the author of the Dec- 
laration of Independence. 



^ OTTLKIli F. SILVER. Although born in 
a land far distant from this. Mr. Silver is a 
stanch defender of the interests of his 
adopted home and there is within the hounds of 
Moultrie County no more patriotic citizen than he. 
From early childhood he has had his own way to 
make in the world and he has done well, for he 
has risen from poverty to a position of importance 
among his fellow-men. Nor has he been successful 
in accumulating a competency only, hut in the 
best sense of the word he has been successful in 
gaining the respect of his associates, in justly win- 
ning a name for uprightness and honor, and in 
being numbered with the representative citizens 
of tin- county. 

Wurtemberg. Germany, was the native place of 



:(7ii 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



our subject and February 10, 182k. the date of his 
birth. His immediate progenitors were John G. 
and Christina Silver, natives of the Fatherland, 
who came to America in 1832, seeking a home in 
this new country. They settled in Morgan County, 
Ohio, where the mother died in 1836. The father 
survived many years and passed from the busy 
scenes of earth in 1874, in Hocking County, Ohio. 
They had four sons and four daughters, who at- 
tained tn maturity, and our subject was among the 
younger members of the family. 

Mr. Silver remembers few of the incidents of the 
voyage across the broad Atlantic, for he was only 
four years old when hi:- parents emigrated to 
America, lie passed his youth in Morgan and 
Hocking Counties. Ohio, assisting his father upon 
the home farm in the summer while during a few 
months of the year he attended the common 
schools of the district. He was united in marriage 
October 2i>. 1851, in Hocking County, with Eliza- 
beth Moutz, daughter of Gottleib and Catherine 
(Fritz) .Moutz. both of Germany. Coming to 
America in 1832 they settled in Pennsylvania and 
after about two years spent there, they removed to 
Muskingum County, Ohio, "where she died in the 
city of Zanesville. He passed from earth in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. < >1" their large family of children. 
Mrs. Silver is one of the younger members and she 
was horn in Wurtemberg, Germany, November 16, 
1829. 

Hocking County was the first home of Mr. Sil- 
ver after his marriage, and thence after several 
years spent there, he removed to Morgan County. 
Two years afterward he returned to 1 [ocking< omit v 
and sojourned thereuntil 1873, engaged in farm- 
ing operations and becoming known throughout 
the community as a thrifty agriculturalist and an 
honorable citizen. He came to Moultrie County 
in 1*7.'! and settling on section 8, Lowe Township, 
proceeded at once to improve and cultivate the 

tract of land which lie purchased there. lie owns 

three hundred and twenty acres of line land, which 
yields him yearly a tribute of golden grain. Farm- 
ing has been almost his lite pursuit, although for 

aboul ten years in Ohio he was a carpi liter. 

Five children came to bleSS the holm of Mr. and 
Mrs. Silver and their record i- a- follow-: Mary, 




the wife of David Van Curen; John F.. who died 
when young; Elizabeth, who became the wife of 
S. F. Grant; John G., and William, who married 
.Miss Nettie Buxton. In his political affiliations 
Mr. Silver is a Republican, and has served the peo- 
ple efficiently as Highway Commissioner three 
years. He and his estimable wife are members in 
good standing of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and he ha- been Superintendent of the Sunday 
school. They are genial, hospitable people, whose 
influence upon the community is apparent for 
good, and whose interest in the welfare of human- 
ity is great. 



mm--&EE&&^ 



It IIAFl. II. WARREN. Public-spirited 
citizens who are broad enough to take an 
interest in the affairs of the community in 
which they live and sufficiently shrewd 
and far-sighted to force opportunities for its im- 
provement, are the richest heritage of any commu- 
nity, and Moultrie County is not poor in such. 
Among her sons who have thus shown the nobility 
of their natures and their ability to forward the 
welfare of the county, we are pleased to mention 
Michael II. Warren, a retired fanner and Notary 
Public residing at Arthur. 

Our subject has been a resident of the county 
since May 19, 1859, and is by birth a Virginian, 
being born in Harrison County, that state. August 
9,1820. His parents, Abijah and Sarah (Shields) 
Warren, being natives of the old Dominion, re- 
mained there until about 1840, when they re- 
moved to Athens County. Ohio, and made their 
home- at Nclsonville. About a year after their 
migration. Abijah Warren passed from earth and 
in 1844 the family returned to Virginia. In 1853 
the mother came to [llinois and sett led in Jonathan 
Creek Township. Moultrie County, upon a raw 
prairie farm. There she made licr home and cared 
for her children until 1865, when her death oc- 
curred. There were nine in the family, all of 
whom grew to mature years and all became resi- 
dents of Illinois. 

Michael Warren was reared to farm work, but 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHK AL RECORD. 



371 



after he attained his majority he Learned the trade 
of saddlery and harness-making and pursued 1 1 » i — 
calling until he came to Illinois in 1859, when he 
purchased land in Jonathan Crock Township and 
carried on a farm for some years. In the mean- 
while he had purchased more land — .some eighty 
acres — upon which the west half of Arthur is now 

located. He early foresaw the uecessity fora g 1 

system of transportation to bring Moultrie County 
within reach of the great markets of the world and 
was Liberal in his gifts to secure the Location through 

Arthur of a railroad, giving S e twenty aero to 

tin- railroad to secure this end. lie purchased one 
hundred and sixty acres on Section •-'.">. I. owe 
Township, but has made his residence in the vil- 
lage of Arthur since 1873. lie opened the first 
mail bag which was thrown off at this station, ashe 
was then acting a> Deputy Postmaster. The re- 
ceipts of the office were then * 1 2 per annum. 
During the Cleveland Administration he had the 
posit ion of Postmaster. 

Mr. Warren was married in L848, in Barbour 
County. W. Ya.. to Eleanor A., daughter of Daniel 
Bartlett. This lady is a native of Virginia and is 
the mother of thirteen children, all of whom 
reached the years of maturity. They are a- fol- 
lows: Sarah .1.. wife of A. II. Dolin; Winlield s.. 
who resides in Nebraska; Sarah Elizabeth, who 
married ('. W. Fleming; Millard F.. a druggisl at 
Arthur; Americus F., a carpenter; Mary Margaret, 
the wife of S. II. Dcliart; Caroline Virginia, the 
wife of Daniel Evans, of Nebraska; .John I). .a har- 
ness-maker at Arthur; .Martha; Rosa A., who was 
the wife of 1). M. Huckelberry, and has died. Leav- 
ing one child; Lilly, the wife of William Preble, a 
barber at Arthur: Eva Lee and Mamie. 

Our subject has, since coming to Illinois, affil- 
iated with the Democratic party, though while in 
Virginia he counted himself a Whig, though not a 
voter because unmarried, for in Virginia an un- 
married man could not vote. lie has lure held 
some positions of trusl and responsibility, having 
been County surveyor for seven years and Justice 
of the Peace for twelve years. 

Millard F. Warren, one of the so"hs of Michael 
II. Warren, who i.~ now a prominent citizen of 
Arthur, was horn in Harrison County, Va.,Augus1 



29. ltf.-j.'i. and came with the family to Illinois in 
L859, and thus grew to manhood in Moultrie 
County, lie was educated in the common scoools 
and assisted his father in tilling the soil. In 1X73 
he came to Arthur and for five years conducted a 
photograph gallery, after which he established a 
restaurant business,'and in .Inly. 1889, engaged in 
the dmi: trade. 

This gentleman was twice married, the first time 
in 1873, to Alice, daughter of John and Permelia 
Gerkin. This lady, who was a native of Moultrie 
County, was both amiable and accomplished and 
well tilted to make a happy home, lint her married 
life was not of long duration, as -he died in L882, 
Leaving one daughter, Nellie. In L884Mr. Warren 
was married a second time, then uniting his life 
with that of Ella Luce, daughter of William Luce. 
She was horn in Areola. 111., and has two children, 
William M. and Katie May. Like his father, this 
young man is a Democrat in his political prefer- 
ences and lias filled the offices of Assessor and 

Township Clerk, lie is a man of warm social qual- 
ities and is identified with the Arthur Lodge, No. 
712. 1. 0.0. F. 



T^* 



-^e^§>- 



jr.um»i-. vv. onLTAEi i , who resides on sec- 
tion 2."). in Lovington Township, Moultrie 
County, is a son of the late Samuel and 
Barbara Ann (Shede) Shirey, of whom a fuller his- 
tory may he found under the sketch of our sub- 
ject's brother, William S. Shirey. in another part 
of this volume, and of a family of ten children the 
original of this sketch was the fifth in order of 

birth, thus, in his childh I days, he had plenty 

of playmates and childish sympathizers with the 
youthful peccadillos in which he found himself. 
He was horn in Clear Spring, [nd., August 7. 1839, 
and now has attained that period of manhood 
when speculation and experience go hand in hand 
and thus wedded, bring the hot results to their 
possessor. 

His removal to Illinois was made when hi.- fath- 
er came hither and with him he Lived until 1862, 
when he himself set up a household, placing over 



372 



PORTKAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his home as mistress. Miss Mary .T. Bear. They 
were married in BloomingtOll, this State, in June. 
1862. The lady is a daughter of Samuel Bear- 
who died in Macon County, this State. The moth- 
er is also deceased. -Mrs. Mary J. Shirey was born 
in Cumberland County, Pa., April 17. 1844. She 
bore her husband eight children, whose names are 
Georgia A.. Almeda, Samuel B., Leonora M.. 
Charles, Homer, Gertrude, and Frankie. The eldest 
daughter is the wife of Orange Behan. Almeda 
married Oliver ( ). Dawson. Leonora M. is the wife 
of .1. II. White. Frankie died when one and a half 
years old. 

Mrs. Mary .1. shirey departed this life March 28, 
1891. She was a true Christian and a conscienti- 
ous. God-fearing woman, a member of the Luther- 
an Church and an interested, ardent worker. After 
marriage our subject settled first in Macon County, 
this State where he lived until 1K74. when he re- 
moved to Moultrie County and settled in Loving- 
lon Township, finding this climate and country 
pleasant and adapted to his methods of agricultur- 
al employment, lie has always been engaged in 
farming and upon the place where he at present 
reside.-- there are many and valuable improvements 
there made by his own hands, lie has a delightful 
home that, while neat and attractive exteriorly. 
interiorly presents the comforts and refinements 
thai are so necessary to the enjoyment of life 
Hooks abound, and the current literature of Ihe day 
is found upon his shelves and tallies. The domes- 
tic management is apparently without a flaw and 
the inner man is provided with the most tooth- 
some delicacies. lie here owns one hundred and 
forty-four ami one-half acres. 

A Democrat is his political preference, our sub- 
ject is first of all an adherent of Hie principles of 
honor and right. Party is little to him. irrespec- 
tive of the purposes and plans that it matures and 
executes for the benefit of the masses of the people. 
lie has held several important offices in the gift of 
the township, having been Highway Commissioner 
for a number of years, lb 1 i> also School Trustee, 

and in this direction his desire is to be thoroughly 
abreast with the times in educational matters and 
to procure for the young people of this district 
such advantages that they will never have occas- 



sion to look back with regret upon tin' days spent 
in school. Socially he of whom we write is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, becoming thus 
connected about twelve years. On the breaking 
out of the war. he enlisted in the Union Army, 
in August, 1862, and was mustered into Company 
B. of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois Regi- 
ment, with which he served for a period of six 
months, at the expiration of which time, he was 
discharged on account of disability. Mr. Shirey is 
a man who is not satistied with mediocrity in any 
way. He is not ambitious to possess great tracts 
of land, but does care that that of which he is own- 
er, should be cultivated to the fullest possible ex- 
tent. 






rpr^\um\s J. FREELAND, a dealer in grain, 
located in Dalton City, Moultrie County, 
came here in 1871, and was the first man to 
engage in business in the place. lie shipped the 
first grain and the first cattle from that station, and 
has since continued in this line of business here, 
thus constituting himself the pioneer and the old- 
est business man in Dalton. He was born in < >r- 
ange County, N. C, June 29, 1838, his honored 
parents being John .band Mary B. (Craig) Free- 
land, both of whom were natives of North Caro- 
lina, .lames Freeland. an uncle of our subject, 
came to Illinois in 1835 and settled in what lias 
since been known as Freeland "s Point. To that 
place he was followed in 1856 h\ the parents of 
our subject, and there they undertook the business 
of fanning, and made it their permanent home 
until death called them to another and better 
world, which call came to the father in July, 
1*77. 

All lint one of the eleven children of John J. 

and Mary B. Freeland grew to reach their major- 
ity, and are named as follows: Charles J., who is 
a member Of the medical profession, and resides 

at Rogers, Ark.; Elizabeth C, married Dr. s. ]>. 
Schoollield and makes her home at Macomb. Miss.; 
Catherine J. resides in Moultrie County; Caro- 
lina married J. P. Knight, and died in Moul- 



PORTRAIT AND BIO* i'APHICAL RECORD. 



373 



trie County; William J. was Major in the 
Sixth North Carolina Infantry, and was mortally 
wounded at Fair Oaks, dying at Fortress Monroe; 
Mary A., who married the Rev. Clark Louden, a 
Presbyterian clergyman of Pierre, S. Dak.; Thomas 
J., our subject; Sarah J., who resides in Moultrie 
County; John A.,, who was Captain in the Twenty- 
first Illinois Infantry, and now resides in Moultrie 
County; Emma T., wife of .1. A. Roney, of De- 
catur. 

The father of our subject was m Whig in his 
political views, and while living in North Carolina 
was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Or- 
ange County, and Mayor of the town of llillsboro, 
where he engaged in tin' mercantile business, and 
was a slaveholder. He was an Elder in the Pres- 
byterian Church, which in those days and in that 
latitude was not considered inconsistent with hold- 
ing in bondage his fellow-creatures. After com- 
ing to Illinois he became a Republican, and 
ever stood by the political doctrines of that 
party. 

Our subject had very good school advantages in 
his native State, and came with the family to Illi- 
nois in 1856. In 1862 he raised a company of 
volunteers to fight for the old Bag, but being taken 
sick, was unable to accompany this company to the 
seat of war. Later he enlisted as a recruit, and 
was assigned to Company C. Fifty-ninth Illinois 
Infantry, under the command of Gen. Henderson. 
He served until November, 1865, and was present 
and took part in the battles of Franklin and Nash- 
ville, hut most of the time was detailed in the field 
hospital department. 

After the war this young man engaged in farm- 
ing and trading in Moultrie County until heestab- 
tished his present business, .•mil was associated with 
Mr. .1. A. Roney as partner for some ten years, 
after which he undertook business alone, lie has 
been successful in his efforts, and is accumulating 
a handsome property, as he now owns ninety acres 
of land, besides some excellent property in Dalton 
and Decatur. He was married in L875 to Cora S. 
Dickey, daughter of .1. \V. and Nancy Dickey 
This huh was born in Marshall. 111., where she re- 
ceived her early education and training, and she 
has become the mother of one child. John 1\ Like 



the father, our subject has become devotedly at- 
tached to the Republican party, and although he 
usually gives all his lime to private business, he 
took time during the early days of Dalton to 
serve the village as the first President of the Vill- 
age Hoard. He is identified with the KnightsTem- 
plar, and is a prominent and useful member of the 
Presbyterian Church. 



HR+i^ 



&- 



&~ 




LFRED K. SCOTT. Moultrie County 
owes much to her thorough, plucky, push- 
Ifi ing, persevering business men who are an 
important element in the alchemy which 
through various processes, turns the wealth of 
the soil into the gold of commerce. The philos- 
opher's stone of the ancient traditions is nothing 
to compare with them. Without their interven- 
tion which brings intocontact the producer and the 
consume]', the farmer would be overloaded with 
the products of the soil and the consumers might 
starve for lack of sustenance. Such a man is lie 
whose name appeal's at the head of this present 
writing. 

Mr. Scott is not Only the proprietor of the Ex- 
change Lank, but also is a miller and a dealer in 
grain, and he has been a resident of Bethany since 
1853. In addition to his other lines of business 
he was engaged for quite a period (beginning in 
1868) in general merchandising. Ten years later 
lie sold out this interest in order to devote himself 
more thoroughly to the grain trade, but. in 1884, 
he again purchased the store and carried it on 
until 1886. It was in 1887 when he established 
the Exchange Bank and he had built the roller 
mills in 1881. This latter industry he has carried 
on successfully and has now entirely remodeled the 
establishment. He owned and operated the mill 
along until 1887 when he associated with himself. 
as a partner in the business. Mr. .1. G. Iloldeinian. 

lb' of whom we write was born in Macon 
County. 111.. June 27, 1845. His worthy and hon- 
ored parent-. Joseph and Kthealind (Ashmore) 
Scott, were natives of Tennessee, who were mar- 
ried after coming to Illinois, as each had come to 



374 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Moultrie County in early life. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject, James Scott, brought 
his family to the Prairie State, about the year 
1830, settling at Mt. Zion in .Macon County, where 
he undertook farming, which he pursued until he 
was called to the better land. 

In 1853 the newly married parents of our sub- 
ject located on a farm at Bethany, where the mo- 
ther is still living, having become a widow in 1856. 
Her four children all grew to years of maturity, 
namely: .lames, who was a soldier in the Fifth 
Cavalry and subsequently re-enlisted and died in 
1865; Elizabeth .1.. who married .lames McQuire 
and dieil in 1883 and Alfred R., our subject who 
i- now the only surviving child of his mother's 
little thick. 

The farm, the district school and the Mt. Zion 
Academy formed the scenes of the early training 
and discipline of our subject. lie left school in 
1867 and the following year engaged in business 
at Bethany, having previously carried on for one 
year the buying and selling of live stock. His 
happy married life began in 1868, he being then 
united with Mary J. Smith, daughter of Samuel 
King Smith. This lady was horn in Kentucky in 
1850 and is the happy mother of eighl children 
who hear the names of [da, Hugh, Ftha. Troy, 
Samuel Joseph. Augusta I!.. Smith Wilson, and 
Marie. 

This successful business man and hanker had 
hut a small capital upon which to base the begin- 
nings of his present expanded business. His abil- 
ities, especially in the line of finance, have brought 
him to the front and he has accumulated a hand- 
some property and is now building a fine residence 

which will he the pride of Bethany. Besides his 
enterprises at Bethany, he has also carried on from 

1886 to the present year a general store at Cerro 
Gordo, which is not only a credit to that town. 
hut also a source of income to the proprietor. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Scott are members of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian Church and in its com- 
munion they are active workers. The K 1 1 i u 1 1 1 - 
Templar also claim this gentleman as one of their 
prominent members. His political views are in 
accordance with the platform of the Republican 
party and it is his earnest desire that none other 



than a Republican shall ever till the Presidential 
chair. As Supervisor of Marrowbone Township 
he was during his incumbency of that office the 
prominent promoter of every movement for the 
welfare of its citizens and the prosperity of the 
community. 




UGUST OTTA. A line representative of 
the foreign element that has been so po- 
tent in developing the varied resources of 
this counts'. Mr. Otta has won an import- 
ant place among its mosl intelligent farmers and 
stock-raisers, lie has extensive agricultural inter- 
ests iii Moweaqua and Penn Townships, his home be- 
ing in the former place. He was born in Brunswick, 
Germany. February 13, 1844, to Henry and Eliza- 
beth Otta, who were likewise natives of Brunswick. 

The father of our subject spent his entire life in 

his native land, dying there in 1848, Leaving a 
widow and six children. Henry, the eldest son, 
still reside- in Brunswick; William was a soldier 
in the Fourth Kansas Cavalry during the war be- 
tween the North and South, and gave Up his life 
for his adopted country: Fred died in Illinois; 
Minnie anil Lena are the names of the two daugh- 
ters of the familj . 

( >ur subject was the \ oungest child of his parents, 
lie was hut four years old when his father died. 
and his mother cared for him until he became self- 
supporting, she lived for several years after 

COmingtO the United States with her children, and 
died at the home of a daughter in Madison ( ount v. 
in 1876. August attended school steadily until 
he was fourteen and obtained an excellent educa- 
tion 111 the schools of his native land. He was 
afterward employed on a farm by the year until 
1861, when became to thiscountry with Ins mother 
and other members of the family. Setting sail from 
Bremer Haven on the vessel "North America" in 
September, and landing in New York after a voy- 
age of seven week- and two days. 

After his arrival in this country Mr. Otta came 
directly to Illinois and staid foj a lime in .Madison 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



:'.7 7 



County, where he «as employed on a Farm al $50 
a year. In 1863 be went to Macoupin County, 
and was engaged there as a farm laborer by the 
month until l.-*(!7. when became to ShelbyTTounty 
and entered upon his career as an independent 
rainier. He first bought eighty acres of land Oil 
section 24, of Moweaqua Township, on which stood 
a small log house. Hesoon erected a more commo- 
dious log house which the family occupied some 
years, and then erected the substantial and conven- 
iently arranged frame house in which they now 
live. A view of this residence may lie found on 
another page. In his farming operations he has 
met with more than ordinary success and has added 
to his original purchase from time to time until 
he has live hundred and eighty-five acres of well- 
improved land, lying in Moweaquaand Penn Town- 
ships. 

In the acquirement of his property Mr. Otta has 
received valuable assistance from his wife, to whom 
he was wedded in the fall of 1866. Mrs. Otta. 
who was formerly -Miss Augusta Durfrer. was liorn 
in Poland, and came to America with her parents 
when she was a child of four years. To her and 
our subject have been bom ten children — Henry. 
William. Annie. Lizzie. Caroline. Emma, Minnie. 
Clara. l!es>ie and llattie. 

Mr. Otta has a clear intellect, cool judgment and 

sound sense, and these traits, no less than a g 1 

capacity for work and ready business tact, have 
gained him the honorable place that he occupies 
to-day among his fellow-farmers and makes him a 
good example of our self-made men. lie is well- 
informed, has a good general knowledge of politics. 
and in that regard holds himself independent of all 
parties, preferring to use his own judgment in 
voting for men and measures. Religiously he was 
reared in the Lutheran Church, and still holds to 
that faith. 






-M-++ 



•{••M-fr" 



f.V( 1IEL I). MULLEN. It being the purpose 
Of the biographical writer to record for the 
benefit of posterity the names and deeds of 
those worthy of remembrance, be would fail in his 
purpose were he to omit from this volume s e 



account, however brief , Of Mr. Mullen, who now 
represents Lowe Township on the Moultrie ( ounl\ 
Board of Supervisors. He has been the recipient 
of this honor, as well as others, from his fellow- 
citizens, who have recognized his sagacity and 
ability, and bave often called upon him to assist 
in the management of public affairs. 

The family of which Mr. Mullen is an honored 
member included six children, as follows — Harriet. 
Yachel 1).. Isabella, Harry. Mary and Edwin. The 
parents were Erancis ( . and Nancy (Dean) Mullen, 
natives respectively of Delaware and Indiana. 
They were married in Vigo County, Ind., where 
they first settled and whence they removed to Illi- 
nois in 1850. They settled in what is now Doug- 
las County, of which they have since been resi- 
dents. The father follows the avocation of a 
farmer, and is honorable and conscientious in his 
dealings with those about him. considerate and 
kindly in social and domestic life, and with his 
good wife enjoys the esteem of the community 
where they reside. 

Our subject, flic eldesl son in the family, was 
born September 28, 1845, upon an island in the 
Wabash River, in Vigo County. Ind. In the home 
of his birth he spent tin- first live years of his life, 
and was then broughl by his parents to Illinois. 
He grew to a stalwart manhood in Douglas 
County, where he attended fhe common schools of 
the district and learned l>\ experience many lessons 
even more valuable than those conned on the rude 
benches of the temple of learning, lie began his 
career a poor bow but put his shoulder to the 
wheel with so much energy that his presen.1 prop- 
erty is the result. 

For twenty years Mr. Mullen has received the 
active and devoted assistance of a faithful wife, 
who has shared his joys and sorrows, his hopes and 
disappointments, and who with him can now reap 
the harvest of the efforts of former years. This es- 
timable lady bore the maiden name of Catherine 
Crist, and was born in Muhlenberg ( ounty, Ky., 
February 22. 1848. The ceremony which united 
her in marriage with Mr. Mullen was performed in 
Don-las County. 111.. March 2. 1871, and after 
that important event the young couple settled in 
Lowe Township on section I. of which they have 



378 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



since been residents. Their family comprises five 
children — Myra 1'... Alfred II.. Effie X.. .May and 
Winona. 

In his chosen life work, fanning, Mr. Mullen lias 
been greatly prospered, and one hundred and 
twenty acres now pay tribute t<> his care and culli- 
vation. In political affairs he takes a lively inter- 
est and is a prominent member of the Democrat 
party, lie has held the office of School Director, 
a position for which he was well qualified by edu- 
cation, deep interest in the cause and energy of 
character. Me was elected Supervisor of I. owe 
Township in the spring of 1889, and in that re- 
sponsible position is doing much to advance the 
interests of hi-, community. In his religious views 
he is liberal. He is one of the most enterprising 
and public spirited of men. and without neglecting 
his personal affairs finds time to do much to ad- 
vance the common welfare. 



^=m>^<w^ 



characteristics of social and industrial life 
\ in Marrowbone Township.. Moid trie County, 
\£) have been largely shaped by the note- 
worthy family one of whose honored representa- 
tives is the gentleman whose name appears at the 
opening of this sketch. Their influence, which is 
broad and aggressive, is felt in every department 
of life and i> ever exerted to promote all move- 
ments Looking to the upbuilding of the township. 
The honored parents of our subject are spoken of 
more at length in a sketch of .Mr. 1). M. Crowder, 

which appears elsewhere in this volume. 

The reverend gentleman of whom we write is 
the seventh in order of age in a family of ten and 
was born in Marrowbone Township, Moultrie 
County, bul then Shelby County, March I. 1842. 

Here he received hi> earh training hoth upon tin' 

farm and in the district school, and afterward at- 
tended Mt. /.ion Academy, being for two years 
under the valuable tutorship of Dr. A. .1. Mc- 

Glumphy. His father's farm remained his home 

until tin' occurrence of a most important event in 
the life of the yowng man — his marriage, which 



took place in Taylorville, this State, August 13, 
1862. He had taught in the meantime two win- 
ters and one summer in Marrowbone Township 
and then enlisted in the service of his country 
.Inly ."> 1 . 1862. joining Company A, One Hundred 
and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, in which he 
served until August 1. 1K05. 

The wedded pair, so soon called to part by the 
the exigencies of war. hade each other farewell and 
the young private marched away under his coun- 
try's flag. He was soon promoted to a Sergeantey 
and was detailed as private secretary and confi- 
dential messenger to (Jen. Nathan Kimball in 
command of Second Division. Sixteenth Army 
Corps. He took part in the siege of Vicksburg 
and at the battle of Satarcia June 6, 1862, he suf- 
fered from sunstroke, lie also took part in the 
Arkansas expedition, the capture of Little Rock 
and the battles of Clarendon and Saline. In all 
of this experience he proved himself a valiant sol- 
dier, a loyal and devoted friend of the Union and 
an officer upon whom reliance might safely he 
placed. 

'•When the cruel war was over" the soldier re- 
turned to his wife and home in Marrowbone 
Township and resumed farming and stock-raising, 
in which he was engaged exclusively until 187.'?, 
when he took upon himself the vows of a Chris- 
tian minister. He first settled inCasner. Macon 
County, and later at Elwin, in the same county. 
Alter one year there he spent a year at Locust 
Grove, Shelly County, and a year at Pleasant 
Grove, Logan County, after which he returned to 
Casner for a year and was at Shiloh, DeWitl 
County, for three years. He was then located in 
Springfield, 111., for two years, and for two years 
at Oakland, Macon County, of which chinch he is 
the present pastor. During ten years of this pe- 
riod of his ministry he continued to reside upon 
his farm, which is a line tract of live hundred 
aere>. upon which he has erected a beautiful home 
and excellent farm buildings. 

The maiden name of Mrs. Crowder was Maggie 
A. Wear, and she is a daughter of .1. M. and Je- 
mima Wear, now deceased. She was horn in Fay- 
ette County. 111., October 11. 1845, and was given 
by her parents the best available opportunities for 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



379 



an education. As a wife and mother she is faith- 
ful and judicious, as a neighbor is warmly appre- 
ciated and as a minister's wife is a true helper in 
the work of the Lord, she has seven children, 
namely: Ora J., the wife of Thomas Stables; Effic 
K.. now Mrs. T. X. Hunt; Hoherl M.. who married 
Miss Lilla K. Wellman; Delia and Earl. One child 
died in infancy and a little daughter, Katie J., 



etorship, and the farm of which he is owner, 
loeatcd on section 25, of Lovington Township 
shows evidence thai he has pul into practice his 
theories upon this subject. 

The original of our sketch is the son of David 
Jones who was a native of Cumberland County. 
Ky. His mother was Elizabeth Fiscus, also a 
native of that county. They removed at an 



was taken from her loving parents when she had early day to Morgan County, [nd., and there lived 



reached the am- of seven years. 

The Rev. Mr. Crowder has been a successful min- 
ister of the United Brethren Church, and under 
his preaching, which has been of an evangelistic 
nature, he has reason to believe that as many as 
fifteen hundred soids have found the way of life. 
He is a member of Post No. 176, G. A. R., and 
has been Chaplain of his post and a delegate to 
the State Encampment. In this connection he 
conceived the idea of organizing all the posts in 
the county, and as the result of his movement 
Moultrie County is thus organized. He is not 
only a devout Christian hut a broad- seeing and 
earnest man of public spirit, who is ever ready to 
sacrifice his persona] ambition for the welfare of 
the community. 



V 



y 



^ACOB JONES. Although the competition 
in the agricultural business is vastly more 
yearly- year, new and improved methods 
and the aid which science has extended to 
the farmer, with the carrying facilities offered by 
railroads which are stretching out in every direc- 
tion in an intricate net work that covers even 
needy agricultural region, make the production so 
much greater, and the choice of markets so much 
easier that the yirgin freshness of the prairie soil 
an early advantage is more than counter balanced. 
There is not so much drudgery in the life of a 
farmer now as formerly. He can live and enjov it 
having time to perceive about him the beauties of 
nature, and to enter into sympathy with every 
branch of his calling. Our subject is one who 
appreciates the new method of agricultural propri- 



for forty years. Their decease took place at their 
homestead. Our subject was the second in order 
of birth in the parental family, which comprised 
eight children. He was horn October 2. 1837. in 
Morgan County, [nd. and was reared in his native 
place, remaining under the home roof until he 
came to Illinois in 18(12. 

Upon his advent into this State, he of whom we 
write at once came to Moultrie County and settled 
in Lovington Township, where he has since been 
a resident. The next most important event in his 
career, was his marriage, which took place in the 
village of Lovington, .Inly 26, 1863. His bride 
was Miss Mary E. (lore, a daughter of Allen 
(lore, for whose historj see biographical sketch ill 
another part of this volume. Mrs. Jones was born 
in Lovington Township, May 1. lxil. and until 
her marriage lived at home, learning the accom- 
plishments that were then fashionable for young 
ladies. Bui two children have come to gladden 
the home and be the prop and comfort of their 
parents' declining years. They arc by name 
Stanton A. and Lucy E. 

The original of our sketch has always devoted 
himself to the calling of a farmer and before he 
came to this State, while as a young man he had 
been well trained in the processes and methods b\ 
which agricultural life could be made financially 
successful, and since then by the introduction of 
improved machinery, he ha- learned how it can 
also be made pleasant and not so arduous as 
formerly. He is the owner here of eighty acres of 
land which is under good improvement. It is 
well located and fenced, and has a good class of 
buildings. The home is built for comfort rather 
than for show, and serves its purpose well. He 
has good barns and a line grade of stock. Politi- 
cally he is an adherent of the Republican partj 



380 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and the lines of argumenl in governmental affairs 
arc such as appeal to trim as being the most reason- 
able and those that will conduce to the general 
growth of every department of life in the United 
States. He has held several local positions in the 
Township, having been School Director, whirl) 
position has been most satisfactorily filled. Mr, 
and Mrs. Jones are both members of the Christian 
Church, and are a warm hearted, generous people, 
ready to assisl in any measure that promises to 
benefit cither needy individuals or the general 
mass of humanity. 

Mr. Jones enlisted in the War of the Rebellion, 
March 1. 1865, in Company H, of the Eighteenth 
Illinois Regiment. He lii>t entered the army as a 
private and was soon promoted to the position of 
Corporal. He was engaged in service for one year 
and was mustered out at Pine Bluff, Ark., after 
which he returned to his old home in Moultrie 
County, where he has ever since been a resident. 
lie is a member of Post No. 354 of G. A. R. in 
Lovington. A quiet and unpretentious man. our 
subject is one whose example and precepts cannot 
but have their weight in any community, and il is 
needless to say thai they have been felt for good 
here in Lovington Township. He and his family are 
among the most highly respected residents in the 
Township. 



I ...mv . v . SHEPARD. A native of the 
) Green Mountain Mate, our subject early 
imbibed the spirit of Yankee shrewdness 
) which distinguishes the "down Easters," 
modified and blended by the influence thai his fa- 
ther as a professional man broughl into the family. 
His mother was a typical New England woman, 
with a large degree of ability, and deeply versed in 
all branches of the culinary art. one who governed 
her household with a firm hand, and ai the same 
time was gentle and mild. His father was Dr. Kos- 
well S hepard , a native of Barry, Vt, and his mother 
was Lydia (Sprague) Shepard, who was horn in 
Brimfield, that stale. The father practiced his pro- 
Cessioii in Vermont, Massachusetts and New York. 




and from the last named State removed to Pick- 
away County. Ohio, where he lived until his de- 
cease, which occurred in Palestine, that county. 

The widow of Dr. Roswell Shepard, came to 
Moultrie County and spent her last days with our 
subject, who had previous to this, settled here. lie 
was the third child in order of birth in a family of 
five children, three of whom are living': Neman 
died when two years old. and Ilamhlin died after 
reaching maturity; he was killed in Shrevesport.'La. 
Henry C. was horn in Montpelier, Vt., May 1 1, 1826, 
he was thirteen years of age when his father went to 
Pickaway County, Ohio. There he grew to man- 
hood, continuing to live under his father's roof 
until lsll. when he determined to strike out in a 
new direction for himself, and to see what the 
world contained for a young man with strength, 
energy and ambition. He engaged in various kinds 
of business, and for a time was employed by A. Mc- 
Crea in the dry-goods business, during which time 
he farmed two hundred and fifty acres of land. 
This was in 1854, the dryest year known up to the 
present time. 

After his advent into this county, our subject 
wa- engaged for a period of three years in farming 
and dealing in stock, at the expiration of which 
time he returned to l'ickway County, and there re- 
mained until 1879. He was engaged in trading, 
and during the war. was occupied as sutler in the 
army for two or three years. After that he went 
to Franklin County. Ohio, and was there' married. 
December 11, 1862, to Miss Jennie Armstrong, who 
was horn in Columbus, Ohio, she was a daughter 
of William Armstrong. This gentleman died at 
the age of ninety-three years. By this marriage he 
of whom we write became the father of two chil- 
dren: Harry D.. a resilient of Columbus, Ohio; and 
William A., who lives on his father's farm in Lov- 
ington Township. Mrs. Jennie shepard died Au- 
gust '!'>. 1867, deeply mourned by husband and 
sons. 

In I S7i* Mr. Shepard returned to Moultrie County 
and settled on section 2. Lovington Township, 
where he has since been a resident, since his re- 
turn he has been engaged ill general farming, and 
ha.- made a specialty of the breeding of line horses. 

having some thoroughbreds upon his place that 



PORTRAIT AND BIO 1RAPHICAL RECORD. 



38J 



have been registered. He also is the owner of some 
fine Short-horn cattle, and breeds the same. He is 
the proprietor of two hundred and forty acres of 
land which boasts the best of improvements. His 
buildings are first class, and the appointments of 
his place show him to be a thorough farmer and 
general manager. 

Politically Mr. Shepard has always fraternized 
with the Democratic party, and although personal 
worth is more to him than party favor, he recog- 
nizes the fact that divided allegiance does not tend 
to the strengthening of government, lie has Idled 
the office of Highway Commissioner most accept- 
ably. 

After his marriage, the original of our sketch 
purchased a large farm in Pickaway County, Ohio, 
which he carried on in connection with stock breed- 
ing :ind dealing. Although a portion of his time 
spent in Ohio was passed in Columbus, which was 
the city of his residence, he carried on general 
farming for the greater portion of his lime. In 
1K7."> he undertook the management of a larger 
tract of land, comprising about one thousand acres, 
at the same time operating his own farm. He also 
had charge of ten miles of turnpike, and settled 
three estates which entailed no small amount of 
work and time. In L855, when our subject first 
came to Moultrie County, he rode on horseback 
from Pickaway County, Ohio, to Lovington, and 
although the journey must have been tedious and 
tiresome, no such idea of the resources and nature 
of the land can be gained now-a-days in our whirls 
by night and day over hundreds of miles, as in the 
equestrian journey, enjoyed at that time, by our 
subject. A man of many resources. Mr. Shepard 
has been able to meet and disarm every unfavor- 
able barrier to his progress in life, lie is a success- 
ful farmer and an intelligent man. possessing 
personally, great advantages. A line conversa- 
tionalist, his experience with men and his dealings 
in various fields, have given him a knowledge of 
human nature that enables him to en joy it in all it- 
phases. No rascal so smooth or finished hut who. 
to him. has some redeeming trait. No man SO good, 
hut that he has his frailties that are to he condoned. 
Although he has been so largely engaged in busi- 
ness, with so much to occupy his time anil atten- 



tion in the various periods of his career his pass- 
word to success has ever been thoroughness and an 
adherence to the principles of rectitude and honor. 
His >ons arc men grown, who have taken upon 
themselves the responsibilities of life, and have es- 
tablished homes of their own. Harry I>. married 

Miss Nora Shirey. and is the head of a pleasant 
home; William A., who married Miss Marietta 
Marks, is a farmer in Lovington Township, and 
young as he is. has already acquired a reasonable 
degree of success. 



m 



AMES II. VADAK1N. M. I).. Ph. O.. is a 
practicing physician at llelhanv. well-known 
in this part of the State as for ten years lie 
has been here an extensive merchant. He 
was horn in Sullivan. 111.. March 30, lSlil and is a 
son of Henry F. and Aseneth (Clemmons) Vada- 
kin. The former was a native of the Green Moun- 
tain State where the Yadakin family has lived for 
several generations, the paternal grandfather of 
our subject being there a miller at an early day. 
Philip Yadakin. grandfather of him of whom we 
write, came to this State in an early day and set- 
tled in East Neslon Township. Moultrie County, 
where he wa- about the first settler. He it was. 
who platted and laid out the town, which was in- 
tended originally to become the County Seat of 
Moultrie County, he having settled previous to the 
formation of the county. 'There he passed his re- 
maining years and his remains lie interred in East 
Nelson Township. 

The father of our subject was but a boy when 
the family came to what was then the far West. 
but young as he was, he performed the duties of 
driver, from Vermont to [llinois, hisbeastsof bur- 
den being a yoke of oxen. He was studious and 
fond of books, and was his own teacher to a great 
degree. He entered the public schools as a teacher 
and saving the money that he earned in this way. 
he was enabled before a great while to engage ill 

business at Sullivan, about the time that place be- 
came the county -eat. His firsl effort in a business 



382 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



way was made in general merchandise, and later he 
engaged in the drug trade, although the last busi- 
ness with which he occupied himself was thai of a 
grocer. Some years before his death he retired 
from active business life, being enabled to live 
comfortably on the interesl of whal he had accu- 
mulated, having been successful in business. His 
deatli occurred in 1888. 

The mother of our subject was born in Shelby 
County, she beinga second cousin of Samuel Clem- 
mons, better known under his nom de plume of 
Mark Twain. She died in 187:3. Both parents 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and were deeply interested in the spread of the 
Gospel work. Politically the father was a Demo- 
crat and during the latter part of his life held the 
post of Coroner of this county. They were the 
parents of five sous and two daughters. Three of 
the sons, however, died in infancy, and only four 
children are now living! 1891), namely: Dora. Mrs. 
Kilner, of Sullivan; Aggie is the wife of W. B. 
Townsend and resides in Shelhyville; .lames II. 
our subject, andEdwai'd Lincoln who is the editor 
of the Forest City Times at Forest City, Ark. 

The original of our sketch received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of Sullivan and is a 
graduate of the Rockford High School and also of 
Becker's Business College at Rockford, 111., after 
which he entered the School of Pharmacy at Car- 
bondale, this State, from which he was graduated 
in 1882. Thus fitted for active life, in the same 
year In- established a drug business at Bethany. 
having previously clerked in a drug store at 
Sullivan. To this business he added a general 
stock of g Is and carried on a large and succcss- 
t'ul trade. During these years he also engaged 
iii the manufacture of patent medicines, among 
them being "Casterole," "Vadakm's [nstanl Re- 
lief," -sticky Fly Paper," and some fifty other 
things, and being a thorough business man and a 
liberal advertiser at that time, his remedies soon 
became known. 

Throughout his liusincss career, he had been 
constantly engaged in reading medicine and in 

1890 entered the Kentucky School of .Medicine. 
That same year he graduated in microscopy, sur- 
gery and chemistry. In 1891 he graduated in the 



full medical course, receiving the degree of M. D. 
with highest honors. A diploma for bacteriology 
was also conferred upon him. During his college 
course he acted as assistant demonstrator in sur- 
gery, microscopy and pathology, assisting Dr. 
Matthews in treating diseases of the rectum. On 
leaving the college he was the recipient of tine 
testimonials from his preceptors. 

In 1891, our subject sold his general business at 
Bethany and gave his entire attention to his pro- 
fession. In 1883 Dr. Vadakin was united in mar- 
riage to Nora M. daughter of W. L. T. Meacham.a. 
merchant at Waverly, HI., and successor to the 
Doctor in his business at Bethany. Mrs. Vadakin 
was born in Waxerly this State. May 1. L864. She 
has presented her husband with three children: 
Diamond is the only one living, and is a sunny 
tempered child of seven years; the two youngest 
whose names were Ruby and Pearl, died in child- 
hood. The latter was but five years of age •when 
her death occurred at Louisville. Ivy., June Li. 
1891. The little thing was bright and had a re- 
markable voice for one so young. 

Politically the original of our sketch is a Demo- 
crat although he gives but small attention to poli- 
tics, except to perform his duties as a citizen. Both 
he and his wife are members of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian Church. Socially he is a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and also of 
the Modern Woodmen of America, being Camp 
Physician of said fraternity. He is also local sur- 
geon for the Peoria. Decatur >V Fvansville Rail- 
road. 



AMUEL S. ANDERSON. A beautiful farm 
^s£ on section 19, Lovington Township, is the 
J) home of Mr. Anderson and his interesting 
family. His estate consists of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres all under cult ivat ion. sup- 
plied with a complete set of farm buildings and 
fittingly adorned with trees and shrubs. The per- 
fect tillage of the broad fields, the good arrange- 
ment of the buildings and the appearance of home 
comfort which is manifest, make the farm one of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



383 



the most attractive seen by a passing traveler. Mr. 
Anderson gives his attention to genera] farming 
in which he is more than ordinarily successful. 

Mr. Anderson was born in Licking County, Ohio, 
.March LO, 1834, and is the son of William and 
Elizabeth (McKibben) Anderson, natives of Wash- 
ington County, l'a. The parents Srs1 settled in 
Washington County removing thence to Licking 
County, Ohio, where the father died in 1840. The 
mother survived many years, coming West to Moul- 
trie County and dying in the village of Lovington 
August •'!. 1885. They had a family of ten chil- 
dren, of whom our subject was the seventh in or- 
der of birth. He was reared to manhood in his 
native place, receiving the advantages of a good 
com in i in -school education and assisting his widowed 
mother in the maintenance of the family. 

In September, 1856, Mr. Anderson removed from 
the Buckeye State to Illinois, locating in Moultrie 
County and entering upon farming operations. 
He had been reared upon a farm and having a 
natural aptitude for agriculture, naturally chose it 
for his life work. He has been successful in his 
chosen avocation and has received in ever j enter- 
prise the cheerful co-operation of his wife, with 
whom he was united in marriage in Lovington 
Township, June :*. 1859. Mrs. Anderson bore the 
maiden name of Phelie Bushfield and is adaughter 
of the late George and Mary (McKeever) Bushfield. 
She was born in Perry County. Ohio, in January. 
1841, and accompanied her parents to this county. 
Her refinement and culture win for her warm 
friends wherever she is known, while her hospital- 
ity and kindliness of heart are well known. 

Whitley Township was the first home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Anderson after their marriage and there they 
remained two years, improving their farm and be- 
coming known as good neighbors and estimable 
citizens. Their next home was in Lovington 
Township where they havesince resided, and where. 
.•!■* above stated, he has become the owner of one 
hundred and twenty acres of fine land. His estate 
with its commodious residence and substantial out- 
buildings shows what may be accomplished by 
unceasing perseverance and good business manage- 
ment. He may, in the truest sense of the word, be 
called a self-made man. for when he started out 



u 



for himself he had no capital save good health and 
untiring energy. Now his finely improved farm 
stands as a lasting monument of his efforts. 

Politically Mr. Anderson isa Democrat although 

in voting for local elections he is independent and 
always easts his ballot for the candidate whom he 
thinks will best represent the people. Mr-. An- 
derson is a devoted member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, and lie is a believer in ami 
supporter of the doctrines of Christianity. He pos- 
sesses in a full degree those sterling traits of char- 
acter which mark a good man and a worthy citizen. 
who is always true to himself and to others, and 
conscientiously discharges every duty that devoh es 
upon him. 



ffiOHN T. LOVING. We are pleased to men- 
tion among the prominent families of Dora 
Township, Moultrie County, the Loving 
family, which has been, in its various mem- 
bers, identified with the interests of this county 
for many years. A brother of our subject appears 
in another biographical sketch in the pages of this 
Record and the one of whom we now write, who 
is the Supervisor of the township, residing on .sec- 
tion 22, dates his residence in the counts from the 
year 1867. He is a son of Jasper D. and Maria .1. 
(Messer) Loving and was bom in McLean County, 
April 1!». 1863, being upon the same day when his 
grandfather. Taylor Loving, expired. Fuller de- 
tails of the history of the family reaching back to 
previous generations will be found in the bio- 
graphy <>f Frank M. Loving. 

Our subject was but four years old when the 
family came to Moultrie County, and here he 
received his education in the district schools and 
grew up to undertake the arduous but pleasant 
pursuit of a farmer. I. aura F. Harper was the 
maiden name of the lady who united her fortunes 
with his in marriage. December 29, 1881. She is 
a daughter of David and Mary Ann (McMullen) 
Harper and was bom in Ross County, Ohio, 
December 1*. 18(11. She made the acquaintance 
of our subject while on a visit to Moultrie County. 



384 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



and they were married after her return to Madi- 
son County, Ohio. They have had one son, Clyde, 

who was taken from their anus by death at the 
age of twenty-two months. 

Mr. Loving owns eighty acres of land, the same 
being a portion of the old homestead. In the 
spring of IMS 1 he removed to Montgomery County, 
Kan., where he remained until 1889, when he 
returned to Illinois, although he still retains his 
ownership in the eighty acres of land which he 
acquired while there. lie has made all the 
improvements which have been placed upon his 
home farm, and his residence is a pleasant one and 
delightfully situated.. In political matters he is 
independent of party ties and is now serving his 
second term as Supervisor. Loth he and his good 
wife are prominent members of the Christian 
Church in which they are counted a* faithful 
helpers. 



*^^l[ 



m> 



KSl 




[ KNHY ('. WOOD. It has been said that 

*' merit is the only distinction, and none will 

deny that those who have been industrious, 

(^) frugal and honest, are deserving of recog- 
nition by their fellow-men. These qualities have 
characterized Mr. Wood in his dealings with man- 
kind, his labor for personal advancement and his 
connection with social affairs, lie has for many 
years been numbered among the influential farmers 
of Moultrie County, having a goodly tract of land 
on section III. I. owe Township. He raises on his 
two hundred acres crops of various grains, equal 
in quality and quantity to any in the neighbor- 
hood, and has also erected good liarns and com- 
modious OUt-buildingS for the storage of grain and 
shelter of stock. 

Mr. Wood is tin' son of Eli and Nancy (Moon) 
Wood, natives of North Carolina and Virginia re- 
spectively. Very early in life they came to Indi- 
ana, whence they removed to Illinois in 1 S 1 7. 
locating in what is now Douglas County. They 
there remained until called hence ley death. The 

father was an energetic and upright man. univer- 



sally esteemed and respected. The parental family 
included five daughters and two sons, our subject 
being the sixth in order of birth. Knox County. 
Ind.. was his birthplace and his natal day Novem- 
ber 9, 1845. When he was one and a half years 
old he was brought to Illinois by his parents and 
giew to a vigorous manhood amid the pioneer 
scenes of Douglas County. 

When our subject was about fifteen years old he 
was bereaved by the death of his father, after 
which he made his home with an uncle, Martin 
Wood, for two years. He then worked out as a 
farm laborer for three years and gained a practical 
knowledge of the best way of carrying on a farm, 
lie was less than twenty when he enlisted, April. 
1865, in Company F, Eighteenth Illinois Infantry, 
and served until the close of the war. When 
peace was declared he returned to Illinois and once 
more resumed the pursuits of civil life. He first 
located in Piatt County and for one year worked 
out by the month, after which he engaged in agri- 
culture on his own account in Moultrie County. 
of which he has since been a resident. 

On October I'll. L866. in Piatt County. 111.. 
Henry C. Wood and Miss Ann Shultz were united 
in the holy bonds of wedlock. This lady, who 
was a native of Kentucky, died in Lowe Township, 
August 26, IHH.'). Their four children were named 
as follows: Ida M., now- the wife of George II. 
Erhardt, Eva, Lucy 1!. and Robert W. Mr. Wood 
was again married, choosing as his wife Miss Mar- 
tha A. Thurman. who was bom in Pulaski County. 
Ivy.. August to, 1845. The marriage was solem- 
nized in Somerset, Ky.. November 111. 1889, and 
has proved a congenial union. Mrs. Wood is a 
lady whose intelligence is universally recognized 
and whose hospitality and geniality are well 
known. 

A man of unblemished reputation and sound 
understanding. Mr. Wood occupies a place in the 
community among the very best citizens. He is a 
member of the New Light Church, to which his 
first wife also belonged. His present wife is a 
member of the Baptist Church. In his political 
affiliations he is a Democrat and has served as 
School Director two terms. He has always fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits and in his chosen avo- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



387 



cation has accumulated the means which enable 
him al tlic present time to surround himself and 
family with the comforts justly the reward of 
those who work industriously and studiously. 



!*+$ 



• L 



J=T 



OSEPH CHESSHIRE. The noiseless and 
inaudible fool of time has so stealthily 
passed over the sixty-six years thai our sub- 
ject numbers since his natal day, that he is 
only aware of its passage by seeing grown up 
about him sons and daughters who have reached 
manhood and womanhood, and who have families 
of their own. At sixty-six a man is in the prime 
of his vigor, and to hear the little grandchildren 
pertly telling of things thai have come within their 
young knowledge thai arc new to the man seems 
an encroachment upon his rights and perquisites. 
It is not the years that makes us old. ft is the little 
ones that crowd us. 

Our subject resides on section 20, in Rural 
Township, Shelby County, his residence in the 
county dating from the spring of 1866. He was 
born in Hampshire County, W. Va., September 6, 
1 825, and is a son of Obadiah and Sarah (Switcher) 
Chesshire, who were natives of Hampshire County, 
\V. Va., the mother being of German descent. The 
parents lived and died in their native State, having 
pursued the calling of agriculture from their earli- 
est efforts at making a living for themselves. The 
mother died aboul 1857, the father following her 
about 1867. 

Our subject is one of fifteen children, of whom 
twelve lived to reach years of maturity. Two of 
these, our subject and une sister, Margaret, came t<> 
I Hi in lis and made themselves homes. Joseph ( 'hes- 

shiie was reared mi the home farm where lie re- 
mained until his marriage, which took place I le- 
eember 1. 1850. His bride was Miss Ruth Lupton 
who was born in Hampshire County, W. Va., April 
16, 1831. In the fall of 1855 Mr. Chesshire with 
his family came to Illinois, lirst stopping in Sanga- 
mon ( 'ounty. 

The winter (it 1855-56 was very severe and Mr. 
( hesshire resolved that he would nut stav long in 



Ihis State, lull when spring Came and under the 

fervid sun the spring flowers starred the prairie 
with a thousand colors, the aspect of the country 
was entirely changed and he concluded that in so 
fertile a land he could endure an occasional draw- 
back in the way of a severe winter. They settled 
in Sangamon (.'ounty and there remained aboul 
lour years, then went to Christian County where 
they staid six years. At the end of this time they 
came to Shelby County where they purchased one 
hundred and sixty acres of land from the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company. The land was then 
raw prairie, but as the years have passed and tin- 
efforts of his labors appeared in fertile fields and 
orchards of fine fruit trees, it has liecoine a tirst- 
class farm, upon which there is a comfortable dwell- 
ing that is provided with all the appliances for 
making life as pleasant as possible. 

Our subject and his amiable wife are the parents 
Of eight children, of whom six lived to lie grown. 
They are Frances, .lane. Rachael, Lucinda. Sarah 
A. and Michael \Y. Frances is the wife of Samson 
Shivers; .lane was twice married and now resides 
in Nebraska; Rachael is the wife of William 
Heimes; Lucinda was married to John McDonald 
and resides in Rural Township. Politically, our 
subject favors the Independent parly, although he 
was originally a Democrat. He has filled several 
local offices, having been Road Commissioner and 
also School Director. He is associated with the 
licst men in the township in working for the ele- 
vation and improvement of everything thai can 
give lone to the locality. 

In connection with his biographical sketch the 

attention of the reader is invited to a lithographic 
portrait of Mr. Chesshire, presented elsewhere in 

this volume. 



,* , b-, w , W - l. 



f i ' i ' i ' * i 



YRON CHEEVER. One of the besl char- 
acteristics of a true gentleman is gentleness 
and kindness to the beings that are depen- 
dent upon him for care and protection. 
Especially is this true when dumb brutes arc the 

Objects of the care. He of whom we write is a 



388 



PORTRAIT AND BI GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lover of horses with all which that beautiful word 
implies as to tenderness and protective care of the 
objects of hi.s affections. While he breeds upon his 
fine farm of two hundred acres located on section 
27. of Lovington Township, Moultrie Comity, 
some very fine horses, he is not satisfied with this 
alone, but so cultivates the host traits in the horses 
under his care that they are almost human in their 
understanding of the sympathy of the higher ani- 
mal. 

Our subject is a son of Nathan Cheever. a ph \ 
sician who was born in Delaware County, Ohio. 
April 13, 1818. Our subject's mother was Mai y 
Ann Hubbard in her maiden days and she was a 
native of Pickaway County, Ohio, where she was 
born April III, 1828. They were married in the 
last named county and State, September 22. 1842. 
and settled in Franklin County of the same State, 
where they resided over three years, from there 
removing to Waterloo. Fayette County, Ohio. 
where they made their home for eleven years, dur- 
ing which time the father was engaged in the 
practice of his profession. From that place they 
removed to Jefferson County, Iowa, where Nathan 
Cheever entered eight hundred acres of land and 
purchased eighty- acres of improved land, upon 
which they settled. During the time that they ic 
mained in Jefferson County, he was engaged in 
the practice of his profession in which he continued 
until 1857, when the family removed to this 
county, and settled in Lovington, where the old 
gentleman continued to practice until 1875, then 
he retired from active professional life. He con- 
tinued to reside in Lovington until his death. 
which occurred November 23, 1884. 

The maternal grandparents of him of whom we 
write were Jacob and Hester Ann Asher. both of 
whom were natives of Ohio, the former passing 
away in Pickaway County. Ohio, and the laltei 
dying in this county and State. The parent- of 
Byron Cheever saw grow up about them six chil- 
dren and of this family our subject was the only 
son. lb- was born in Fayette County. Ohio. 
September 22. 1818. and was almost nine years old 
when his parents came to Lovington where lie grew 
to manhood. The young man was educated in tin' 
common schools of the district in which he lived. 



Like most boys, he was brimming with mischief, 
but managed to acquire the branches that were most 
valuable to him in a business life and his mind 
continued to develop until he became a well edu- 
cated and cultured gentleman. 

The original of our sketch continued 1o make 
his home with his father until he was twenty-two 
years of age. At this time he was married, his 
wedding being celebrated October 20, 1*70, and 
his bride being Miss Eliza V. Nichols, a daughter 
of James H. and Hester (Wingate) Nichols, the 
former probably being a native of Maryland, and 
the latter of Delaware. Mrs. Cheever's parents 
were married in Delaware and made their lirst 
home in Maryland, the father being engaged in the 
occupation of carpentry. They came to this county 
and State in 1 8(12. and settled in Lovington. where 
lie followed his trade and resided until the time of 
his deceased. The mother passed away from this 
life January 27. 1863. The father died May 14. 
1869. They had live children and of these Mrs. 
Cheever was the youngest. She was born in Caro- 
line County. Md.. March Hi, 1850. 

After marriage our subject and wife settled in 
Lovington and for the first year thereafter he was 
engaged in farming, and then engaged in the mer- 
cantile business for a period of seven years, after 
which time he devoted himself to the grain luisi- 
ness, in which he dealt extensively, buying and 
shipping to the Metropolitan markets. He also 
was the proprietor of the hotel known as the Cen- 
tral House, continuing in the charge of this for two 
years. He then removed to his farm just north of 
Lovington. to the cultivation and improvement of 
which he has since devoted himself. His farm is 
devoted mostly to breeding purpose.- and sonic of 
the finest horses that are raised in the county, may 
be seen here. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cheever are the parents of six chil- 
dren whose names are as follows: Will I... Her- 
bert F.. Frank I'... Lillie E., Henry O. and Adah F.. 
all of whom are bright and interesting young peo- 
ple, promising to be the comfort and solace of 
their parents' declining years. Mr. Cheever has 
always taken an active interest in political affairs 
the Republican party being the object of his faith 
and devotion and receiving from him his influence 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RF.CORD. 



389 



and vote. He has occupied a number of the local 
offices, having tilled the oilier of Justice of the 
Peace since the spring of 1890, and having also 
satisfactorily discharged the duties of many other 
township otliees. Socially our subject is a member 
of the Masonic fraternity and also belongs to the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He is. besides, a 
member of the Knights of Pythias. He of whom 
we write is al the present time just appiQaching 
the best and most mature portion of his life and 
the tine business qualifications that he possesses in- 
sure for him the privilege of enjoying all the com- 
forts that good financial position insure. 



AMES ELLARS. Illinois gave freely of her 

wealth and of her men to the defense of the 
Union when the call came from President 
Lincoln for troops to suppress the War of 
the Rebellion. All over her broad prairies you 
may now find men living in quiet retirement up- 
on whose breasts may be seen the modest decora- 
tion of the Grand Army of the Republic, or who. 
perhaps unbadged, still keep in their hearts the 
memory of their days and nights upon the battle- 
field and upon the march. Such will ever find 
cordial recognition and a hearty approval from 
every patriotic man or woman, and among them 
we are pleased to mention the prosperous farmer 
aiid stock-dealer residing at Arthur. Moultrie 
County, whose name we have placed al the head of 
this paragraph. 

Mr. Hilars settled in Lowe Township in the 
spring of 1868, and at that time purchased two 
hundred and forty acres of land on section 2 1 
where there were but feu improvements. Madi- 
son County Ohio, had been his birthplace, October 

is. 1 842, and the excellent couple who gave him 
his birth and training were Benjamin and Priscilla 

( Harrison ) Hilars. 

The family came to Illinois in 1852, settling 
upon a tract of unbroken prairie in what was then 
known as Coles County, but which is now included 
in Douglas County. At that date settlers were 



few in that section, but deer were abundant and 
could be seen grazing upon the prairie as plenti- 
fully as the cattle of to-day. There the father of 
our subject improved three hundred and twenty 
acres of rich prairie soil and remained for two 
years. In 1854 he decided to prospect about a 
little more before settling- for a permanent home, 
and started for Iowa, traveling overland with his 
team. The first night of his journey he stopped 
at Monticello, Ilk. and as he was taking a loaded 
gun from a wagon it was accidentally discharged 
and the shot penetrated his lungs. This accident 
crippled him so that he gave up his journey and 
finding that he was unable to do farm work he 
sold his land and undertook the management of a 
small country store, lie then purchased a store in 
Bourbon, which he carried on for a number of 

years until his health was sufficiently recovered 
for him again to undertake agricultural pursuits. 
lie resided in Missouri from 1H70 to 1881, after 
which he returned to Illinois and died in Douglas 
County in 1ISK2. at the age of sixty-seven years. 
His faithful wife, who was the mother of ten chil- 
dren, had been taken from his side by death sonic 
years previous to his demise. 

He of whom we write was eight years old when 
the family settled in Illinois and the Prairie Stale 
has been his home from that day to this. In 1861 
he entered the service of his country, enlisting in 
Company V. Second Illinois Cavalry, and did 
brave service for two years and six months. When 
his term of service expired in the Second Cavalry 
he re-enlisted, and was then commissioned as Sec- 
ond Lieutenant in the fourth United States Cav- 
alry, with which he fought until December. 1864, 
when he resigned and went home. He returned t « > 
Douglas County, and since the war has devoted 
himself to farming and dealing in live stock, carry- 
ing on this double avocation with such siinr" 
that he now owns eight hundred and eighty acres 
of excellent land, and is looked upon as one of our 
prosperous farmers. Since January. 1M7.">. he has 
made his residence in the village of Arthur. 

A happy wedded life began for our subject in 
January, 1867, when he was married to Harriet 1*. 
Keeder. a daughter of John A. and Mary Reeder. 
This ladv was born in Ohio. 1843, and there re- 



390 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ceived an excellenl education as well as practical 
training in home duties, both of which have fitted 
her t<> he what she now is. nol onlj a leader in 
social circles, bu1 a capable and notable housewife, 
a faithful wife and :i judicious mother. One son 
only has blest this marriage, namely: Orla 1... who 
has established a home for himself, having taken 
as liis bride Miss May Crumbar. Tin' declarations 
of the Republican party embody very fully the po- 
litical belief of Mr. Ellars, and he consistently casts 
his vote for the candidates of that party, lb' is 
nut in any sense a politician or a wire-puller, but 

believes it to lie the duty Of every citizen to speak 
his mind through the ballot in regard to all mat- 
ters of public interest. 







NDREW WILSON SCOTT, the leading 
merchant of Bethany, Moultrie County, 
> has been in the business in this place since 
1876. lie was horn in .Alt. Zion, Macon 
County, 111., September 25, 1848, and is a son of 
Jehu and Mary (Wilson) Scott, natives of Tennes- 
see, and the paternal grandfather bore the name of 
James Scott. More will lie learned of this excel- 
lent and prominent family by consulting the bio- 
graphy of A. R. Scott. 

Among the vers early settlers of Mt. Zion were 
the parents of our subject, who came from Tennes- 
see to Illinois, and located one mile south of Mt. 
Zion, where they proceeded to cultivate the laud, 
and passed their remaining years. They became 

the owner- of some eighl hundred acres of land. 

and placed upon them substantial and handsome 
improvements. They were both earnest members 
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and are 
now both deceased. Two children onlj of their 
number grew to man's estate, of whom our sub- 
ject is the older, and his brother, Alexandei B., is 

a farmer at Mt. Zion anil a partner of Andrew 
in business, the firm name being A. W. Scott A- 

l'.lo. 

Thorough and systematic training upon the 

farm, and drill in the common school of Mt. Zion. 

was supplemented in th ur subjed h\ a 



course of study which he took in the university at 
Lincoln. 111. After leaving school he came to 
Bethany and engaged as a clerk in the -tore of A. 
R. Scott, and ill a few yeai S became a partner ill the 
business under the firm Style of A. 1!. A- A. W. 
Scott. Some three years later he became sole pro- 
prietor of the business, and afterward associated 
with him as a partner Mr. .1. L. McCoy, the firm 
then being Scotl A McCoy, but in March. 1891, 
this was succeeded by the linn of A. \\ . Scott A' 
Bro. Ever since its inception this store has been 
the largesl and the leading business place of Beth- 
any, and it has had its own effect upon the mer- 
cantile life of the place. 

.Mr. Scott was in 1874 united in marriage with 
Sarah .1. Mott, daughter of Joseph Mott.of Prince- 
ton, Ky., which was the place of her nativity. One 
son, Walter, blessed this union. He was a very 
promising boy. and at the time of his death he had 
charge of the hooks of the firm, and was at the 
same time carry inn on his studies. He would have 
graduated from the schools at Bethany with the 

(lass of '92, but he was snatched from this happy 
home by death. April 15, 1891, at the age of four- 
teen pears. 




II.I.1AM M. RICHARDS, who ,,wn- the 
/ line farm located on section 32, of Rich- 
vV kind Township, is a son of 1'. V. Richards, 
a native of Pennsylvania. His mother was Eliza- 
beth (Mechling) Richards and was horn in Perrj 
County, (thio. After marriage the parents settled 
in Ohio hut removed to Missouri, and in 1861, 
just previous to the breaking out of the Civil War. 
they came to Shelby County, this State, where the 
mother died in Prairie Township and the father 
passed away ill Richland Township. They were 
the parent- of thirteen children and of these our 
subjed i- the second in order of birth. 

William M. Richards was horn in Perry County, 
Ohio, October 27. 1840. When he was hut two 
years of age hi- parent- removed to Allen County. 
Ohio, and there the\ settled upon a farm. Here 
he passed the greater part of In- boyhood life. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



391 



remaining with his father until lie was aboul 
twenty-five years of age. During this time he 
w;is engaged in agricultural labors on the home 
farm :unl in tlu j intervals of thai work was occu- 
pied by the application to school studies.and being 
apt al his books, he acquired a good practical 
knowledge of the branches thai are mosl essential 
to a business man. 

lie of whom we write was married in Prairie 
Township, July 1. 1865. His wife's maiden name 
was Miss Man .1. Renner. She had, however, been 
previously married and at the time of her marriage 
with our subject, was Mrs. McMillen. she was 
born in Prairie Township, November 6, 1843. 
After marriage they made their home in Prairie 
Township for two years and then purchased the 
farm whereon they now reside in Richland Town- 
ship. His farm al the presenl time comprises four 
hundred and sixty acres and upon ii he has made 
good improvements. He is a prosperous farmer 
who is justly successful in his chosen career and 
calling. The latest improvements in machinery 
and farm implements are employed in the cultiva- 
tion of the place. His stock is of the besl class 
and his buildings are good and substantial. His 
dwelling is located on a slighl eminence thai com- 
mands a i harming view of the surrounding coun- 
try. It is surrounded by Bne shade and fruit 
tiers. The interior arrangemenl is made with a 
sole view to the com fori and convenience of the 
occupants. 

Mr. Richards and Ids wife became the parents of 
eighl children, whose names are as follows: .\an<\ 
M., Samuel ( .'.. Elizabeth F.. John P., Simon A.. 
Mary ('.. Franklin W. and Ann B. The eldest 
daughter is now the wife of Rev. John B. Webb 
and is a ureal assistance to her husband in his 
work. Samuel ( . married Miss Elizabeth Duncan 
and has a pleasant home of his own. Elizabeth 
K. died when sixteen years of age, when life 

spread before her so promising a prospect. 

Mrs. Mary J. Richards died in Richland Town- 
ship December 27, 1890. Since girlhood she had 
been a member of the Baptist Church, and was an 
ardent worker in the spread of the Gospel. Mr. 
Richards is also a member of the Baptist Church. 
Our suhjeet has always been engaged in farming 



and agricultural pursuits, and although he has 

reached the meridian of life is not so set in his 
Opinions that he cannot progress with the times. 

since the formation of tin.' Prohibition party he 
has allied himself with it. believing in the purity 
of its principle and purpose. For many years he 

has held tl Ilice of Deacon in the Baptist 

Church. 



-^Mlili 



H 



II* 




ILLIAM CALVIN HOLTON, a retired 
/ farmer residing at Arthur, became a resi- 
Vy dent of Moultrie County, in 1871, at which 
date hi' settled on section 2. Lowe Township. He 
was born in Claiborne County, Tenn., February 
2o. 1835, his honored parents being James W. and 
Martha (Goines) Holton, both of whom had their 
birth in Tennessee. In 1 8 1 7 the family removed 
from that State to Pulaski County, Kv., where the 
mother was called from them h\ death some thirty 
years ago. The bereaved father remained there 
with his family for many years, lint in 1888 came 
to Illinois and died in Moultrie County, not long 

after his removal to this State. lie had a truly 

patriarchal family of nine daughters a ml three sons, 
William being the eldest of the sons. 

Our subject was twelve years old when the fam- 
ily settled in Kentucky and he there grew to a \ ig- 
orous young manhood, receiving a practical drill 
upon the farm which has ever been of benefit 
to him both physically and in a business way. 
Amanda .1. Tl iuinaii.ii lovely young Kentucky lady. 
became his bride January II, 1855, she was horn 
in December 25, 1835, and is the daughter of Mar- 
shall Thurman, who was well known in thai region. 

Young Mr. Holton came to the Prairie State ten 
years after his marriage and renting land in Doug- 
las County continued there until 1871; when he 
removed to Moultrie County and settled upon a 
beautiful tract of unimpn ved land, to which he 
gaA e his undivided i and which he brought 

from its wild cond its presenl productive 

and highly cultured state. He is now the owner 
of two eleganl farms, comprising some two hund- 
red and thirty acres in all and upon each of them 



392 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



be has placed excellent improvements. In the 
spring of 1889 lie removed to the village of Arthur 
although he still con tinned to carry i>n the farm 
until lS'Jl when he placed it in the hands of a ten- 
ant, lie is now enjoying the pleasahthome which 
he built for himself in Arthur and without the 
care of a farm is receiving the benefits of his for- 
mer labors and enterprise. The live children who 
have blest this home are John l\.. Lucy (wife of 
George Ketzel), William, llattie (Mrs. A. Kinney), 
and Cordelia. The principles of the Republican 
party very clearly define the political views of Mr. 
llollon and his earnest efforts and advocacy are 
given to securing the success of this party. 



_ i=i. 



~l— I 



£+£ 



B_ 



B" 



()1IN GOETZ. .Many a man who is now a 
prosperous and successful farmer in Illinois 
began life as did the subject of our sketch, 
without means in a material sense and with 
no endowments except those of his own personal- 
ity. John (ioetz was possessed in boyhood of 
sturd) health, a determination to succeed and in- 
domitable energy, pluck and pel-severance. With 
these he lias achieved a success which is an honor 
to himself and worthy the consideration of the 
biographer. 

Our subject was born in Germany on Christmas 
day, 1830, and lie had his training and -education in 
his native land and there spent his youth and early 
manhood until he was twenty-three years old. He 
had heard much of America as a land of freedom 
and a country where a broader opportunity awaited 
a yonng man of enterprise and he resolved to come 
io this land, and left home and friends in thespring 
of 1854, landing in New York City and coming 
directly' West. He had learned shoemaking in his 
native land and in Chic-aye he spenl between three 
and four years working at this trade. 

lie finally decided that he preferred country to 

City life and finding an opening for the employment 

of his abilities at his trade in Sullivan, Moultrie 
County, he removed here in the spring of 1858 and 
was thus employed for about fourteen years. Agri- 
cultural pursuits now presented themselves to him 



as a broader and more promising field of operations, 
and he purchased a farm on section :?4, Marrow- 
hone Township, and removing his family here began 
its oulivation. Here he has found content and 
prosperity and now owns five hundred and sixty- 
seven acres, all in Moultrie County. 

It was not until after Mr. Goetz came to Sulli- 
van that he entered into a matrimonial alliance! 
He was here united with Elizabeth Cratz, who was 
born in Moultrie County. 111., and who brought to 
her husband three children. Two died in infancy 
and the one who is living is Mary, now the wife 
of Amnion Davis. After the death of Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Goetz her husband was united in marriage in 
Marrowbone Township to Mrs. Isabella Daisy, who 
bore her husband one child. An don, who died in 
Marrowbone Township. Mr. Goetz's third wife 
bore the maiden name of Angie Westfali and her 
one child was named Perry E.; she also passed from 
earth in early womanhood and Mr. Goetz then mar- 
ried Eliza Bushart. 

Excellent buildings and all the appurtenances 
necessary for the successful prosecution of farm 
work have been placed upon Mr. Goetz's farm. 
He is a member of the Christian Church, and in 
his political views is in sympathy with no party 
but is governed in his vote by his own judg- 
ment and casts his ballot for the best man for the 
place. He is public spirited and ever active in the 
promotion of any movement which looks to the 
upbuilding of the community either socially or 
industrially. 



^W^ 



ORENZO II. TURNER. The majority of 
men who have attained high position either 
in public affair.-, commercial life, or litera- 
ature, have spent the early part of life in the en- 
joyment of bucolic peace and quiet. The mind i* 
like a field, which having been allowed to lie fal- 
low for a linn- produces the richest harvests. Our 
subject, Lorenzo Turner, who was brought up on a 
farm ha- become one of the most influential men 
in the state of Illinois, and in mental calibre he 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



393 



ranks well with the representatives of any state. 
The years passed upon his father's farm were full 
of development to the lad whose eager mind ab- 
sorhed each fact, and in the crucible of 1 1 is- reason- 
ing powers*he lias distilled the pure waters of truth. 
Early acquiring the habil of studying human na- 
ture, he has found it to be of greal use to him 
tliroughoul his career. Men to him arc as open 
books, to be read at pleasure. 

Horn of Southern parents, our subject inherits 
the suavitj and gallantry for which the Virginians 
arc noted, and also their eloquence in speech. 
His father, .lames Turner, was horn in Bucking- 
ham County. Ya.. in 1799. His mother was Elsie 
(Pendleton) Turner, also a native of Buckingham 
County, and horn aboul 1795. There they were 
reared and there they married, settling in their 
native county, but about four years after their 
marriage they emigrated to Wilson County. Tenn. 
This was about 1823, and in lx:i() they came to 
Effingham County, where they died on the place 
which they had entered from the Government. 

Our subject was horn while his parents were 
residents of Wilson County. Tenn., his natal day 
being May 11. 1826. He was only four and a half 
years old when his parents removed to what is now 
Effingham County; there on his father's farm he 
matured, his young mentality growing broader 
and stronger as he looked out upon the vast prai- 
rie-. There was plenty of work, however, for the 
young man to do. for the days of his boyhood 
were the pioneer days in this State. He. with others 
who have since become famous in the history of 
the State, were ripening for the events that lay 
before them. He continued to live with his father 
until 1845. After having entered a farm from the 
Government, which they improved quite extens- 
ively, they both died, the mother in the fall of 
1858 while earth was golden with the yellow of 
autumn, and the granaries were tilled to repletion 
with golden grain, The father followed heragood 
many years later, his decease taking place Feb- 
ruary 3, 1888. 

Our Subject has always followed the pursuit of 
agriculture, paying special attention to the raising 
of tine stock. In 1S4."> he was married to Miss 
( lynthia Field, their marriage being solemnized Sep- 



tember 23 of that year. The lady was a daughter 
of Abraham and Grace ( Rainey) Field. The former 
was a native of Kentucky where he was horn De- 
cember 27. I7!».'i. The latter was horn in South 
Carolina. July 31, 1 7!>7. Their marriage took place 
in Gibson County. Ind., March M. 1815. They set- 
tled in the same place where they were married 
until the mother's death which occurred March 30, 
186:5. The father followed her April 12, lX7n. 
Mrs. Turner's parents were farmers by occupation. 
They had ten children, and our subject's wife was 
one of the eldest members of her father's family. 
She was horn in Gibson County. Ind., December 
2.">. 1825, and there she lived until her marriage. 

After marriage our subject and his bride settled 
in Effingham County, 111., and in April. 1864, came 
to Shelby County. Locating in Richland Township, 
where he has since resided. He has now retired, 
however, from active farming, having disposed of 
all his property with the exception of two hundred 
and fifty acres upon which he lives. Mr. Turner 
has made many improvements upon his farm and 
in all his business undertakings and enterprises has 
been exceedingly successful. He and his wife are 
spending the afternoon of their lives in quiet en- 
joyment of the home comforts that his early efforts 
have provided. They are the parents of six chil- 
dren, all of whom have reached manhood and 
womanhood and are the heads of families. It is a 
commentary upon their parents' government that 
they arc all honored and respected members of 
society. James B. married Fmeline Renner and 
resides in Shclhy villc: Nancy. 1. is the wife of John 
M. Storm; Lewis W. married Florence Carmain; 
Charles A. R. was united to Sarah Jackson; Sarah 
F. is the wife of Seymour Orove: Arthur is the 
husband of Annie L. Field. 

Mr. Turner was formerly allied with the Demo- 
cratic party and did active service for his party in 
his part of the State. More recently, however, he 
has allied himself with the Prohibitionists, bcliev- 
ing that to he one of the most important issues 
of the near future. He has held the office of Jus- 
lie.' of the Peace for seventeen years and has also 
been Township Trustee for several years. In their 
religious relations our subject and his wife have 
been members of the Missionary Baptist Church 



394 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



since 1854, and he of whom we write has been Dea- 
con of this church for upwards of thirty-five years. 
Their children also are all professors of religion. 
Mr. Turner has been a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity since 1863. He is also a member of the 
Fanner's Mutual Benefll Association and by his 
wide experience and broad intelligence, is able to 
make many suggestions to that body that are of 
great value. The original of our sketch ha.- a very 
good and comfortable residence, well located and 
surrounded by line trees, li is perfectly adapted 
to the declining years of a man with a philosophic 
t urn of mind. 






m 



oIIX R. WARREN. A prominent position 
among the agriculturists of Shelby County 
is held by this gentleman, who resides mi 
section 2*. Tower Hill Township, lie is 
now passing his declining years quietly in the en- 
joyment Of the comforts aec umulated through 
long years of toil. A native of Ohio, lie was bora 
in Pickaway County, February 17. 1820. His 
parents. Silas and Sarah (Riley) Warren, were nat- 
ives of Delaware, the former horn April 9, 17*7. 
and the latter January 31, 1791. Both came to 
Ohio in youth, and after their marriage, which was 
solemnized in Pickawaj County, they located in 

thai place and made it their home until |S."i7. 

In the above-mentioned year the parents of our 
subject came to Illinois, settling in Shelby County 
and purchasings farm on section 29, Tower Hill 
Township. The family was soon called upon to 
mourn the lo.-s of the devoted husband and father. 
who died November 17. 1*.~>7. The widowed mo- 
ther survived until January 29, 1867. This 
worthy couple held an enviable place in the regard 
of their neighbors, and although they left to their 
children little of this world's g Is the} bequeath- 
ed to them what is far heller — the priceless herit- 

age of a good name. The} had a family of six 

children, of whom live now survive. 

I pon the home farm in Pickawaj County, Ohio, 
our subject passed his youth and al an earlj age be- 
came familiar with agricull ural pursuits. His edu- 



cational advantages were limited to the district 
school-, but by subsequent reading he has become 
well informed upon all topics of general interest. 
Upon arriving at years of maturity he engaged in 
farming on his own account and has made this hi- 
life work. A very important event in his Life was 
his marriage in Pickaway County, Ohio, September 

21, 1843, when Miss Minerva A. Anderson became 

hi- wife. Her parents, Thomas and Delilah (Scot- 
horn) Anderson, were natives respectively of Ind- 
iana ami Virginia. The father died in Fairfield 
County, Ohio. November 21, 1836, and the mother 

afterward came wesl to Shelby County. 111., where 

she died at the residence of our subject October 22, 
I860. 

Mi's. Warren, who was the second among sis 
children, was bom in Fairfield County. Ohio, Feb- 
ruary 9, 1*22. and was reared to maturity under 
the parental roof. After their marriage our sub- 
ject and his wife located in Pickaway County, 
Ohio, where they continued to live until the fall 
of 1849. At that time they came to t hi- Slate and 
made their home in Tower Hill Township. Shelby 
County. There the wife died April 7. 1880. she 
was a religious woman, and had been connected 
with the church for many \ cars, and was a member 
of the United Brethren Church at the time of her 
death. 

(In February 2;!. 1882, our subject wa- again 
married, choosing as his wife Mrs. Elizabeth -I. 
Iluni. the widow of Samuel Duiii. who died in 
Fairfield County. Ohio. Mrs. Warren, who is a 
sister of the first wife of our subject, was born in 
Fairfield ( 'ounty . t )hio, Novembr 21. 1 825, and by 
tier first marriage became the mother of six chil- 
dren, viz: Israel. Thomas. Fllie A.. Samuel. William 
and Homer. The ceremony which transformed 
her into .Mrs. Warren was solemnized in Christian 
County, 111., ami the union lias proved of mutual 

happiness. The various members of the family are 
honored in society and arc noted for hospitality 
and kindness of heart. 

The farm upon which Mr. Warren located after 
coming to Shelby County was entered from the 
Government and comprises eighty acre- of line 
land. Mr. Warren ha- always been engaged ill 
agricultural pur-nits, and has converted his orig- 







'^sl 









'^^ , *//, ^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



397 



inal purchase into one of the best farms in the 
county. He lias retired from the more active 
duties associated with farm lift', and in the midst 
of Ids happy family circle, finds resl from the 
cares of earlier years. A member of the Demo- 
cratic party, he lias always taken an active pari in 
political affairs and has served the people in sev- 
eral local offices. For fifteen years he was Justice of 
the Peace and he has filled the office of Supervisor 
of Tower Hill Township for several terms, lie 
takes greal interest in educational affairs and has 
served the community acceptably in school offices. 
Religiously, he belongs to the United Brethren 
Church of which he has been a consistent member 
since 1844. 



V 



LARK II. CARR, M. I)., a physician and 
surgeon of Cowden, was bora in Kenawha 
County, W. Ya.. August 25, 1834. His par- 
ents, John K. and Margaret (Wyant) Carr, were 
natives of the Fast, the father being born in Green- 
brier County. Ya.. in 1812, and the mother in 
Lawrenceburg, Ind., in 1818. The father has been 
living since ]s.">2 in DeWitt County, this State. 
The mot her died September l . 1891. Nine of their 
large family of sis sons and seven daughters are 
still living, of whom our subject was the eldest. 

The brothers and sisters of our subject are Yio- 
letta. wife of -lames Darby, a farmer in .Minnesota; 
John, who lirst married Mary Lloyd and afterward 
was united with Ellen Swan, with whose assistance 
he is now earn ing on farming in Sumner County, 
Kan.; Julia Ann. who was the wife of Stephen 
Webster, and died in DeWitt County, 111., in 1872; 
Isaac L.. a fanner near Humboldt. Iowa, who mar- 
ried Mary Day; Mary, who married William Mew- 
art and died in Minnesota in 1871; Jane, the wife 

of Philip Shellenberger, a farmer who lives in Piatt 
County, this State; Sarah K.. who lirst married 
William Stewart, a cousin of her sister Mary's 
husband and afterward became the wife of George 
Hitchen, of Gibson City. 111.; Michael M.. who 
married Sophronia Bar r and lives in Piatt County : 
Leonard s.. who married Elizabeth MeMann, ami 



resides in DeWitt County, anil two children who 
died in early infancy. 

The subject of this sketch accompanied his par- 
ents from West Virginia to Indiana, thence to Mis- 
souri and in 1852 located with them in DeWitt 
County, 111., where the father now resides. He re- 
ceived his education in the public scl Is of this 

State and was about twenty-five years old when he 
began to read medicine. In 1866 lie commenced 
the practice of his profession in Christian County, 
Km in \S7'A came to Cowden. where lie remained 
for two years and then went back to his old place 
in Christian County. In the spring of 1880 he 
returned to Cowden where he has since remained. 

Dr. Carr has been twice married. His first wife 
was Mary C. < treen, who was horn in Preble County. 
Ohio, in 1836, and married the Doctor in Indiana 
in 1856. One child was horn of this marriage, 
Millard Fillmore, whose natal day was August 18, 
1857. On October 31, of the same year. Mrs. Carr 
passed from earth, and her son was tenderly reared 
by his paternal grandparents. 

The second marriage of our subject took place 
October 13, 1859, when he was united with Cath- 
erine Johnson. She was horn December 17. 1833 
in Ross County, Ohio. The six children horn of 
this marriage are all living Mary ('.. born Sep- 
tember 1. I860, is now Mrs. .lames E. Orendoff, and 
lives in Hall County, Nek; Laura !•"... born Janu- 
ary 22, 1st;;!, married Alfred E. Gross, and lives in 
Davis County, Neb.; Samuel ('.. born December I. 
issiit. i> engaged in the study of medicine; Mar- 
garet E., horn July 2. 1867, married William G. 
Banning and resides on a farm in Dry Point Town- 
ship. Shelby County; Ida 1-'.. horn February 22. 
1868, and Catherine J., born April 10, 1871, are al 
home with their parents. 

Dr. Carr has established a line reputation a- a 
practitioner and enjoys a large and lucrative prac- 
tice in Cowden and vicinity. He i- regarded in 
the community as the leading physician, lie at- 
tended lectures at the Missouri Medical College a1 
St. Louis. Mo., at which popular institution he 
made a creditable record. He has always been a 
close student and ha- labored hard to gain the 
standing which he now holds in his profession. 
Realizing that old age is creeping on, the Doctor 



398 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lias inspired his son Samuel with the desire to le- 
eeive the mantle of his sire when he shall drop it, 
and thus to perpetuate the family name in the pro- 
fession. The Doctor is a worthy member of Joppa 
Lodge, No. 706, F. & A. M., at Cowden. and a 
stanch Republican in polities having always voted 
that ticket, and being regarded as the local leader 
in his party. 

In connection with this biographical notice the 
reader will find a lithographic portrait of Dr. Carr. 



^^©). 



m>^m 



Cgv^ 



r>y^ 



\ 




1 1. 1. 1 AM I.. DONNEL, one of the most 
I prominent and intelligent gentlemen re- 

v'V siding in Shelby Comity, who is thor- 
oughly public-spirited and capable of being a 
leader of thought and action in his township, re- 
sides on section 21. Ridge Township. His father 
was John M. Donnel. a native of Tennessee, as was 
also his mother, Elizabeth Jerregan. After mar- 
riage this couple settled in Rutherford County. 
ty.Tenn., and thence emigrated to Montgomery 
County, III., about the year 1827. They after- 
ward made their home in Vandalia, this State, 
where the life of Mrs. Donnel terminated near 
that place. Her husband who survived her, died 
in Williamson County, this Stale. 

He of whom we write was the eldest in a family 
of twelve children, and was born in Rutherford 
County. Tenn., January 22. 1820; he came to Illi- 
nois with his father who was in limited circum- 
stances and in order to assist his parents he worked 
out when he was a boy doing farm labor. During 
the winter of 1839-40 he moved the goods and 
press of the editoi of the State Register with 

whom he had pleasant relations, as the older man 

appreciated the bright qualities of the boy. In 
March, 1840, he came to Shelby County, III., and 
engaged in farming upon his own account in 
Ridge Township. In June. 1846, he settled on 

section 21 of the latter township where he has since 
been a resident. 

Mr. William Donnel was married January (I. 
1812. to Miss Mary Ann Roys, a daughter of Dan- 
iel ami Hannah (Hoys) Hoys, both natives of Ken- 



tucky. Daniel Roys passed away from life in 
Ridge Township, but his widow still survives him 
and is now at the advanced age of eighty-seven 
year- and makes hei home with our subject. Mrs. 
Donnel was born in Hush County. Ind., April 18, 
1825. Mr. and Mrs. Donnel have had eleven 
bright and interesting children, three of whom 
died in infancy. The surviving children are: 
Elizabeth J., the wife of John II. McDonald; Mary 
Ann. who married J. J. Dimes; Sarah II., the wife 
of Charles Small; William L. Jr., who took to wife 
Miss Nettie Busby; George W.. a clergyman of 
the Missionary Baptist Church in Oregon, whose 
wife bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Neal; 
James W.. who married Sarah Killam; Charles 
H. and Dora E. are at home. 

Our subject has held the office of School Trustee 
for seventeen years and during that time has been 
very efficient in forwarding the educational inter- 
ests of the township. He has also taken an active 
part in political affairs, casting his first Presiden- 
tial vote for James K. Polk and being a worker in 
the Democratic rank-. In his religious connection 
he was formerly identified with the United Baptist 
Church but is now a member of the Christian 
Church. He has always been engaged in farming 
and stock raising and has elected upon his farm a 
first-class set of buildings and has two hundred 
acres in tine shape, lie is a man keenly alive to 
the necessity for progress in the affairs of the 
neighborhood both social and industrial, and is 
truly appreciative of all good things whether in- 
tellectual or material. 



- i »■■ i > > ■ ' ■ 



^^i *. , <»*— i*. 



r HANK TRAINER, the editor and publisher 
of the Echo at Bethany, became a resilient. 
1 of Moultrie County in 1887, and on April 

l I of that year issued the first copy of the Echo, 
which is now a seven-column folio, and is published 
as an independent local newspaper, devoted to the 
interests of Bethany and its vicinity. This gentle- 
man was born in Meigs County, Ohio, September 
28, 18(12. his parents being Samuel and Amanda 
(West) Trainer, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



399 



respectively. They were married in Ohio and set- 
tled in Meigs County, mi a farm, where the mother 
died January 27. 1876, at the age of fifty-three 

years, and where the father still resides, en jo\ ing 
a green old age, as he is now seventy-seven years 
old. having been horn in .lime, 1814. 

The ten children of this worthy couple were 
equally divided between sons and daughters, and 
Our subject was next to the youngest in age. lie 
was reared upon the farm and educated in the com- 
mon schools. In 1KK1 he came to Illinois and 
taught school in Macon County, and in 1885 
he entered a printing office in Macon City and 
there learned "the art preservative of all arts," 
after which he again engaged in teaching. It was 
in 1887 when he Located at Bethany and estab- 
lished the paper which he has since owned and 
edited. 

Mr. Trainer had married in 1885, before coming 
to Bethany, Miss llala Bricker, daughter of Aaron 
and Louisa Bricker. She was horn in Fayette 
County. III., and is now the mother of two beauti- 
ful children. Arthur and Aha Dean. The Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church is the religious body 
with which the young couple are identified, and 
their influence is ever cast in the direction of 
morality and Christianity. Although Mr. Trainer 
has not been a resident of the town long, he is a 
young man who is universally liked and well 
spoken of by the older members of the commu- 
nity, and he bids fair to make his mark in tin 1 fu- 
ture history of Moultrie County. 



m 



OSEPH ROLLER is a typical farmer whose 
practical knowledge of agriculture and bus- 
iness-like methods in managing his affairs 
have placed him among the foremost men 
of his class in l'cnn Township, where he owns a 
large and well conducted farm that is considered 
one of the finest in the county. 

Mr. Roller was born near Little York. York 
County. Pa., September ■">. L830. His father, whose 



given name was John, is also supposed to have 
been a native of the same county where he passed 
his early life, and where he was married. lie was 
a distiller by trade in his young days, but remov- 
ing to Centre County. Pa., in 1840, he bought a 
farm on Buffalo Run and devoted his remaining 
years to agricultural pursuits, dying there in 1874 
at the ripe age of seventy-one years. His wife, the 
mother of our subject, preceded him in death many 
years, her demise occurring on the old farm in 1852. 

He of whom we write was reared to the life of a 
farmer, receiving a careful training in all that per- 
tains to agriculture, so that h\ the time he attained 
manhood he was well versed in -the calling that 
was to be his life work, lie continued to live with 
his father until he was thirty-one years of age. 
affording him valuable aid in the management of 
his farm. He then rented land in Centre County 
a few years. Wisely thinking that on the fertile 
soil of the Prairie Mate he could make more head- 
way in his calling, he left his native commonwealth 
in 1865 to avail himself of the superior advantages 
offered to skillful and wide-awake farmers in Shelby 
County. He made a judicious selection of two 
hundred and forty acre- of wild prairie land in 
l'enn Township which is now included in his 
pleasant farm. The price of it was $9 an acre 
and he went into debt for the greater part of the 
purchase money. 

At the time of his settlement here this part of 
the county was but little developed and Mr. Roller 
had to do a great deal of pioneer work in bring- 
ing his farm to its present tine and highly improved 
condition. His labors have been well rewarded. 

however, as his homestead i- a valuable piece of 
property, supplied with ample and well arranged 
buildings, and its carefully tilled fields and rich 
pastures yield a good income. He has also bought 
other land at different tune- and now his farm 
comprises four hundred and forty acre.-. Mr. 
Roller is well liked in this community as he is a 
just and fair man, kindly of heart and honest of 
purpose, and has shown himself in ever) respect 
to be a worthy addition to the citizenship of this 
place since h«- took up his residence here more than 
a quarter of a century ago. His wife also shares 
with him the regard in which he is held and both 



100 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are among the most worthy members of the Pres- 
byterian Church. In politics he sides with the 
I democrats. 

Mr. Roller has been three times married. His 
tirst wife, to whom he was united in 1853, was 
Matilda Ross, whowasa native of Centre County, 
Pa., and a daughter of William and -Mary Ross. She 
died in 1873 leaving these six children; John W., 
Laura .!.. Sally J., Joseph R.. Ida and Robert II. 
Laura married Charles Lutz; Sally is the wife of 
M.W. Marshall; and Ida is the wife of Tom Gedes. 
Our subject's second marriage, which took place in 
1876, was with Isabella Hunter, a native of Centre 
County, fa., and a daughter of Robert Hunter. 
She departed this lite May L8, 1885. In iss? Mr. 
Roller wa> wedded to Miss Annie Dak 1 , his presenl 
wile, a native of Pennsylvania, born in Centre 
County, and a daughter of Felix and Lucy Dale. 



" a-"- 



mWW&&WMm, 



.'- 



"A 




AKTIN V. PIERCE. The gentleman who 
is our subject is the owner and resides on 
1 a fine farm located on section 1. Rural 
Township, where he devotes himself to the 
calling of agriculture, being very successful in this 
direction, as he has bent his energies and intelli- 
gence to the subject formally years. His residence 
inSlicll>\ Countj dates from the spring of 1869. He 
i> a native of Sullivan County, lnd.. where he was 
born Mareli 16, 1838. His parents were Jesse and 
Keziah 1 1 [arris) Pierce. 

The original of our sketch was but a small boy 
when his mother died and when only thirteen 
years Of age the father died. The mother left 
thirteen children and the father was married a sec- 
ond time, by thai marriage bee ling the parent of 

two children. After the death of his father Mar- 
tin resided with bis uncle until he grew 1 an- 

I I and assisted in tilling the soil. Doubly or- 
phaned, the youth's early years lacked all thai 
makes the remembrance of childhood pleasanl to 
one. We cannot bul sympathize with the lad 
whose sorrow was only stunned bj the hard toil 
which lie w as compelled to accomplish. 

In 1860 oui subject was united in marriage to 



Emily Ernest, a daughter of Jacob and Susan Er- 
nest. She was born in Sullivan County, lnd., and 
is one of a family of four, having three brothers. 
After marriage our s.ubjecl became the owner and 
operator of a small farm in Sullivan County. 
where he remained until 1869 and linn came to 
this stale, renting land for one season and then 
purchasing the place whereon he at presenl resides. 
Vt that time it was Imt very little improved, the 
only attempt at redeeming it from native wildness 
was a log hut.' In 1876 Mr. Pierce removed to 
Shelbyville on account of poor health and two 
years later, much improved in this respect, he re- 
turned to his farm and resumed his bucolic employ- 
ment. I le is the owner of eighty acres of land. 
which is in a good state of cultivation. 

Our subject and his wife have been the parents 
of five children, three girls and one boy dying in 
infancy; only one son, Charles, is living. A 
nephew, however, whose name is Homer Ernest, is 
a member of his family and enjoys the affection 
and privileges of a son. Formerly our subject 
affiliated with the Democratic party. Imt of late he 
has transferred hi- allegiance to the Prohibition 
party, convinced that the evil of intemperance i- 
one that mo.-i seriously threatens the well-being of 
our country. He of whom we write has filled the 
the position of Township Commissioner to the en- 
tire satisfaction of those who elected him. In his 
church relations Mr. Pierce is a member of the 

Baptist denomination. He has been Deacon and 

Treasurer in the church of which he i> a member 
tcra number of years, simple and unaffected at 
all times, our subject enjoys tin confidence and 
trust of the men in his township in all stations of 

life. 



\ AVID M. CROWDER. To he the son of 
J worthy parent.- is a mat ter both for hon- 
orable pride and devout thankfulness, and 
he who can make this boast doe- well to 

carrv Mill further the honorable standing of the 
family by making good his claim to he worthy of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



III! 



such parents. The father of our subject, the late 
Roberl Crowder, was bora in Buncombe County, 
N. C, July 17. 1807, and his mother, who bore the 
maiden name of Barbara Prater, was born in 
Greene County, Tenn., April 15, 1807. The lirst 
two years of their married life was spent in Easl 
Tennessee, upon a farm, after which they moved 
to [ndiana and settling in Jennings Countj re- 
mained thereabout two years and then emigrated 
to Missouri, where tliej settled near Boonville, 
and lived there for one year. 

Robert Crowder brought his family to Illinois in 
January, 1838, and settled in what is now Marrow- 
bone Township, Moultrie County, where thej con- 
tinued to live until called hence by death. Our 
subject is the eldesl of their ten children and his 
birth occurred in Eastern Tennessee, November 18, 
1828, sn that he was tlms aboul nine years old 
when he came with liis father to what is now 
Moultrie County, where he grew to manhood and 
has made his home from that day to this. 

Under the parental roof this young man made 
hi- home until that important event took place 
which was celebrated in Marrowbone Township. 
August 30, 1848, when he was united in marriage 
with Susan E. Mitchell, daughter of George and 
.lane W. Mitchell, who were of Southern birth but 
became early settlers in Moultrie County, 111. Mrs. 
Susan E. Crowder was horn in Tennessee, July 9, 

1831. The family homeot' thi- wedded eonple has 

been ever since their wedding daj uponsecfion 15, 
Marrowbone Township, with the exception of one 
year which they spent in Bethany. Farming has 
been Mr. Crowder's pursuit through life and in it 
he has been successful, which success maj b< attrib- 
uted to two reasons. In the first place he has been 
thoroughly intelligent, energetic and enterprising, 
and in the second place he has hadariehlv produet- 
ivefarm such as is to he found onlj in the Prairie 
state. Hi- tract of two hundred and fifteen acres 
has been excellently improved and upon it will be 
found all the conveniences and appurtenances 
which belong to a first-class farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. Crowder rejoice in the possession 
of seven children, namelj': Sarah J., who is the 
wife of William II. Iloskins; Margaret A., who 
married F. T. Scheer; Mary A., now Mrs. Joel A. 



Yeakel; Barbara E., whowas the wife of \V. I-'. Lo- 
gan, and died April.'!. 1890; Dora S., married J. E. 

Scl r; and two sons who died in infancy. The 

principle.- of the Republican party command the 
respect and allegiance of our subject and although 
he is not an office-seeker he is earnestly devoted to 
the prosperity of his party and works tor its 
supremacy. Both he and his excellent wife arc 
earnest ami devoted members of the Cumberland 
Presbyterian ( 'hurch. 

A biography of David M. Crowder would he in- 
complete did it not include a fuller resume than we 
have already given of the life of the parents whose 
honorable record is his dearest possession. It wa- 
in the fall of 1828 that Robert Crowder removed 
to Indiana. and after first settling in Ripley County. 
Ind.. removed as we have said, to Jennings ( onnty. 
where he settled in New Marion. In the fall of 
1836 he removed, as has been stated, to Missouri, 
and there remained until January. 1838, when he 
came to Moultrie County. III. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Barbara Prater, brought him ten 
children, namely: David M.. William A.. Sarah .1.. 
Thomas II.. .Mary S.. Robert S.. James II.. Andrew 
W., John A. and Marshall M. Robert enlisted in 
Company E, Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois In- 
fantry, taking rank a- Firsl Sergeant, and was 
killed in the battle of ( hickamanpi. in September, 
1863; Andrew W. was a member of Company 11. 
Forty-first Illinois Infantry, and was killed during 
the siege of Vicksburg, in June. 1863, when about 
sixteen years old. The brave and noble record ol 
these loyal son- of a loyal lather awaken a sympa- 
thetic response in every patriotic heart." and the 
mcnioi y of these brave boys is cherished by their 

brothers and sisters and handed down to theil 

posterity for they believe that 

"Brave hearts are more than coronet-. 
And simple faith than Norman Mood". 

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was the 
body with which Roberl and Barbara Crowder 
were connected, and in it- service and communion 
thc\ found both comfort and opportunity for 
Christian work. Their genuine Christian charity 
and uprightness mark them a- worthy both of trust 
and emulation, and their influence will not die 



1(12 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



out for many generations to come. Robert Crow- 
der passed from earth September 22. 1*77. and his 
bereaved widow survived him until January 25, 
1890, when she ton made her transit to a better 
world. The handsome property which Robert 
Crowder left to his children is but a small portion 
of the precious heritage which they have received 
from him and their venerated mother. 









ollN B. HUGHES, a well-known and 
highly respected druggist of Oconee, Shelby 

County, a man of broad experience and ex- 
cellent attainments, who has added to the 
material prosperity of his village by his energy 
and enterprise. He is a public-spirited citizen, 
who is ever wide awake to help forward every 
movemenl which tends to the prosperity of the 
place. His parents were Thomas W. and Catherine 
(Burke) Hughes, both nativesof Ireland, the father 
being born in County Carlo in 1801, and the 
mother in Loughrea, County Galway, in 1848. 
The father emigrated to America in 1M.'?K, and the 
mother in 1851, and here they met and united 
their fortunes in marriage. 

The father of our subject located in Pennsyl- 
vania and made his home there for sonic three 
years, hut the Western feverhad not been assuaged 
by his removal across the ocean, and lie decided to 
come to the Mississippi Valley. St. Louis was his 

destination, and he remained there until 1852, but 
in that year removed to Pana, 111., where he resided 
until his death in 1**7. The mother still resides 
in the latter place. 

Mr. Hughes was educated in the public SCl Is 

of Pana, where he received excellent drill and ad- 
vantages, and he took his professional training at 
the Chicago College of Pharmacy, from which in- 
stitution he graduated in lXK.'i. For eleven years 
he worked in a drug store in Pana, during which 
time he attended the college and received his di- 
ploma. After graduation he went West and made 
n tour of ( alifornia. Arizona, Old and New Mexico. 
Indian Territory, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. 
His trip covered a period of three vears. During 



a portion of this time he was occupied in mining 
and upon a ranch, and worked in a drug store for 
awhile in Denver. Col. Returning home lie soon 
after went into business on his own account at 
Oconee, where we now tind him. Ilecarriesa full 
line of staple drugs, wall paper, glass, paints and 
oils, toilet articles, jewelry, clocks, watches, cigars, 

scl 1 supplies, etc.. and has an excellent trade in 

these various lines. 

On May 28, 1889 was the happy wedding day of 
our subject with Miss Ida M. Morris,a daughter of 
William Morris of this place. This lady. Mrs. 
Hughes, was the only child of her parents being 
horn in Oconee, April 15, 1867. One child. Mari- 
etta, died in early infancy. Mr. Hughes is a Re- 
publican in his political views, and has always 
advocated principles of the party which placed 
Abraham Lincoln in the Presidential chair and sup- 
ported his hand during the trying years of the 
Civil War. He has served for two years as Town- 
ship Clerk of Pana. and is a member of Oconee 
Camp, No. 1312 M. W. of A., of which lie was a 
charter member, and where he has held the office 
of Worthy Advisor. He is a member, as were his 
parents before him, of the Roman Catholic Church. 
and his good wife is identified with the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

The parents of our subject had live sons and 
three daughters, five of whom now survive, namely: 
William L.. who is the eldest and resides in Pana, 
111., carrying on the drug business; Mary K.. the 
wife of Thomas Scott, a barber in Pana; Martin P.. 
who is married and is carrying on the coal busi- 
ness in Pana; Thomas P., who is engaged in the 
hotel business in Decatur: and the deceased mem- 
bers of the family are Ella, Edward and Anna, all 
of whom died while the family were living in 
Pana. 



OSIAll BERRY, is the senior member of the 
firm of Berry A' Clark, the best known deal- 
ers in lumber, house trimmings and general 
builders' Supplies, in Moweaipia. Shelby 
County. The linn was established under its pres- 
ent title in September. 1HKS). having succeeded 



@i 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in.", 



Gregory Bros., who established the business some 
years before. A sketch will In- found in another 
pari ni' this Record, of the history of our sub- 
ject's partner, Mr. Clark. The linn have llread} 
attained a foothold in the community anil vicinity, 
thai speaks well fur their business principles in 
dealing. 

Mr. Berry was formerly engaged as a farmer in 
Mowequa Township, having been fur many years 
very successful in his calling. He came here in 
187;! and purchased one hundred and twenty acres 
of land, which he still owns. He expended a 
large amount of capital in putting this farm under 
perfect cultivation, and it is so pleasant and at- 
tractive a place that we almost wonder at .Mr. Ber- 
ry's relinquishing it. lie came to Shelby County 
in 1868, spending his firsl five years here on a farm 
in lVnn Township. 

Mr. Berry was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
November I, 1839. lie was there reared and re- 
ceived the ordinary common-school education, and 
there remained until he had reached his majority. 
At the breaking out of the War (if the Rebellion, 
like all true men. his patriotism was fired, and he 
ready to do or die fur his country, lie enlisted in 
Company B, of the Seventeenth Ohio Regiment, 
in the month of August. L861, Col. .1. M. Connell 
and C'apt. .1. W. Stinchcomb, the latter being fol- 
lowed by Capt. Weakly, now of Shelbyville, 111. 
commanding officers. After the organization of 
the regiment, the} advanced to the field of dis- 
turbance and were assigned to the Fourteenth 
Army Corps of the Cumberland Army under Gen. 
Thomas. The regiment was brought into contact 
with the enemy at Wildcat. Ky.. and again 
met them at Mills Spring. Corinth, l'crrvville. 
Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and were 
with Sherman in his celebrated inarch from At- 
lanta to the sea. Our subject was veteranized by 
re-enlistment in December, 1863, and he continued 
in service until the close of the war. when he was 
honorably discharged at Louisville, Ivy., and mus- 
tered out at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, having 
served nearly four years, lie was always on duty 
and saw a great deal of active service and hard 
fighting. He had the good fortune to escape 
wounds and capture, never having seen the inside 



of a hospital. Mr. Berry served as Sergeant of his 
company for some time. 

On his return home to Ohio he of whom we 
write was engaged as a farmer until he came to II- 
nois in 1868, since which time he has been one of 
the leading men of the township where he has re- 
sided, being much looked up to because of his en- 
ergy and progressive ideas. Our subject was 
married in his native county to Miss Lucretia A. 
Ruffner, whose birthplace and early home was in 
Fairfield County. Ohio. She was tenderly reared, 
and had many advantages in an educational way, 
denied many of her sex. She is the mother of two 
children, Ruffner A. Berry, who is a clerk with 
Motlit iv Co., ice dealers in Decatur; and Nellie, 
who lives at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Berry are the leaders of the best 
class of social life in Moweaqua. Their pleasant 
home is the meeting place for the culture, intelli- 
gence and refinement of the town. Mrs. Berry is 
a lovely woman, who presides over her home with 
the dignity and grace that come only from a natur- 
ally delicate and finely balanced nature. Politi- 
cally Mr. Berry is a Republican, taking much 
interest in local politics. He is a member of the 
.1. Y. Clemings Post, G. A. R. He is also a mem- 
ber of No. 1013 Chapter, K. of II.. of Moweaqua, 
being Dictator in the latter lodge. He has filled 
all the offices of the Grand Army Post to which 
he belongs but that of Commander. 

ARSHALL M. CROWDER. Many families 
are notable only for some one distinguished 
member, whose reputation is far superior 
to that of his brothers and kinsmen, who 
must ever be content to shine in reflected glory, 
but in the family which is represented by the gen- 
tleman whose name appears at the head of this 
sketch, it is hard to select one member who is pre- 
eminent above the others, as the reputation of 
every one as energetic, enterprising men and pub- 
lic-spirited citizens is acknowledged by all in 
this section of the country. 

Our subject is the yougest in a family of ten 




lo! 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



children all of whom are worthy representatives 
of :in excellent family. The parents, who had the 
honor to bring into the world and rear such val- 
uable citizens, arc spoken of nunc at length in the 
biographical sketch of David M. Crowder. He of 
whom we write was born in Marrowbone Township. 
.March 12, 1851, and was reared to manhood on his 
father's farm, receiving his education lirst in the 
district schools and afterward attending .Mount 
/.ion Academy for two terms. After this he taught 
school lor six months in Moultrie County but with 
thai exception remained under the parental roof 
until his marriage. 

That interesting evenl took place in Sullivan 
Township. May 22, 1870, the bride being Miss 
l.ydia s. Shockey, who was born in Zanesville, Ind. 
she received careful training and an excellent ed- 
ucation and was thus admirably lilted for her fu- 
ture work as wile and mother. Three children 
called her mother. \ 17..: Olive 1!. ( the wife of Ches- 

ley W. Kennedy). Walter R. and Florence I.. Mrs. 
I.vdia Crowder died in Marrowbone Township, 
November 6, 1886, and her memory is revered by 
all who knew her :h a true-hearted woman and a 
faithful and devoted Christian. 

The second marriage of Marshall Crowder took 
place in Dalton City, 111.. August 17, 1887, he 
being then united with Miss Mollie E. Black,a native 
of .Mount /.ion Township, Macon County, III. 
she was there horn May 2V<. 1*07. and reared to 
womanhood receiving the best educational advan- 
tages which her parents could command. She, as 
well as her husband, are members of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Church, where they are highly 

esteemed lor their true Christian character ami 
their intelligent promotion of all movements for 
the In! termenl of the community. 

Oui' subject has always been engaged in farming 

pursuits, although for one year he was employed 

as 'lerk in a store in Bethany. For many years 
In- was a member of the Glee Club of that village and 
musical matters always command his sympathetic 
approval and encouragement. The platform of the 
Republican party expresses his views in regard to 

political policj anil principle- and he is an :i I < Ion I 

worker for the prosperity of thai party. Two hun- 
dred acres are comprised within the limits of Mr. 



Crowder's farm and upon this tract he ha- erected 
excellent and commodious farm buildings and a 
home which is an ornament to the township. 




I RS. CATHERINE EBERHARDT. Nothing 
is more grateful to the feelings of the bi- 
1 Ographer than to find a demand made 
upon his pen for a sketch of an ideal 
woman — one whosesound judgment and true heart 
have carried her unswervingly through the devious 
paths of life and whose beautiful Christian char- 
acter has shown out through the darkness of life's 
trials and temptations and has ever proved a bea- 
con to warn the unwary and to comfort those in 
sorrow. Such a life we lind our duty to record in 
Speaking of the lady whose name appears at the 
head of this paragraph. 

Our subject was born in Wurtemburg, Germany, 
January 31, 1832. Her father. George Geiger, was 
horn there in 17!I7 her mother. Katherina ( llild ) 
Geiger, having her nativity in 1805. They mar- 
ried and settled in Germany and then' they spent 
their entire lives. They became the parents of four 
children of whom Mrs. Eberhardl was the eldest 
and she remained at home until she reached her 
twentii ih vear and received as thorough an educa- 
tion as her parents were able to command for her. 
They brOUghl her up in the faith and practice of 

the Christian religion and soughl for her those 
blesl posessions of a cultured heart and mind. 
This young woman when only twenty year.- old 
left her home and friends in the Old Country and 
emigrated to America. This departure was trying 
indeed to one of so warm a nature, and the home- 
sickness with which she was afflicted lasted for 
many sad and weary months. She never saw In r 
parents again, as it was not practicable for her to 
return to them and they did not feel brave enough 
to leave their native land and cross the ocean. 

While living in Philadelphia, Catherine Geiger 
wa- employed a- a domestic forsomewhat less than 
I wo years, after which she came West and while in 
St. Louis. Mo., mil and married Jacob Kherhardl . 




H. C. GALLAGHER 




C 1 



FRANCES GALLAGHER 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



40!) 



her wedding day being March 1. 1854. This young 
man was a native of Switzerland, where lie was 
born in 1*2."> and after his marriage with our siib- 
jeet he removed to Sangamon County, 111. and 
there made his home. After four years' residence 
there they removed to Marion County. III., and 
resided then' for nine years and in the spring of 
1867 came to Moultrie County and settled in Lowe 
Township where Mr. Eberhardt died June 15, 1870. 
Eight children have blest this union, namely: 
John, Bertha, Jacob, Anna, George, (who died at 
the age of nineteen) Emma, Charlie, who died when 
sixteen years old. and Lucinda. the last one dying 
in early childhood, Mrs. Eberhardl has continued 
to live in Lowe Township, and she owns twohun- 
dred acres of line land upon which she has placed 
good improvements, she is a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, an earnest and active 
Christian and a lady of such genial nature as to 
win every heart. 



i ENRY C. GALLAGHER, The < ring into 

J a county in its early days of any family of 
enterprise, energy and industry, proves in 
time a great help in the progress of the 
community. Such a family is that of the Galla- 
ghers, of Shelby County, ami the gentleman whose 
name appeal's at the head of this sketch i> one of 
that large family, and with his brothers may well 
occupy a conspicuous place in this lii,. ORD. The 
family history is given more at length in the 
biography of his In-other Abram, to which our 
readers are referred for further minutia. 

The line estate of this farmer and stock-raiser i> 
to been seen upon section 27. Holland Township, 
and its owner was born in this township within 
three-fourths of a mile of his present residence. 
August 1. 1843. He is the third in order of age 
of the large family of ten children born to Jacob 
and Sarah (Middlesworth) Gallagher, who came to 
Illinois in L 838 and settled near Shelby ville. where 
lhc\ remained for two years and then came to 
Holland Township. 



Oursubject has been a residenl of the latter town- 
ship all his life. His infancy was spent on the farm 
and he received training there and in the district 
schools which prepared him for taking up life's 
duties witli energy and discretion. The curriculum 
of study in those pioneer schools was not broad 
hut it was thorough, and the drill was an excellent 
preparation for the stern realities of life. As soon 
as he was old enough to undertake duties for him- 
self he began farming independently and has al- 
ways followed that business. 

The farm of six hundred and twenty acres of 
good land bears upon it excellent improvements, 
and has what is rare in some parts of Illinois, a 
beautiful grove. Mr. Gallagher has devoted him- 
self largely to the rearing of stock, making hogs a 
specialty, although he raises a good many horses. 
The marriage of our subject in 1*71 brought to his 
home a bride in the person of Miss Frances, 
daughter of William and Elizabeth Westenhaver. 
This lady was born in Pickaway County. Ohio. 
February 6, 1843. Her parents came to Illinois in 
1858 and located in Holland Township, this county. 
where they died. Three of their four children are 
now living. 

Our subject and his wife have been so happy as 
to have in their household four children, and still 
happier in retaining them all in health. They are 
by name: Jacob E., Addie E., William T. and Alva 
L., all unmarried and at home with their parents. 
The estimate in which Mr. Gallagher is held by 
his fellow-citizens and their respect for bis efficiency 
is abundantly shown by their placing him re- 
peatedly in offices of trust. He has been Assessor. 
Collector. Township Clerk and School Director, 
and just now is School Trustee. He also served 
five years as Clerk. 

The Democratic party in its declaration brings 
forward the political doctrines which Mr. Gallagher 
has ever esteemed as best adapted to the prosperity 
Of the country. He is an active promoter of the 
movements of this party and takes part in all pub- 
lie affairs. All of his family with the exception 
of his youngest child are already members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in which they take a 
deep interest and for whose prosperity they cheer- 
fully labor. He was a member of the Shelbvvi.le 



410 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Lodge N<>. 117,1.0. (>. 1*'.. but living ;it such a 
distance from thai village prevented regular attend- 
danceand lie eventually withdrew. A lithographic 
portrait of Mr. Gallagher appears on another page. 



1<m ft , . 1,1, b. 



f I ' I I | I | < 




'Kl'MAX E. AMES, County Judge of Shelby 
\ (duuty. already ranks among the most 

J eminent men on the bench in this State, 
although comparatively young, as since assuming 
the judicial power his decisions have been marked 
with a thorough knowledge of the law as applic- 
able to all eases under his jurisdiction, have been 
delivered with candor and unquestioned fairness, 
and have been pronounced without fear or favor. 

Our subject was born January 2, 1850. in the 
township of DeKalb, St. Lawrence County. N. V., 
and is a descendant of the sturdy, energetic pio- 
neer stock that settled that part of the county 
and redeemed it from the primeval forests. His 
father, Truman W. Ames, was also born on the old 
family homestead in De Kalb Township. He was 
a son of Barnabas Ames who was a native of Ver- 
mont. The great-grandfather of our subject. Will- 
lam Ames, was likewise born in Vermont, the 
Ames's being among the Colonial settlers of Massa- 
chusetts. Some of the family removed from there 
to Vermont. William and his son Barnabas, after 
residing there a few years, pushed on to the fron- 
tier wilds of Northern New York, going there on 
an exploring expedition before he removed his 
family, and taking with him his son, the grand- 
father of our subject, then a youth of twenty 
years. They made the entire journey from Ver- 
mont on foot, taking with them their axes to use 
when necessary in traveling through the rough, 
wild country through which they had to pass. 
They found St. Lawrence County a howling wil- 
derness, with but few evidences of civilization. as 
there were but very few whites in thai region. 
After their arrival they look the job to help 
clear the land where the Court House ink- 
stands at Canton. They soon selected a suitable 
location for themselves on what i> now the pike 
leading from Canton to Potsdam, and after 



erecting a log house on the land purchased 
returned to Vermont for the remainder of the 
family. The great-grandfather rounded out a long 
and useful life in his new-found home, ami his 
mortal remains now repose in the Ames Cemetery 
not far from the scene of his pioneer labors. 

The grandfather of our subject was just entering 
upon a vigorous manhood when the family re- 
moved to St. Lawrence County, and he at once 
set actively to work to evolve a farm from the 
wilderness. For many years after his location 
there were no railways, and Montreal. Canada, was 
the most convenient market and depot for sup- 
plies. Deer, bears and wolves were plentiful in 
the woods near the settlements, and sometimes 
committed havoc with the farmers' stock and 
gardens. The people were principally home-livers, 
subsisting on the products of their farms, their 
fare being varied occasionally by game; and the 
wives, mothers and daughters of the pioneers 
carded, spun and wove flax and wool, and the 
cloth thus made was fashioned by their hands into 
garments for their families. Grandfather Ames 
made farming his life work and cleared a good 
farm, on which he lengthened out a long and 
useful life. 

The father of our subject was reared to agri- 
cultural pursuits in the home of his birth. In 
due time he married Miss Jane Armin. a native 
of England and a daughter of Michael and .lane 
(Jobbin) Armin. After marriage Mr. Ames pur- 
chased a farm near the old home, and was actively 
engaged in farming thereon until 1864, when lie 
enlisted ill the One Hundred and Sixth New- 
York Infantry, and going at once to the front 
with his regiment, joined Sheridan's command in 
the Shenandoah Valley. He fought bravely in the 
first battle there, at Cedar Creek, and was se- 
verely wounded. After recovering from the effects 
of his wounds he joined his regiment again, and 
was present with the command at Appomattox at 
the time of Lee's surrender. He and his com- 
rades were then .sent in pursuit of Johnson's 
army, and after the surrender of the latter Gen- 
eral they proceeded to Washington, took part in 
the (.land Review and were honorably discharged. 

Having proved his loyalty and devotion to his 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ill 



country by sacrificing his interests to help fighl 
the battles thai saved the Union, Mr. Ames re- 
turned to his old lmmc and resumed his occupa- 
tion as a fanner. He conducted his farming in- 
terests until L881, when he retired from active 
business ti> Potsdam, where he still continues to 
enjoy the handsome competence that is the fruit 
of his well-directed labors. He and his good wife 
have four sons living and an adopted daughter, 
as follows: Truman E., Milon E„ Ceylon W., Jud- 
son T. and Gertrude. Milon E., Ceylon W. and 
Judson T. are all locomotive engineers. 

Judge Ames laid the foundation of a liberal 
education in the district schools of his native 
town, afterward studied at Hermon Academy, 
and then pursued a course of Study at the State 
Normal and Training School at Potsdam. lie 
thus had a good ground work for his legal studies, 
which he began in the law office of Moulton, 
Chaffee & Headon in the interim of teaching, he 
having come to Illinois in L871, and for two 
years baughl in Moultrie County.and subsequently 
in this county. To further prepare himself for 
his chosen calling he entered the Law Depart- 
ment of the Michigan state University at Ann 
Arbor, from which he was graduated with honor 
in the Class of '77. He opened an office at Wind- 
sor, and was established there one year, lie next 
went to Rockford, hut after remaining in that 
city one year, he returned to Windsor, and in 
1880 came from there to Shelbyville. He arose 
steadily and rapidly in his profession until lie 
was honored by being elected to his present im- 
portant Office of County .Indue in 1886. This 
position he has attained solely through his per- 
sonal merits and fitness for the place. This is the 
second term in which he has presided over the 
deliberations of the County Court, dispensing jus- 
tice with an even hand, ami his findings, which 
are seldom, if ever, over-ruled by the higher 
courts, evince his possession of a clear, compre- 
hensive mind and masterly judicial qualities. 

In 1874 Judge Ames and Miss Dora Hilsabeck 
were united in marriage a1 Windsor. Mrs. Ames 
was horn at Windsor in 1856, and is the youngesl 
daughter of James A. and Sarah ( Hoys) Hilsabeck, 
natives respectively of Georgia and Illinois. The 



Judge and his amiable wife are among our lead- 
ing society people, ami their charming home pos- 
sesses many attractions to their hosts of friends. 
Their household is completed by the presence of 
their only son and child. Edward Peer, who was 
born January 7. 1H7K. 

Judge Ames is giving Shelbyville the benefit of 
his learning and executive talent by serving a> 
President of the Board of Education and using his 
influence to make the schools of the city as good 
as the best in any part of the State. lie is a 
Democrat in politics and in his social relations is 
a member of Jackson Lodge, No. 53, A. F. & 
A. M.; Godfrey de Bouillon Commandery, No. 
II. at Mattoon, 111.; also of Black Hawk Lodge. 
No. 83, K. of P.; and of the Uniformed Rank No. In. 



C APT. RANKIN P. McPHEETERS. It is a 
grateful task to the biographer to tell the 
story of the brave lightings and marches of 
the hoys in blue who went forth to the call of the 
President to raise again in triumph the stars and 
Stripes which had been assailed by traitors. No 
crisis in our country's history since the Revolu- 
tionary period had so stirred the hearts of the peo- 
ple and so entered into the home life of every 
family as the events which are classed under the 
head of the Civil War. aad for at least two genera- 
tions the history of that period will hear a peculiar 
and personal value in the eyes of all who love 
their country. 

Capt. McPheeterS, whose record we shall lie 
happy to give further on in this sketch, is the son 
of the late Addison MePheetcrs. of whose histOl'J 
our readers will learn more in a biographical sketch 
of A. W. MePheetcrs. of Sullivan, which appears 
in this volume. The mother of our Subject, whose 

maiden name was Julia Poague,bore four children, 
two of them being twins — our subject and A. W. 
McPheeters, of Sullivan. These sons were horn in 
whal is now Scott County. Ilk. July 1. 1832, and 
there passed the early years of their life up to the 
ilge i if nine when the father removed with his family 



412 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



t<> Fayette County, Ky.. and there our subject grew 
t<> manhood and received thorough systematic 
training as a fanner's boy. When he left Fayette 
('(unity in the fall of 1852 he came to Moultrie 

Comity and for three years pursued his education 
in Sullivan and Charleston. 111. 

The education which this young man had now 
attained he decided to at once put to practical ser- 
vice in instructing others, and securing a position 
at the teacher's desk lie taughl for two years in 
Moultrie County before entering upon what has 
been his life work — fanning. He settled upon a 
farm and devoted himself to that work continu- 
ously from that day to this, excepting the time 
which he spent in the army. 

Mr. McPhceters enlisted in .Inly. 1862, in Com- 
pany C, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois 
Infantry, serving for three years, which term ended 
about the close of the war. It was as a private 
that he enlisted, hut in March, 1863, he received 
the commission of a First Lieutenant in his com- 
pany and the following July was promoted to the 
Captaincy of Company C, which oftieial position he 
held until the close of the war. He took part in 
the siege of Vieksburg and in the battles of Hum- 
boldt, Tenn.. and Clarendon, Ark. In July, 18(54, 
(apt. McPhceters with his company was detailed 
and assigned to the Eleventh ( )hio Battery for two 
months, and shortly after he was given command 
of that battery, lie took part in the capture of ; 
Pine Bluff anil Saline River, Ark. 

Having passed through his entire term of service 
unharmed and with an honorable record the poung 
Captain gladly hailed the return home.and no doubt 

thoroughly enjoyed the "royal welc e" which 

every loyal Northern heart desired to grant when 
••Johnny came marching home." Sullivan now be- 
came his home again and he soon after engaged in 
farming in Fast Nelson Township, where he has 
since resided and where he owns three hundred 
acres, upon which he has placed desirable improve- 
ments. 

('apt. McPhceters was married in June, 1859, in 
Attica, hid., to Ann M. Campbell, a native of that 
place. They have a family of four living children 
and buried their eldest. Julia, when a little child. 
Those who are living are: Jessie ('. the wife of 



Melville P. Council, a druggist of Attica, hid.; 
Susan V.. Mary L. and Charles F. The parents of 
these children are active and earnest members of 
the Presbyterian Church and they have brought 
up their offspring in the faith and practice of the 
Christian religion. The office of Trustee of the 
church has long been tilled by this gentleman. 

Our subject has taken quite an active part in 
political matters and has a strong faith that the 
Republican party embodies the true principles of 
political economy. lie is prominently identified 
with the Grand Army of the Republic at Sullivan, 
and in the Odd Fellows Lodge has filled every 
office of trust and has been the Deputy and repre- 
sentative of his lodge in the Grand Lodge. The 
pleasant home which he has provided for his fam- 
ily is delightfully situated and within its walls this 
public-spirited gentleman and his excellent and 
capable companion have created an atmosphere of 
true home life and harmony which lias had a de- 
cided effect not only in the formation of the char- 
acter of their children lull also upon the social life 
of the neighborhood. 



— J- 



^§>-*« 



OL HIRAM M. SCARBOROUGH. Shelby 

., County sent many of its noble and patriotic 
citizens to the front during the late Civil 
War and among those who won military honors 
in "those times that tried men's souls" isour 
subject, who as a commissioned officer of the 
Fifty-fourth Illinois Regiment, was conspicuous 
while in the service for his readiness of resource, 
his coolness, for his promptness in carrying Out tin' 
orders of his superiors, and for other merits that 
showed him to lie a true soldier. I lis services have 
been equally as valuable within the last quarter of 
a century or more since peace was declared, in that 
he has taken a high place among the foremost of 
the men of this county who have pushed forward 
the mercantile interests of this section of the State 
and have materially added to its wealth. He has 
a large and elegant dry-goods establishment at 
Shelby ville, where he entered upon his prosperous 
career as a merchant twenty-five rears ago. 



PORTRAIT AND Bl: M'HICAL RECORD. 



1 1 ."- 



Col. Scarborough was bom in Hunterdon County, 
N. J., September 4, 1834. He is a sun of Isaac 
Scarborough, who was a native of Bucks County, 
Pa.. The paternal grandfather <>f <>ur subject was 
a skillful mechanic and Cor many years carried on 
business a.-' a blacksmith in Bucks County, his en- 
tire life being passed in Pennsylvania, so far as 
aught is known to the contrary. He was a stal- 
wart Democrat, prominent in his party, and held 
the office of Sheriff of Bucks County. He reared 
seven sons and six of them Learned of him the 
trade of a blacksmith. 

The father of our subject, followed in his father's 
footsteps as regards a trade and when a young 
man established himself as a blacksmith in Hunter- 
don County. N. J. lie died there in 184. r >, ere yet 
he had passed life's meridian. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Eliza Case, sold her home 
after his death and moved across the State line 
into Bucks County and spent her last years in 
Pennsylvania with her daughters. These are the 
names of the six children that she reared: Mathias 
H., Hiram M.. Man E., Hannah A.. Sadie E. and 
Jennie. .Mathias and Jennie are dead. 

The subject of this biographical notice was eleven 

years old when he was deprived of a father's care 
and at the age of twelve the sturdy, self-reliant 
little lad became self-supporting. He was employed 
on a farm until he was seventeen years old and 
he then began to learn the trade of a carpenter, 
which he followed in his native county some years- 
In L856, in the prime and vigor of the opening 
years of his manhood, he came westward to this 
county and cast his lot with those who were active 
in its upbuilding. He located at Shelbyville and 
as he was a good carpenter hi' found plenty of 
■work at his calling, which he pursued until I860, 
when he abandoned that to accept a position as a 
clerk, in which capacity he was employed until he 
dropped his work to shoulder his rifle, that he 
might help to fight his country's battle-. 

lie enlisted in the fall of 1861 in Company II. 
Fifty-fourth Illinois Infantry and received the 
compliment of being mustered in as Second Lieu- 
tenant of his company. In the Long and weary 
years of sacrifice, hardship and privation that fol- 
lowed he served the Government with fidelity and 



did not abandon his post until our flag floated once 
more over an undivided country. He was with 
his regiment in all its marches and campaigns, with 
the exception of about six months, when he was at 
home working hard to secure recruits. He veter- 
anized in 1863 anil was honorably discharged in 
November. 1865. From time to time he received 
deserved promotion, until he became one of the 
leading officers of his regiment. In the fall of 
1862 he was made First Lieutenant and as such 
commanded his company in various engagements 
with the enemy. His next promotion to the rank 
of Captain soon followed, then to that of Major, 
and early in 1865 he was commissioned Lieutenant- 
Colonel and left the army with a high reputation 
as a gallant and efficient leader, whether in the heat 
of battle, on the march or in camp. 

Col. Scarborough returned to Shelbyville after 
receiving his discharge papers and in January, 
1866, began business here as a merchant, and ever 
since has conducted one of the leading stores of the 
city for the sale of dry goods and furnishing goods, 
carpets, etc. It is neat and handsome in its ap- 
pointments, the stock, of which there is a large and 
well-selected assortment, is neatly and tastefully 
arranged, so as to add to the attractiveness of the 
establishment, and the whole is ably managed. 

In 1871 our subject was married to Miss Isabella 
A. Middlesworth, a native of this county and a 
daughter of Abram Middlesworth. who is repre- 
sented elsewhere in this volume. They have one 
SOD Living, Charles M. The Colonel and his wife 
understand well the art of making their dwelling a 
true home, as all feel who cross the threshold and 
enjoy the comforts and luxuries of its tasteful fur- 
nishings, and receive every attention from their 
kind and considerate host, and hostess. 

Col. Scarborough is a frank, manly and straight- 
forward man. whose business methods are such as 
to commend him to the confidence of the public, 
and Shelbyville holds him as one of her be.-t citi- 
zens. His life has been guided by Christian prin- 
ciple- and for many years he has been a consistent 
church member, Hr>t joining the Baptist Church in 
early manhood, while a resident of his native 
State. But after he came here to dwell it seemed 
good to him to unite himself with the Presbyterian 



Ill 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Church, in 1861, and he and his wife are to-day 

among its most effective working members. So- 
cially he is a member of Jackson Lodge, No. 53, A. 
F. & A. M.. and also of Cyrus Hall Post, G. A. R., 
his connection with that organization cdmmemor- 
ating the days and nights that he and his comrades 
passed together on the battlefields of the South. 
He was born and reared by Democratic parents, hut 
since 1863 he has been a stalwart Republican. 



— 



L i® 3* 



<-^> EORGE W. SHRIDE has been a resident of 
Shelby County for more than thirty years, 
{ and during that time has won an import- 
ant place among the most substantial fanners and 
stock-raisers of Pickaway Township, where he has 
a farm that compares with the best in this part of 
the State. He is a son of one of the pioneer fami- 
lies of Ohio, and was horn in that State February 
25, 1 825, his birthplace being about twelve miles 
northwest of Lancaster. Fairfield County. His 
father's name was Jacob Shride. and lie was a na- 
tive of Bucks County. Pa. He went from there to 
Ohio when he was a young man, and married in 
that State. Hannah Bowman. He bought a tract of 
partly improved land in Fairfield County, and the 
remainder of his life was devoted to farming in 
that locality until death rounded out his life in 
1861. His wife had died there many years before, 
passing away in 1840. 

Our subject began when very young to acquire 
a practical knowledge of farming, and afforded his 
father much assistance during his youth. He at- 
tended school as he could, acquiring a fail- educa- 
tion, and continued to live with his father until 
lie attained his majority. He then worked on a 
farm by the month until his marriage, when he 
rented land in his native COUnt) a few years. In 
1854 he went to Logan County, in the same State, 
and was a resident thereof until he came to Shelby 
in |S."i7. When he tirst located here he fanned as 
a renter, but in isiii he bought two hundred and 
foils acres of land, which is included in his pro- 
cut farm on the west half of section 22. Piekawaj 
Township. He has placed it under a high state of 



tillage, has erected commodious buildings, and has 
made his farm a valuable piece of property, upon 
which he carries on a good business in general 
fanning and stock-raising. 

In 1849 Mr. shride married Miss Julia A. Stump, 
and for thirty-five years they were bound together 
by the sacred tie of a true wedded life. Then 
death crossed the threshold of their home and re- 
moved the faithful wife and devoted mother from 
her family in September, 1884. Of the thirteen 
children born of that marriage, these ten have 
been reared to maturity: John \V.. William II.. 
Lyman M., Daniel F., Sarah M., Jacob C. Milo D., 
Fletcher. Abraham Lincoln and Harvey E. 

Mr. shride is a member of the Reformed Church. 
as was also his wife. He was a Democrat pre\ LOUS 
to the war. but at that time became an ardent 
Republican, and has ever since remained true to 
the parly. His whole career marks him as a man 
of sound understanding, of far-seeing sagacity and 
of industrious habits, so combined with those use- 
ful qualities of thrift, prudence and steadiness of 
purpose, that his prosperity is easily accounted for. 
His unswerving honesty and integrity. !idelit\ to 
whatever he conceives to be his duty, and his un- 
failing kindness to all with whom he comes in con- 
tract have won him the regard of his neighbors 
and friends. 



^Ml 



.'E»J31 



ii*^ 



! 1'IIKAIM ADAMSOX. a highly respected 
farmer residing in Moweaqua Township. 
Shelby County, was born in Centre County. 
Pa., January 22. 1839. .lames Adamson was his 
father's name, and he was a native of the same 
county, born in 181 I. lie was a son of one Will- 
iam Adamson. who was a native of Spain. In early 
life he came lo this country and settled in Penn- 
sylvania, where he spent his remaining years in 
Centre County, lie was a soldier in the War of 

1812. He married a Scotch lady. 

.lames Adamson was reared to man's estate in 
his Pennsylvania birthplace. He went to Mifflin 
County, 111., his native state, when he was a young 
man. and was there married lo Nancy Fly. a native 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



415 



of Franklin County. Pa., born in 1814, and a 
daughter of John Ely, who was also a Pennsylva- 
nian by birth. The father of our subject purchased 
a tract of land in Centre County after liis marriage, 
and lived thereupon several years. In 1839 he re- 
moved to Huntingdon County, in the same State, 
and was a resident there for many years. His next 
move was to Ohio in 1861, and he located in 
Guernsey County, where lie lived until after the 
death of his wife in 1867. He then made his home 
with his children, and died in Centre County. Pa., 
in August, 1882. The following are the names of 
his children: David, Elizabeth, Ephraim, Mary 
.lane. Isaac. Rebecca, Emma, John, Priscilla, Jem- 
ima and Nannie. 

lie of whom this sketch is principally written 
early acquired a knowledge of agriculture on his 
lather's farm, lie accompanied his parents to their 
new home in Ohio in 1861, and lived in Guernsey 
County until 1863. In that year he gave up his 
personal aims and ambitions to do his duty to bis 
country as a patriotic citizen by helping to sup- 
press the greal rebellion that was then waging in 
the South, enlisting December II in an indepen- 
dent company. He was sent with his comrades to 
Washington, I >. ('.. to do garrison work, and in 
1864 served as bodj guard to President Lincoln. 
lie was in Washington at the time of the assassina- 
tion of the Chief Magistrate of the Nation, and 
was also at the Capital during the (.rami Review, 
in which he took part. He was discharged from 
the army with his company September 11. 1865, 
and returned to Ohio, having gained a good mili- 
tary record for faithfulness and efficiency in what- 
soever he was called upon to do while he was a 
soldier. 

After he left the army Mr. Adamson drove a 
huckster's wagon in Cambridge from that time 

until 1868, when he left the I'.uckeye Slate to take 
up his residence in Illinois. He settled in Mowea- 
ipta Township, and two years later devoted some 
of his money to the purchase of forty acres of 
land, lie subsequently boughl mote realty until 
he had one hundred and twenty acres of land, and 
he dwelt thereon twenty years. At the expiration 
of that time he disposed of that place and rented 
the adjoining- farm, where he now resides. He 



also has [arming interests in Nebraska, owning a 
good farm in Nuckolls County, that State. 

In 1867 Mr. Adamson took unto himself a wife, 
marrying Miss Josephine Scoot, a native of Guern- 
sey County, Ohio. They have eight children liv- 
ing: James, David. George, Oscar, Mary. Nannie, 
Edwin and Ida. 

As a veteran of tin 1 late war our subject is an 
honored member of .1. V. Clemins Post. No. :5t;.'?, 
G. A. R. He and his wife are among the most 
worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
anil among their neighbors they are held in high 
estimation for their many excellent qualities of 
head and heart. 



I «S« •■*■• *% •■'■* ! 

ENRY MARTZ, one of our worthy German- 

f j. American citizens who does credit alike to 
*,S the land of his birth and the land of his 
■(G)' adoption, resides on section 28.Ridge Town- 
ship. Shelby County, where he carries on a lirst- 
class farm. lie was born in the old country April 
.'!. 1834, and up to the time when he was thirteen 
years old he worked upon the farm. He then 
served an apprenticeship for three years to the 
trade of a miller ami was sixteen years old when 
hi' came to America. 

The youth landed in New York City and made 
his way to Lancaster. Ohio, where he was engaged 
at farm labor for eight years, after which he was 
married March 1 I. 1858 to Miss Margaret Singer, a 
native of Bavaria, Germany, where she was born 
August 29, 18:i8. He remained in Fairfield County 
for two years after his marriage and in 1860 re- 
moved to Shelby County, 111., renting land in Pick- 
away Township for about thirteen years. In 1873 
he decided to purchase a farm and bought one 
hundred and sixty acre> on section 28. where he 
settled and where he has since been a resident. 

This tine farm has now been increased to two 
hundred and sixty acres. Upon it have been 
erected good buildings and excellent improvements 
of other kinds. Nine children have made this 
happy home resound with the gleeful pursuits of 
childhood, their names being Henry, John, Anna 



m; 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



M., William T.. Caroline C. George E., Rosanna 
M.. Chailes ('<.. and Lewis .1. Anna M., is the wife 
of Samuel Campbell; Henry married Louisa Raab; 
John died when fourteen years old. The father 
of these young people has been Highwaj Commis- 
sioner for some three years and his political views 
lead him to affiliate with the Democratic party. 
Botb he and his excellent wife are members in 
good and regular standing of the Lutheran Church. 
Their good home, pleasantly located, forms an 
agreeable center of social life and the farm shows 
every mark of the hand of a prudent and consci- 
entious farmer. 



_F3 



S+^ 



~S 



OllN YV. FALK Mils multifarious offices of 
usefulness at Ilerborn. Shelby County,-being 
its merchant, Postmaster, express agent, 
freight agent and carrying on a fine busi- 
ness in the manufacture of tile. His business abi- 
lity and thorough going, progressive character, are 
giving a push to this young town, which will tell 
upon its future. 

Mi'. F'alk was horn in Germany, September 7. 
1856, his parents being John and Anna (Franke) 
falk. The family came to the United states in 
1858 when our subject was scarcely two years old. 
Their first home was in Chicago, hut they did not 
tarry there many years, as they thought best to 
devote themselves to agricultural pursuits. Ac- 
cordingly they sought out some of the rich lint 
unbroken prairie soil where they might make their 
home and by industry gain the wealth which was 
hidden under its surface. The lather was not a 
man of means and felt that in order to secure for 
bis children the hot advantages of this new world 
he must place them where they might rise more 
readily than in a great cit \ . 

Shelby County was chosen as the home of the 
family and here the father purchased forty acres 
of land. He was hampered in his work by poor 
health, bul Still by earn est endeavor and illdustrj . 
coupled with economy he became the owner of two 
hundred and forty acres of land and placed upon 
it excellent improvements. His death occurred in 



1877 when he was fifty years old. He was an 
earnest and devout member of the Lutheran 
Church in which his wife was in sympathy with 
him. The worthy widow still survives and is 
making her home in Shelby County on the old 
homestead. 

Five of the children of .John and Anna Falk 
grew to man's and woman's estate. These were 
Joseph; Dora, wife of William Rozene; Elizabeth, 
wife of John Scheef; Caroline, the wife of Henry 
Zalman and our subject who was the fourth in 
order of birth in the family. lie was hut five years 
old when the family removed to Shelby County, 
ami therefore feels that almost his entire life has 
been identified with the growth and progress of 
the community in which he lives. He received 
the usual thorough drill and instruction given to 
a farmer's boy and was educated in the district 
school. Although his school advantages were ex- 
tremely limited he availed himself thoroughly of 
all opportunities which were placed within his 
reach and has acquired a good business education 
by independent study and endeavor. 

At the age of twenty-one years, John Falk en- 
gaged in merchandise at Stewardson, an enterprise 
which he conducted for one year, after which time 
he decided to go upon a farm and establish a home 
of his own. lie was married in 1878 to Anna 
Giesler, daughter of Adam and Mary Giesler who 
was born in Elkhart County, Ind., November Hi. 
1862. After following agriculture, for some 
eleven years, he established a mercantile business 
at Ilerborn in 1889, and soon afterward became a 
partner in the tiie factory, and later took up deal- 
ing in grain. The tile business at Ilerborn was 
established about ten years ago by Hunt and (Jail 
amore. The present firm does business under the 
title of the Ilerborn Tile Manufacturing Company 
and is composed of the following gentlemen : Jos- 
eph Falk. .John W. Falk. and A. T. Weber. Mr. 
and Mrs. Falk own together some one hundred 
and forty acres of excellent land. Our sub- 
ject is identified with the Republican party and 
works for its prosperity, although he devotes Only 
a limited portion of his time and interest to poli- 
tical matters. He has been placed in the office of 
School Trustee in which he is efficient and active. 




RESIDENCE OF JOHN R E B ER , S EC. 31. , PRAI Rl E TP, SHELBY CO., ILL. 




f ^ * j !ff^ 



■ 



f I 



r IS T* 'r r 

P IP I I 8 






IS 






5fC. 36. PRAIRIE TP 







" FARM PROPERTY," RESIDENCE & STORE CF J.W. FALK, HERBORN STATION ,5H ELBY COILI 










RESIDENCE OF SAMUEL BOWMAN , SEC. 21., RIDGE TR, SH ELBY CO., ILL. 



PORTRAIT AND Bit (GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



I 19 



and is actively forwarding the educational inter- 
ests of the township. Hi 1 feels these to lie among 
the most vital and necessary matters which should 
engage the attention and zeal of every worthy 
and broad-minded citizen. 

The attention Of the leader is invited tO a view- 
on another page of the residence and store of Mr. 
Falk. 



_oo 






02 



tiT% AMUEL BOWMAN, the son of an eminent 
^^4 Mennonite minister and a man of great 
V^U!) usefulness and ability, resides on section 
21, Ridge Township, Shelby County, where 
his good farm and excellent buildings testify to 
his skill and thoroughness as a. fanner. His father. 
the Rev. Jacob Bowman, was horn in Franklin 
County, Pa., and his mother. Mollie Lehman was 
a native of the same comity. There they were 
married and made their home in Franklin County, 
Ohio, where they lived for many years and where 
this venerable and highly honored clergyman de- 
parted from earth. May IS. 1884. His faithful 
companion survives him and has reached a very 
advanced age. 

The subject of this sketch is one of the younger 
members of his father's family, his birth taking 
place in Franklin County. Ohio. May I. L846. 
His boyhood days were spent there and his school- 
ing received in the common schools of the Buckeye 
Stall'. Besides preaching, his father carried on a 
farm and tin 1 hoy grew up to a sturdy manhood 
with the excellent drill which is given to a farmer's 
boy. 

In his native county, the young man found a 
wife in the person of Miss Susan Motts, a daughter 
of Daniel and Harriet (Warner) Motts. both horn 
in Berks County. Pa. The day which united 
these two useful and happy lives was September 7. 
1871. The first home of Mr. and Mrs. Motts was 
in Franklin County. Fa., hut they had removed to 
Franklin, Ohio, previous to their daughter's mar- 
riage. Mr. Motts' death occurred November 7. 
1876, and his wife followed him to the other 
world, September 2<>, 1879, This highly honored 



couple had a family of ten children, of whom Mrs. 
Bowman was the ninth in age. Her native home 
was Franklin County. Pa., where she was born 
July •>•>. L849. Her domestic qualities have fitted 
her admirably for her work as a wife and mother, 
and she has been a true helpmate to her husband 
since the day of their marriage. 

The early wedded life of Mr. and Mrs. Bowman 
was spent in Franklin County, Ohio, where they 
remained for four years, but in January, 1 s 7 < ; they 
came to Shelby County. III., and made their home 
on section 21, Ridge Township, where they have 
built up a prosperous and delightful home. Agri- 
culture has been Mr. Bowman's life work and he 
is the owner of two hundred acres of excellent and 
productive soil. Upon tin 1 homestead he has a 
substantial sel of buildings, including a commo- 
dious residence, a view of which is shown on 
another page. 

Four children have blessed the home of Mr. 
Bowman, namely: Benjamin F.. Ida M.. John C 
and Howard A. To these children have been 
offered good educational advantages and they are 
making progress in preparing for the responsible 
duties of life. The political viewsof Mr. Bowman 
are in accordance witli the declaration of the Re- 
publican party, in the progress of which he takes a 
keen interest. Both he and his excellent wife 
have taken an active part in religious work, and 
are members of the Evangelical Association, where 
he has filled the office of Steward and Trustee. 
He is thus carrying oirl in a little different line. 

the g 1 Christian work in which his father was 

active for thirty-four years. 



r 



(MIX REBER, whose handsome brick resi- 
dence built after modern architectural de- 
sign attracts the eye of every visitor to 
Prairie Township, Shelby County, was born 
in Fairfield County, Ohio. January 2. 1838. His 
parents. T. Y. and Rachel (Allen) Relier wen' 
natives of the same county, the father being born 
in 1807 and now living in Wyandot County. 



420 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



that State, and the mother, who was born in 1809, 
having died in the county just named in October, 
L890. 

Of the family of T. V. and Rachel Reber, there 
were eight children, and our subject was t lie second 
in age. Like thousands of young men from Ohio 
he came to Illinois, arriving here October 5, 1867 
and locating on the farm where he now resides. 
lie has since that time efficiently carried on the 
business of farming and stock-raising. This State 
was visited by his father about the year 1850, and 
he then entered the land from the Government, 
which afterward came to this son by inheritance. 
Mr. Reber has a splendid farm of four hundredand 
eighty acres, and upon this he lias recently erected 
a new home, a view of which appears on another 
page. 

March 23, 1891, was the happy wedding day of 
John Reber and Mrs. Clara Thompson. Mrs. Rebel' 
is a native of Shelby Counts and a daughter of 
the Rev. Mr. Stamper, of Herrick, this county. 
She was first married to 'William Thompson, of 
Shelby County, who died in 1890. Mr. Rebel- 
always voted the Republican party until 1890, 
when he broke away from party lines and became 
independent in his political view and vote. lie 
makes a principle of casting his ballot for the man 
and the measures which in his judgment will best 
Subserve the good of the community and the pros- 
perity of the commonwealth, lie is not a pro- 
fessor of religion but cheerfully gives of his means 
to the support of the Gospel, lie is looked upon 
by his neighbors as one of the valuable and solid 
members of the social and industrial community 
of Prairie Township. 



OIIN POGUE has been identified with the 
agricultural interests of this county for 
more than a quarter of a century and these 
busy years have been fraught with much 
prosperity for him and lie now has a large and 
well-equipped farm, pleasantly located in Pickaway 
Township. He is :i -on of one of the early pio- 



P 



neer families of Indiana and was born in that 
State, in the Township of Fairbanks, Sullivan 
County, March 17,1820. His father. .lames Pogue, 
was born in 1796 amid the pioneer scenes of Mer- 
cer County. Ky. lie was a son of William Pogue, 
who was a native of Ireland. He came to this 
country in Colonial times and served faithfully in 
the Continental Army throughout the Revolution- 
ary War. He subsequently went to the North- 
west Territory and later became a pioneer of Ken- 
tucky, where his life was brought to a close at a 

g 1 old age. The maiden name of his wife was 

.lane Marshall. 

.lames Pogue was but nine years old when the 
family went to Ohio anil when he was eighteen 
years old he made his way acrOSS the border to the 
Territory of Indiana. For two years he resided in 
Knox County and then sought the forests of Sulli- 
van County to build up a home. He was the first 
to settle in what is now Fairbanks Township, 
where he bought a tract of heavily limbered land 
from the Government. He built a log cabin 
which he afterward replaced by a more commo- 
dious hewed log house, which was then the birth- 
place of his son, of whom we write. For many 
years there were no railways and Terre Haute was 
the nearest town towhich the settlers could go to 
market their produce and obtain household sup- 
plies. The people had to live mostly on what 
they could raise on their farms, the abundance of 
wild tia me. such as deer, turkeys, etc.. adding 
greatly to their fare. The wives and daughters 
of the pioneers spun and wove all the cloth used 
by their families, homespun garments being Hie 

rule. 

The father of our subject, by dint of hard and 
pcrsi-tcnt labor, cleared a line farm from tin' wil- 
derness, and there his days were passed in peace 
ami plenty until the end came and he was removed 
from the scenes of his toil by the hand of death in 
1854. His wife survived him until 1862, when 
she too passed away. Her maiden name was 
Emmet Thomas and she was born in Kentucky. 
William and -lane Thomas being her parents. 

Our subject was one of eight children and he 
grew to a vigorous and self-reliant manhood in 
his native county. The school that he attended 



PORTRAIT AND RIP IiAPIIICAL RECORD. 



421 



when he «ms :i boy was taught in a log house. 
Small logs were split to make seats for the scholars, 
one side of the logs being hewn smooth, and 
wooden pins being inserted for legs, the seats 
being without backs or desks. The school was 
conducted on the subscription plan and the teacher 
sometimes boarded around among the families in 
the district. As soon as he was large enough our 
subject was required to assist in the farm work 
and he was thus engaged until he was twenty-two 
years old. His father then gave him eigllty acres 
oJ timber land and he at once entered upon the 
hard pioneer task of redeeming it from a state of 
nature. At that time standing trees were of little 
value and he used to roll large lo^> together and 
burn the pile. He cleared five or six acres, built 
on the place and at the time of marriage settled 
there. 

In 1865 our subject sold his property in Indiana 
and coming to Shelby County, bought two hun- 
dred and forty acres of wild prairie in Pickaway 
Township. For one hundred and sixty acres lie 
paid at the rate of $12 an acre and for eight} 
acres he paid $8 an acre. He then purchased an 
additional one hundred and sixty acres at $12-£ 
an acre and another eighty acre tract at tf.'id an 
acre. He now owns five hundred and forty acres, 
sixty of which is timber land. IK' has erected a 
good set of frame buildings and has added to the 
beaut] of the place by planting fruit, shade and 
ornamental trees in abundance. 

December 31, 1841, Mi". Pogue and Miss Nancy 
Terry united their fortunes for better or worse 
and their hearty co-operation in the upbuilding of 
their home has secured them the handsome com- 
petency that they enjoy. Mrs. Pogue was born in 
Vigo County. Ind.. and is a daughter of William 
N. and Catherine (McClure) Perry, who were early 
pioneers of her native State. Among the blessings 
that a wedded life of half a century has vouch- 
safed our subject and his estimable wife are the 
ten children born to them, named as follows: 
.lames M.. Angelina, Erneline, Cornelia, Charles M., 

Louisa. William Marvin. Li a. Julia A. and 

Hiram M. 

Mr. and Mrs. Pogue are valued members of the 
Christian Church, who carry their religion into 



their every-day lives. and are kind and considerate 
toward all, these pleasant traits of character win- 
ning them respect and regard on every hand. Mr. 
Pogue has clear and sensible views concerning pol- 
itics and is independent of any party, voting for 
whom he thinks best suited to assist in the man- 
agement of public affairs. 



, i ,i. k . , * ■ 



f i ' I i w. . 




Towel- Hill is the seat of some thriving 
business establishments, prominent among 
S 1 which is the store of Mr. Cannon, dealer 
in lumber, furniture hardware and agricultural im- 
plements. His life affords a striking example of 
what may be accomplished by a determined and 
tireless spirit, even with nothing as capital save 
vigor of body and activity of mind. A self-made 
man in a wide sense. Mr. Cannon has gained 
wealth, lint while doing so he has remembered that 
there are others in the world as well as himself, 
and has treated those with whom he has had deal- 
ings in the most straiirh forward and honest man- 
ner, carrying out the Golden Rule in all his 
dealings. 

A native of Alabama. Mr. Cannon was born 
September.'!. 1844, and a1 the age of seven years 
accompanied his parents to Arkansas, where he 
remained twelve years. There he received a com- 
mon-school education, which hi' has since broad- 
ened by careful reading on all important subjects. 
In 1864 he came to Illinois, and Locating in Mont- 
gomery County, passed the ensuing six years there. 
During four years of this time he was engaged in 
the lumber business for his father in the town of 
Butler, and he was also in partnership with his 
father and brother in the dry-g Is business at Ir- 
ving for one and a half years. Thus early in life 
he acquired a thorough knowledge of business af- 
fair-, and gained that judgment anil decision which 
characterize his transactions no". 

In 1872 Mr. Ca >n came to Tower Hill and 

embarked in his present business, which he is still 
successfully prosecuting. He has an extensive and 
lucrative business and occupies a prominent place 



422 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



among the business men of Shelby County. He 
controls three hundred and twenty acres of land, 
but makes his home in a cozy residence in the vill- 
age, l'eaee, comfort and happiness have come to 
him from his marriage, which was celebrated in 
Butler, 111., October 12. 1868. The bride on that 
important occasion was Miss Julia A. Stewart, a 
native of Montgomery County, 111. The union 
has been blessed by the birth of nine living chil- 
dren, as follows: Ella, Lillie, Alice, Arthur, Wal- 
ter. Lizzie, Elmer E., Flora and Myrtle. One child 
died in infancy. 

In politics Mr. Cannon is a stanch Democrat, 
and has represented the people in the Town Coun- 
cil for twelve years. He has also served the town- 
ship as Clerk and School Director. He and his 
wife are members of the ."Methodist Episcopal 
Church, in which he has filled some of the offices. 
Mr. Cannon, during an honorable career as a saga- 
cious, enterprising business man, has displayed 
those solid traits of character that are needful to 
the attainment of good fortune in any calling, 
and in his dealings with all either in a business or 
social way he has ever shown himself to be a 
man of honor and truthfulness, and with his 

g 1 wife he enjoys the full trust of the entire 

community. 



A. DAVIS. The gentleman whose name is 
* at the head of this sketch is a general 
fanner and a breeder of horses. The tract 
[^) of land of which he is proprietor comprises 
one hundred and sixty acres, and is located on sec- 
tion :>:i. Pickaway Township. Shelby County. .Mr. 
Davis secured this land directly from the Govern- 
ment in August, L852, and since then has devoted 
himself to improving it. Our subject came to this 
COUnty when yet a small hoy. He is a native of 

Kentucky, being there born June 9, L826, and is 
the son of Joshua and Leah (Stitl) Davis, natives 
of Maryland and Kentucky, respectively, but of 
Scotch-Irish ancestry. 

After marriage our subject's parents began life 



in Nicholas County. Ky.,and there five of the chil- 
dren were bom. About 1K:5:5. the family removed 
to this State, coming by way of the Ohio, Missis- 
sippi and Illinois Rivers, up to Naples, and thence 
over into Morgan County. There Mr. Davis Sr., 
rented land for some time and was engaged in 
farming. Later they came to this county settling 
here in a very early day. and purchasing some new 
and unbroken land of the Government. The par- 
ents ended their lives in Ridge Township, the 
father, January 1. 1868, and the mother February 
18, 1857. They were then aged respectively eighty 
and fifty years, and had been members, for a ureal 
many years, of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

Our subject is the third in order of eight chil- 
dren, of whom there were three sons and five 
daughters. Four of these children are yet living. 
The youngest son was killed at the battle of Chicka- 
mauga during the War of the Rebellion. His name, 
John II. Davis, and the memory of his bravery and 
loyalty will ever be cherished by family, comrades 
and friends. He of whom we write was reared un- 
der the home roof in this county, where he became 
of age. lie has been a close and appreciative ob- 
server of all the changes that have taken place in 
the history of the state from the '30s to the present 
time. The original of our sketch has been fairly 
successful in a business and financial way since 
starting out in life for himself. 

Mr. Davis was married in this township and 
county, early in life to Miss Elizabeth Robinson. 
Their marriage was celebrated in March. 1858. The 
lady was born in Bourbon County, Ky., and came 
to Shelby County, this State, in February. 1857. She 
died at her home here in June. 1867. She was the 

mother of live sons, namely lames. Henry Alex., 

John H., George IS. Me., and William o. Feeling 
the need of companionship after the death of his 
wife, our subject was again married, the lady con- 
senting to preside over his home and be a mother 
to his children, was Miss Mary Rice. They were 
married in 1869. She is a native of this State 

although her parents were Iventuckians, where they 

lived for some time. They passed away from life 
at their daughter's home in this township, June, 
1871. She was in middle life at the time of her 

decease and lefl one child. Rosa !'>.. having losl a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



123 



son, Frank, previous to the birth of the child men- 
tioned. Our subjecl was again married, this time 
to Mrs. Elizabeth Yunkins. She was born and reared 
in the State of Alabama, and was married to a 
Southerner who died in the Southern army. By 
her present marriage she is the mother of twochil- 
ilnii. namely: (era l'>. and SamuelT. She had one 
son by her Brsi marriage, Thomas Jefferson. 



—J- 



^I>-*<! 



iQv^ 



«1 JjfelLLIAM HILL, is a general fanner residing 

\/sJ/l "" a un,, '. v improved tract of land lo- 
V V cated mi sections 1!' and 20, of Pickaway 
Township, Shelby County. His farm comprises 
eighty acres of highly cultivated land which has 
been his home since 1850. At the time of his 
purchase, the place was perfectly new and un- 
broken, lie lirst secured forty acres from the 
Government and it wasthen virgin soil. Besides 

this tract, our subject Owns forty acres of good 
land in flat Branch Township. He has lived in 
the county all his life, having lirst opened his eyes 
upon the mysteries of the world in Ridge Town- 
ship. April 9, 1827. He is therefore one of the 
ohlest settlers living in the county. 

The original of our sketch comes from Southern 
parentage. His father. 'William Hill. Sr., was a 
native of Kentucky, and a son of Henry Hill, who 
was a native of .Maryland or South Carolina. He 
was married to Elizabeth ( Bruntz) Hill, probably a 
native of the same state with himself. After mar- 
riage they settled in Kentucky, near Louisville and 
some time later they came with their family to 
Montgomery County. III. arriving there at a very 
early day. There Henry Hill died,being eighty years 
old at the time of his decease, his wife having 
died previous in Shelby County, at the home of a 
daughter. She. also, was eighty years of age when 
she died. Henry Hill and wife were members of 

the regular Baptist Church. They had a large 
family. William Hill. Sr.. was one of the elder 
children and arrived at manhood and married 
in Montgomery County Miss Cynthia Serilmer. 
a native of Tennessee, she was quite young when 
her father. William Scribner, removed to Mont- 



gomery County, during pioneer days. Her father 
and mother in their last years, moved west of the 
Missouri River, where they passed away at a very 
advancedage. They were pioneer fanners wherever 
they located. 

After the marriage of William Hill. Sr.. they 
made their first permanent settlement in what is 
now Ridge Township, Shelby County, there pro- 
curing Government land, which they improved 
until it was in a tine state of cultivation. Later 
they purchased land in Flat Branch Township, 
this county, and there -Mrs. Hill died while in 
middle life. Later. Mr. Hill came to make his 
home with his son, our subject, and died here at 
at the age of sixty-four years. He had for main 
years been a member in good standing, of the 
Baptist Church. Politically he affiliated with the 
Democratic party, his sympathies having been 
with that party all his life. 

( )ur subject is one of a large family, five only of 
whom are yet living, all of these being married. 
He of whom we write remained under his father's 
roof until he had attained years of manhood. 
reaching his majority while in Flat Branch Town- 
ship. He there married Susanna Tolly, who was a 
native of the place where her marriage was cele- 
brated, her natal day being October 27, 1832. She 
was reared and educated in her native township 
and was one with her husband after their mar- 
riage, until her death, which occurred April 17. 
18811. in making a comfortable and pleasant home. 
She was an amiable woman and a conscientious, 
true Christian, having been a member of the Bap- 
tist Church for many years. Her father. Robert 
Tolly, was a native of Kentucky, and later, a very 
early settler in Flat Branch Township, where he 
pre-empted a homestead in which he lived and 
died. lie was. al the time of his death, but a little 
past middle age. His wile. Jemima Dents, came 
here with her parents at an early day. She passed 
the last years of her life in Flat Branch Township, 
passing away at an advanced age. Both she and 
Mr. Tolly were members of the old school Baptist 
Church. 

Mrs. Hill, the wife of our subject, was one of 
ten children, three of whom are yet living. She 
was also the mother of ten children, all excepting 



424 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



three, now living. Those deceased aie Robert; 
.Mary E. and Charles II. The living children arc 
John M.; Levi P.; Jemima; Lovisa; Cynthia M.; 
Lydia and Isaac. Of these John took to wife Sarah 
J.Drake and is proprietor of a farm in this town- 
ship. Levi P. was married to Julia Thomas, and 
is a farmer in Flat Branch Township. Jemima is 
the wife of Alvin T. Janes; they also reside in 
Flat Branch Township. Lovisa is the wife of 
Freedom Blinker, a farmer living in Greenwood 
County, Kan. Lydia remains at home and is 
her father's housekeeper, being a woman of must 
pleasing address and kindly genial manners. Isaac 
also is at home and assists his father. .Mr. Hill is 
a member of the old school Baptist Church and 
the Democrat it- party lias in him one of its most 
true and loyal followers. 




•^Nl 



bILLIAM J. HENRY. This gentleman, who 
' like many of the residents of Ridge Town- 
'' ship. Shelby County, is a native of the 
Buckeye State, is a son of Isaac Henry, and Eliza- 
beth Foster, the former, a native of Ohio, and the 
latter, of Maryland. The respected father died in 
Noble County. Ohio, after which sad event the 
mother came to Shelby County, and died at the re- 
sidence of her son. the subject of this life record. 
They had seven children, of whom our subject is 
the fourth in age. 

William Henry first saw the light in Jefferson 
County, Ohio, February 23, 1823. When he was 
but a little child his parents removed from their 
old home to Guernsey County, and here the h<>\ 
was educated in the common schools and on the 
farm and grew to n vigorous and active young 
manhood. In Noble County, Ohio, he found the 
lady whom he chose as the one above all others to 

lie his helpmate through life and they were united 

in marriage, October II. 1849. Her maiden name 
was Margarel Wilson, and she was a daughter of 

Reuben and Sarah (Voho) Wilson. Her mother 
died in Noble County, and her lather somewhat 

later in Washington ( tounty. 

The life of Mrs. Margarel Henry began in Guer- 



nsey County, Ohio, April 1. l*2,s, and here she 
received her early education before going to Noble 
County. The earliest wedded home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Henry was in Noble County and there they 
continued to reside for some seventeen years, re- 
moving in 1866 to Shelby County, where they 
established themselves on section 9, Ridge Town- 
ship, which has since then been their permanent 
home. Upon (his land Mr. Henry has erected an 
excellent set of farm buildings, and he now pos- 
sesses some three hundred and eighty-two acres. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Henry have been granted ten 
children to cheer and enliven their home. They 
are; Lewis C, who married Mary Hart; Reuben W., 
who died when twenty-five years old in Ridge 
Township; John B., who has taken to wife Nellie 
Bextle; Rebecca A., the wife of Thomas T. Henry: 
Sarah E. became the wife of John N. Thomas; 
Fmina J. married William Carder; Abraham, whose 
wife bore the maiden name of Minnie Burk; 
William S.; Jacob S. whose wife was Mary Burk; 
Margaret C. The work of farming has very thor- 
oughly engaged the attention of Mr. Henry, al- 
though he has given some time to public affairs, 
having served for some time as School Director. 
He formerly took an active interest in political 
matters, being a believer in the principles of the 
Republican party, but he is now a Prohibitionist 
and active in the temperance cause, and a member 
of the Farmers" Mutual Benefit Association. In 
religious matters he is interested in the society 
known as the Church of (bid, where he and his 
wife are members and in which he has served as an 
Elder. His excellent buildings and neat farm, 
speak well for the thorough hand and the keen eye 
of the farmer who supervises the work. 









AMF.S II. DOWNS, a prosperous fanner re- 
siding on section IS. Kidge Township, Shel- 
by County, is a son of Flections Downs, 
who was bom in Virginia, October 13, 1803, 
and afterward removed to Maryland thence to 
Ohio from there, to I llinois. where 1 he grandfather. 
Daniel, died at the home of Elections in Ridge 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



12.-) 



Township. The mother of our subject was in her 
maidenhood known us Mary Aim Stiffler, and was 
born in Washington County, Md., October 20. 
1800, and after becoming the wife of Klectious 
Downs fesided lor a short time in Hagerstown, 
that State, and then removed to Delaware County. 
Ohio. This couple remained in the Buckeye state 
until is I. - ), when they emigrated to Shelby County. 
Iil.. and settled in Ridge Township, which they 
made their home until called away 1>\ death he on 
August IS. 1873 and she died July 29, 1881. 

The subject of this sketch was the seventh in a 
family of eight children, and was horn in Delaware 
County. Ohio, Ma\ I. 1837, being thus aboul eight 
'years old when he came with his parents to Shelby 
County, since which time Ridge Township has been 
his home, lie had thorough training in the duties 
of a farmer-boy and has always followed agricult- 
ural pursuits and Stock-raising. The schools of 

this county, which he attended wereasg 1 as any 

country schools of that day. and were carried on 

mostly by Subscription. The hoy was industrious 
and attentive to school duty and made a good 

start in this direction which has ever served him 
in good stead through life. 

.lames Downs was married in Ridge Township, 
March 22. 1860, to Miss -lane Oiler, a daughter of 
William and Eliza .1. (.Johnson) Oiler. Her father 
was horn in Virginia, May .">. 1818, and her mother, 
in Chambersburg, Pa., and is living in Shelby ville, 
111.; her birth occurred September 12. 1821 and 
they came to Shelby County, about 1840, settling 
in Ridge Township, which they made their per- 
manent home, and where Mr. Oiler died. July 31. 
1874. 

Mrs. Jane Downs was born in Ridge Township, 
February 15, 1845 and here her married life has 
been spent. Mr. Downs now- owns nearly one 
thousand acres and has erected a valuable brick 
house which has delightful surroundings and he 
has placed other excellent buildings upon his farm. 

Mr. and Mrs. Down- are the parents of four chil- 
dren; Jennie, the wife of Dr. A. P. Hockey, of As- 
sumption. 111., who is the mother of one child 
Stella, born May is. 1886; William P., who died in 
infancy: Dora A.. now the wife of John J. Smith. 
of Ridge Township and Ora I!. Mr. Downs has 



filled the office of Highway Commissioner for about 
six years and in politics inclines to the doctrines 
set forth by the Democratic party, yet is independ- 
ent in regard to his vote, aiming to cast it always 
for the best good of the community and to help in 
placing in office the best man for the place. Be- 
sides the valuable property owned by Mr. Downs 
in Shelby County, he is interested in a coal mini' 
at Assumption and has twenty tine building lots at 
Decatur. III. He has a good residence and excel- 
lent surroundings in every way and his wealth is 
the result of his energy, enterprise and integrity. 



^H^ 




ARTIX IIAMM. It is not to he wondered 
at that so many Ohio men have come to 
1 Illinois and have here engaged in business, 
for the conditions of life in the two States 
are somewhat similar, wit h the advantages in point 
of business opportunities in favor of the Prairie 
State. Our subject is a native of Ohio, having 
been horn near Good Hope September 11. 1859. 
As his name would indicate, he belongs to that 
race of people of whom we have a great many 
worthy representatives in this country. He is of 
German parentage and ancestry, his father, Jacob 
Hamm, having been a native of Germany, as was 
also his mother, Agnes (Miller) Hamm. They emi- 
grated to this country in L848. 

When about eight years of age our subject re- 
moved to Shelby County, this State with his par- 
ents, who settled in Richland Township, where 
they died. There he of whom we write grew to 
manhood, being reared on a farm. He received a 
common-school education that titted him for Un- 
practical business of life, but remained on the 
farm till IS7.S. when lie became a clerk for Wilson 
Brothers, in their business house at Strasburg. 
There he remained for about four years and then 
launched into business for bin »?lf. becoming pro- 
prietor of a mercantile house, lie carried a good 
stock of merchandise and prospered in his new- 
venture and at the end of eighteen months he took 
a partner, the other member of the linn being J.N. 
Storm. They continued together for a period of 



126 



PORTRAIT AM) RH (GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



about four years, when they dissolved partnership, 
and Mr. Ilamm built the store which he at present 
occupies, lie carries an extensive and well-se- 
lected stuck of clothing, hats, caps, boots and shoes, 
with gentlemen's furnishing goods. 

In L890, in company with Henry Stewai'dson, 
the original of our sketch built the hardware stoic 
in Strasburg and in connection with it they keep 
a good line of farm implements-, furniture, stoves 
and tinware. They here carry on an extensive 
business. In 1886 Mr. Ilannn built a very large 
hay barn, which he operated for three years. This 
he finally trailed for a farm, of which he owns one 
hundred and thirty-four acres. Mr. Ilamm's mar- 
ried life began in Shelby County, 111., where he 
was married to Miss Mattie Shelton, a daughter of 
.loci Shelton. of Strasburgh. She was horn in 
Shelby County, this State, and is a woman of 
marked personal charms and the center of the best 
social life in the community. Our subject and his 
wife arc the parents of two children, whose names 
are Wordy K. and Agnes. Our subject has served 
in various public offices, having been Treasurer of 
the Village Board for several years. He is now 
the Treasurer of the Loan Association. As do 
all loyal American citizens, he of whom we write 
takes an active interest in political affairs and is a 
member of the Democratic party, throwing his 
influence in favor of that party at every oppor- 
tunity. 



'§*#HII^"^t!il 






OIIX F. MARTIN, who is a resident of 
Strasburg Township, is a native of Fountain 

County. Ind.. having been born in Davis 
Township, September '■>. IS12. where he re- 
mained until lie had reached t lie years of manhood, 
and indeed it was not until he was in his twenty- 
second year that he left the home roof to go out 
and battle for himself. At that time hi' removed 
to Shelby County and settled on a farm in Rich- 
land Township. There he remained but a short 
time and then returned to Indiana in time to enlist 
with his youthful comrades in the War of the Re- 
bellion, lie joined Company I), of the ( hie Hun- 



dred and Fiftieth Indiana Regiment, and served 
until the close of the war. when he returned to 
Shelby County, this State, and has ever since made 
his home in Richland Township on a farm, until 
1S.S2. when he came to Strasburg. 

Since coming to Strasburg Mr. Martin has been 
engaged in the grain and Hour trade and has built 
up a flourishing business. Our subject is a man 
who is interested in any measure that benefits hu- 
manity. Naturally he takes a great interest in 
local as well as national politics. A Democrat in 
his political policy and theories, he has been ap- 
pointed by his party to till a number of local offices. 
lie has been Collector for two years, and has filled 
the office of Assessor for the same length of time. 

The original of our sketch was married in Rich- 
land Township, Shelby County, this State, soon 
after his return from the war, in December. 1866. 
His wife was Mrs. l'liilenia Whitlatch, who was 
born in Shelby Township. The lady has made a 
pleasant home for her husband and the children 
who have taken their place at the family board. 
Their names are Lizzie, Rosetta, John Franklin. 
Emma, Ella, Delia. Eva and Charlie. 

Mr. Martin is a member of the Masonic fraternity. 
For four years he has held the office of Village 
Trustee of Strasburg. Personal comfort, conven- 
ience or gain are secondary considerations to our 
subject in the face of the demands that are made 
upon his time by the needs of the community. An 
upright and trustworthy man personally, as a citi- 
zen he combines the rare qualities of ability, judg- 
ment, generosity and self-forgetfulness. He has 
done much to assist the growth of the village, and 
he with his amiable wife and family of children 
make one of the plcasantest homes in the place. 

The father of the subject i if this sketch wasGeorgC 
B.Martin, who was a farmer, and a native of Ohio. 
His mother was a Miss Elizabeth l'iersoii. who was 
born in New York. After the marriage of ( ieorge 
Martin they settled in Da vis Township. Fountain 
County. Ind.. where they passed the remainder of 
their lives. They had thirteen children, nine sons 
and four daughters, and of these our subject was 
the eldest. At the present time (May. 1891,) only 
three of this large family are living. .Mrs. Martin. 
Our subject's wife, was the daughter of l'eter and 



I 



IS 



: % 





I 










vll 







PORTRAIT AND BIOORAPIIICAL RECORD. 



129 



Eda Smith. They were old settlers at :in early day 
in Shelbj County, and died in Holland Township. 
Her first husband was Samuel Whitlatch, who died 
in Richland Township. By her first marris%e she 
was the mother of onechild, Samantha,who is now 
i he wife of Marion Johnson. Mr. Mini Mrs. Martin 
are members of the Baptist Church, in which body 
they are both active workers. Oursubject isknown 
throughout the county as being a large grain- 
buyer, and his reputation as a business man is with- 
out a flaw. 







r 



EONARD PARKINSON, a prominent farm- 
er, stock-raiser and dealer in real estate, 
esiding on section 30, Oconee Township, 
Shelby County, was born on Staten island, N. V.. 
January 21, 1831. His parents were Leonard and 
Maria (Fountain) Parkinson, both being natives 
of Staten Island, and descended from English and 
German ancestry respectively. Two sons and two 
daughters were the children of this marriage, as 
follows: Mary E., the widow of William Burns, is 
at present in Europe where she Iims been spending 
seven years educating her daughter; the next, is 
oursubject; William A., who is unmarried is en- 
gaged in the insurance business in the East, and 
makes his home upon Staten Island; Hannah S. is 
the wife of John Benjamin, a broker of New York 
City. The mother died five years ago in her eighty- 
third year, having been a widow since 1 s ."« 2 . 

The subject of this sketch was educated in the 
schools of New York City. Mud grew to manhood 
ms m resident of Staten Island. In 1848-49 during 
the prevalenceof the"gold fever." he went to Cali- 
fornia and remained there for five years, being en- 
gaged in trading with the Sandwich Islands, and 
in the brokerage business, in both of which he was 
successful in a financial way. In 1853 he returned 
to Staten island, and in 1861 came to Illinois Mini 
located on the farm in Oconee Township, where he 
now resides. He owns two hundred Mild sixty-two 
Mere.- of excellent farming land, adjoining the town 
of < ii ee. A line residence tastily furnished, pro- 



ductive orchard and other advantages render this 
farm a very desirable one. When Mr. Parkinson 
first came to Illinois he came to transact business 
in real estate for other parties, and seeing the coun- 
try under very favorable circumstances he became 
impressed with its beauty and fertility, and in- 
vested for himself, which action he has never seen 
cause to regret. 

The marriage of our subject in 1K(>3 united him 
with Miss Ann L. Elmo, who was horn at Zanes- 
ville. Ohio. January 4. lull. She came to Taylor- 
ville, 111., with her parents, and was married a1 
Oconee. Of this union three children were horn: 
William A., who was horn January 8, 1864, is en- 
gaged in merchandising at Sullivan, this State, and 
is married to Miss Jessie Shinkle of Ohio; Cora, 
who was horn August II. 1866, is now the wife of 
II. Skinner, of Oconee; Ida, who began life May 30, 
1869, died when a lovely child of two years and 
seven months. Mr. Parkinson is a stanch Repub- 
lican in politics, Mini takes an interest in every- 
thing calculated to enhanee the prosperity of the 
State Mild nation. His family are not members of 
any religious denomination, although their prefer- 
ences are toward the Episcopal Church. An hon- 
est, industrious and frugal gentleman, it is not 
strange that he has accumulated a goodly portion 
of this world's goods, and is able to give to his 
family the advantages of comfort and affluence. 

On another page of this volume will he found a 
lithographic portrait of Mr. Parkinson. 



) Wi T ' I'll / 



'■l<l'l^« ' 1 



OIIX PHILIP HEINZ. This gentleman 
who is well known throughout Rose Town- 
ship. Shelby County, as the efficient and 
active Supervisor, resides on section 15, 
where his excellent farm bespcMks the Mdiiiiration 
of every passer-by. His father, the late John P. 
1 lei n/.. was born in Hesse- Darmstadt. I icriiian v. May 
27, 1815. The grandfather of our subject. Jacob 
Heinz, wms m native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and 

wms the .-on of Michael, who spent his whole life 

iii the Old Country. The grandfather of our miI>- 
jeei emigrated to this country about 1850, Mini 



ISO 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



made his home in St. Louis. Mo., where he spent 
the remainder of his days. 

Jacob Heinz hail been preceded to the New 
World by his son John P., the father of our subject, 
lie came here in 1X-I2 when still a single man. and 
found his wife in St. Louis, Mo. He was married 
in lMtl and made his home in that city, pursuing 
his trade which was that of a shoemaker, lie came 
to Shelby County. III., in is.",;', and settled in Rose 
Township, where he engaged in fanning, which 
pursuit he followed until his death, which occurred 
July f,, IKS.'i. The mother of our subject was 
Dorothy Douth, who was also a native of Hesse- 
Darmstadt, Germany, being horn there May 22. 
1*27. Ilei- death occurred in Rose Township, Sep- 
tember 22. 1881. 

The eleven children of John P. and Dorothy 
Heinz are as follows: John, who died in infancy: 
John P.. the .subject of this writing; Jacob, a 
farmer in Rose Township; Catherina, the wife of 
Philip Boening of Chicago; William, who died in 
childhood; J. Lewis, a farmer in Holland Town- 
ship, this county: Maria, who is now Mrs. Jacob 
Stilgebauer; Louisa, the wife of Jacob Dagen, of 
Rose Township; AnnaM.. now Mrs. Gabriel Fadrer, 
of Rose Township; Frederick W.. and Caroline M., 
the wife of Frederick Roessler. 

The subject of this sketch was born in St. Louis. 
Mo.. April 9, 1848, and was thus live year- old 
when his parents removed to Shelby County, and 
most of his life has been spent here at the home in 
Rose Township. His early training was taken upon 
his father's farm and in the common schools and 
when twenty-two years old he engaged in farming 
on his own account, renting land forthe first year. 
He then purchased forty acres on section ,",. and has 
added to this by purchase until he now owns one 
hundred and three acres. Farming has been his 

chief business, although in 1884 he -pent six 
months in Kansas City, where he was engaged in 
other employment. Upon this farm he has placed 
substantial improvements and comfortable build- 
ings. Most of his farm was in timber laud ami he 
had this to clear. 

The marriage of John 1'. Heinz took place in 
Rose Township, February 3, L876, his bride being 
Miss Carolina Friesner. the daughter of Andrew J. 



and Sarah K. (Bowman) Friesner. who arc now 
residents of Kansas City. This lady was horn in 
Fairfield County, Ohio, January 19, 1858, and i- 
now the mother of three children: Louis P.. J. Otto 
and Caroline V. The election of Mr. Heinz to the 
Office of Township Supervisor, took place in the 
spring of 1890, and he was re-elected to the same 
office in the spring of 1891. He has been their 
Highway Commissioner for seven years and has 
performed the duties of that office with ability and 
satisfaction to his constituents. For one year he 
held the office of Assessor and he has been School 
I tircctor for -ix years. 

The religious home of Mi', and Mrs. Heinz is with 
the Lutheran Church, of which they are active 
members. Political affairs deeply interest this gen- 
tleman and as a member of the Democratic party 
he take- an active part in its movements and 
plans, lie earnestly believes that the declarations 
of that body embody the principles of true govern- 
ment and will work out the best success for this 
country. He is a man of keen intelligence and has 
a good degree of information on matters of public 
interest, and his reputation as a thorough-going 
fanner as well as an upright business man gives 
him a good standing in the community. 



AMUEL DUNCAN. The gentleman of 
S^? whom we are about to give a short bio- 
V graphical sketch in outline, resides on sec- 
tion 22. of Richland Township. Shelby 
County. He is a native of this State, and of Amer- 
ican parentage, although his ancestors were prob- 
ably Scotch. His father was James Duncan, who 
"a- horn in Delaware County. Pa. His mother, 
who was before her marriage a Miss .Mary Mc- 
Keever, lived to see her son take an honorable po- 
sition in lite. They died in Richland Township. 
Six children were permitted to grow up around 
tlicm. Of these there were four sons and two 
daughters, our subjeel being the fifth child in 
order of birth. 

Samuel Duncan was born Richland Township. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



431 



May 8, 1842. He was reared to manhood on his 
father's farm and in his native township, always 
having lived here with the exception of one year 
during which time he was in the army. 1 1 < - en- 
listed September 18, 1864, in Company 1!. of the 
Twelfth Illinois Infantry, and served until July, 
1865. Although the severest fighting was over at 
the time (if his enlistment, he took part in several 
small engagements, he received Ins discharge at 
Washington, I). C. 

Mr. Duncan has always been engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, making a specialty, however, of 
stock-raising. For fifteen years he was engaged 
in buying and shipping stock to the city markets. 
His farm hears the impress of having line manage- 
ment, as every pari is well cultivated, lie owns 
one hundred and sixty acres, which is equally di- 
vided in the raising of general produce and the 
grazing of eattle. 

The original of our sketch entered the matri- 
monial relation in Richland Township, October 9, 
1864, his bride being Miss Harriet ('. Balch, who 
was born in Coles County, 111. Well mated and 
having tastes and sympathies in common, thej have 
made a happy home. During the years that they 
have lived together three children have come to 
them; Mary E., Ida A., and Retta O. Mary E. 
is the wife of Samuel Richards. The parents of 
.Mrs. Duncan were Jonathan J. P. and Elizabeth 
(Nicholson) Balch, the former was probably born 
in Indiana, and the latter was a native of Tennes- 
see They came to Shelby County and settled on 
Sand (reek, lint remained here only a short time. 
returning to Coles County, where the mother died. 
At the date of this writing (May. L891) the father 
still survives. Mrs. Duncan is one of twelve chil- 
dren horn to her parents, she being the third in 
order of birth, she was born in Coles County. 
111.. November 1 1. 1*44. 

Our SUbjed has taken an active part ill local pol- 
itic-, being an ardent Republican. He has held 
several offices in the gifl of the township in which 
he lives, having been Deputy Sheriff and Consta- 
ble, and he i,~ now School Director. His wife i> a 
member of the Presbyterian Church and our sub- 
ject himself is a Liberal supporter of the Gospel. 
Mr. Duncan \v:is the firsl man who introduced and 



commenced the breeding of registered Hereford 
cattle, and is to-day the only breeder in the 
county. He has sold and shipped out of his herd 
ill fifteen different Slates. His herd at the present 
writing numbers one hundred and forty head. 



m>^^<m 




II. AS M. ADAMS i- the proprietor of m 
well-appointed hardware store at Mowea- 
qua, Shelby County, and occupies an hon- 
orable position among the enterprising 
business men of the county, lie is a native of 
Cape Girardeau County. Mo.. .Inly 9, 1837 the (late 
of his birth. His father. Elam L. Adams, was horn 
in North Carolina, and was a son of Jacob Adams, 
who is thought to have been a native of < icnnaiiy. 
who came to this country and settled in North 
Carolina some time during the last century. He 
was a farmer and carried on his occupation in 
Rowan County, that State, spending his last years 
there. 

The father of our subject grew to manhood in 
his native State and was there married to .lane C. 
McNeely. a native of North Carolina, and a de- 
scendant of Scotch ancestry. In his youth Mr. 
Ada ins learned the trade of wagon-maker, and was 
engaged at it in the State of his nativity until his 
removal to Missouri in 1H2I>. when he became a 
pioneer of Cape Girardeau County. He bought a 
tract of timber land and carried on farming in 
connection with the manufacture of wagons, and 
helped build up those industries in that county, of 
which he continued a useful citizen until death 
closed Ins career in 1862. His wife survived him 
until 1865, when she too passed away. They reared 
a family of live children, of whom these are the 
names: Mary A.. Sarah L., George \\\. John C. and 
Silas M. 

The latter who forms the subject of this brief 
biography lived amid the scenes of his birth during 
his boyhood and youth, and was educated in the 
local public Schools. lie worked with his father 
four or five years, and continued an inmate of the 
parental household until lie attained his majority, 
when he engaged in the mercantile business in 



432 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Bollinger County for a year. His next venture 
was as:i farmer in Montgomery County for a period 
of one year. He then resumed the mercantile 
business, but a year later went hack to farming, at 
which he was engaged five years in Bond County. 
At the end of that time he went to Macon County, 
in this State and bought an improved farm, which 
lie operated successfully eleven years. He then 
established himself in the hardware business at 
Mania. 111., and conducted it until 18*4. when he 
sold his store there and bought his present estab- 
lishment, lie carriesa full lineof hardware, stoves, 
cutlery, glass, china, paints and furniture, and 
commands a large trade, as he understands weil 
what his customers demand, uses tact in his deal- 
ings, and all are sure of fair treatment at his hands. 
Mr. Adams is further closely identified with the 
business interests of his adopted city as President 
of the Moweaqua Building and Loan Association, 
which is an important factor in the growth of this 
municipality, and its affairs are in a flourishing 
condition with him at the head. He is known in 
political circles as a sound Republican, and a linn 
advocate of the principles of his party. 

Mr. Adams was happily married in 1861 to Miss 
Susan A., daughter of Thomas and Nancy (Sims) 
MeLain, and a native of Bond County. 111. Four 
children complete their home circle — Ella. Emma, 
Albert and Alma. The family are members of the 
Presbyterian Church, and are of high social posi- 
tion. 



^4\ 



EC 



.□ 



AMES (}. REIGHLEY is a representative 
fanner and stock-raiser of Moweaqua Town- 
ship, Shelby County, who i- prominent in 

the public, political and social life of this 
part of the county. He was born in the town of 
Winchester, Adam.- County. Ohio, December 1."). 

ls.")0. and i- the eldesl s f William and Rachel 

( Bailey) Reighley, of whom see -ketch on another 
page of this volume. He was three years old when 
hi- parent- came to establish a new home in Illin- 
ois. He was given superior advantages for an ed- 
ucation, of which he laid the foundation in the 



graded schools of Paxton in Ford County, lie 
subsequently attended the Illinois Industrial Col- 
Lege at Champaign, and also pursued a liberal 
course of study at Westfleld University. 

Thus well equipped by a sound mental training 
for life'- duties, our subject after leaving the latter 
institution taught one term of school, and then 
entered the employ of the Chicago. Danville and 
Vincennes Railway Company as civil engineer, anil 
later engaged with the Chicago and l'aducah Rail- 
way Company in the same capacity, lie also had 
experience as a civil engineer in the West, going to 
Colorado in 1875 in the service of the Kansas 
Pacific. In January. L876, in common with many 
others he was attracted to the Black Hill- by 
the discovery of gold in that region, and made the 
journey hither from Denver, a distance of four 
hundred miles, with teams. At that time Dead- 
wood was a hamlet of a few log houses, and hostile 
Indians infested the locality. Our subject and 
some others started out with the intention of locat- 
ing a mining camp, but their wagons were burned 
and their ponies and provisions were stolen by the 
Indians. 

Thus frustrated in his attempts to search for 
gold Mr. Reighley concluded to return to civiliza- 
tion, and made his way on foot to Cheyenne. He 
then resumed work with the Kansas Pacific 
for. 'i few months, then entered the employ of a 
ranchman as foreman, and in the fall of l*7(i, took 
a train load of cattle to Chicago. From there he 
visited the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, 
thence went to New York, where he embarked on 
a steamer for Galveston. His intention i- going 
to Texas was to -tart a ranch in that State, but 
after his arrival there he was thrown from his hor-e 
and so severely injured that he was forced to 
abandon his design. A- -non as he was able he re- 
turned to Chicago and for a few months was fore, 
man in the packing house of Hutchinson and Kent. 
In 1878, our subject, who had already had experi- 
ence in handling cattle, came to Moweaqua and 
was actively engaged in stock-raising the ensuing 
year. At the expiration of that time he invested 
in eighty acres of land finely located one mile east 
of the village mentioned. There being no build- 
ings on the place, he rented a dwelling until lHKb', 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



433 



when he erected his present neat and conveniently 
arranged residence. He 1ms added to the original 
size of his farm by further purchase; and it now 
contains one hundred and sixty-five acres of well- 
improved prairie land. 

In December, L878, Mr. Reigbley was happily 
married t<> Mis> Elizabeth Ann Knowles, a native 
of Erie County, Ohio. Their pleasant home circle 
is completed by the one child horn to them. John 
Henry. 

Our subject is influential in the councils of the 
Republican party in this section as one of its most 
thoughtful and intelligent supporters in his com- 
munity, and he has served as delegate to various 
political conventions. Hehasalways taken a deep 
interest in all that pertains to the welfare of his 
township, especially in the education of its youth, 
and he is a member of the District School Board. 
lie has served two terms as Highway Commissioner, 
and has twice assessed the township. In his social 
relations, he is identified with Shelby Lodge, No. 
27 1. I. (). (). 1'.; and Moweaqua Lodge. No. HUM. 
K. of II. 






'•S-S-fr-5-F 



ANTEL N. HARWOOD, of ShelbyviUe, is 

J one of the most extensive and enterpris- 

tj/ tng dealers in hay in thiscounty. He was 

horn in the town of Winfield, Herkimer 
County. X. Y. His father. Nathan Harwood, was 
horn in Massachusetts, and was the SOU of an Eng- 
lishman who came to this country and first settled 
in that State. He afterward became a resident of 
New York ami was a pioneer of Herkimer County. 
Inlying a tract of timber in Winfield. lie cleared 

his land and developed it into a g 1 farm, which 

remained his home until his demise. 

Nathan Harwood was hut a hoy when he went 
to New York with his parents and he was reared 
to the life of a farmer in their pioneer home. He 
was married in early manhood to Abigail J. Hurt, 
by whom he had one child. Amhers -I. His first 
wifi' died and he then married again and contin- 
ued to reside in Winfield until death closed his 
career, in 1* 1(1. while he was yet in the prime of 



life. His second wife survived him many years 
and finally died at a ripe age in the home of our 
subject in Rosamund. Christian County. she 
reared these children: Mary. Daniel N.. Anna. 
Charles Y. and Lucy M. 

Our subject was a lad of fourteen years when he 
had the misfortune to lose his father, and from 
that time he was obliged to care for himself. Be- 
ing thus early thrown on his own resources, he he- 
came manly and self-reliant and worked well at 
whatever his hand found to do. In the summer 
season he worked on a farm and the rest of the 
year devoted himself to obtaining an education, so 
that at the age of eighteen he was well qualified to 
teach, lie engaged in that profession a portion of 
each year and attended West Win field Academy 
the remainder of the time for three years. Reliev- 
ing that the West, as this part of the country was 
then called, possessed superior advantages for young 
men of brain and energy, in 1856 he came to Ill- 
inois and located in Knox County. His services 
were in demand as a teacher and when not thus 
engaged he employed his time on a farm. A year 
later he removed to Christian County and bought 
a farm in Rosamund Township, on which lie was a 
resident until 18(34. During that time, in addition 
to farming, he bought and shipped hay quite ex- 
tensively. 

In the year mentioned our subject came to Shel- 
byviUe to engage in the grain business, also 
continuing to buy and ship hay. He carried on 
both branches of business some years, hut of late 
has dealt exclusively in hay. He has all the facil- 
ities lor carrying on his business to the best advan- 
tage, including large storage accommodations. 
He lias a warehouse in this city with a capacity of 
three hundred tons and barracks that hold seven 
hundred tons. He also buys at Windsor. Mattoon. 
and Cowden, and at the latter place has a ware- 
house covered with iron, in which can he stored 
two hundred and fifty tons of hay. and he has be- 
side barracks there that hold four hundred and 
fifty tons. At Mattoon he has the largest and fin- 
est barn in the State, with a capacity of eight hun- 
dred tons. 

Mr. Harwood was happily married in 1!-C>7 to 
Miss Ursula E. Moore, who was born in Anson. 



I.; I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mi-., in 1836, and theirs is one of the pleasantesl 
homes in all Shelbyville. They have three chil- 
dren: Eber M., who married Mary ('. Waldon; 
Florence L. and Clara. 

Mr. Harwood possesses a clear, well-balanced, 
well-trained mind, large foresight and superior bus- 
iness qualities, which characteristics have placed 
him among our leading citizens. In his politicshe 
has always been a true Republican since he cast his 
first Presidential vote for John C. Fremont. 1 It- is 
a popular member of various social organizations, 
as follows: Jackson Lodge, No. 53, A. F. & A. M.; 
.Jackson Chapter, No. 55, R. A. M.; Ok.nw Lodge, 
No. 117. 1. (). (). F.; Big Four Lodge. No. CSC. Or- 
der of Tonti; and he is also a member of the Royal 
Temple of Templars, K. of H. and Ancient Order 
of FniU-d Workmen. 



^f^§ 



*"/T DAM D. BOWMAN, one of the well-known 
(?■ I residents of section I. Rose Town-hip. 

/ ■ Shelby County, is a man who has a fine 
qJ record as a soldier in the Civil War, and 

an excellent reputation as a farmer. His father 
was Daniel Bowman, who was bora in Pittsburg, 
I'm., and his mother. Sarah Kueh. had her nativity 
in Westmoreland County the same State. There 
they were married and from her home emigrated 
to Terry County, Ohio, where they entered land 
and made their home until early in the '60s when 
they came to Shelby County. 111., and settled in 
Rose Township. Here they spent, the remainder of 
their days, the father dying in the fall of 1868 and 
the mother surviving him two years only. 

Of a large family of live sons ami five daugh- 
ters, our subject was the youngest son and eighth 
child, lie was horn in Perry County, Ohio, De- 
cember 26, 1834, and there lie grew to manhood 

ami resided until lie becameof age. He resided in 

Perry County, until February, 1861, when he 
came to Illinois and made his home in the coun- 
ties of ( 'oles and I touglas. 

Mr. Bowman enlisted A.ugus1 19, 1862 in Com- 
pany K, Seventy-ninth Illinois Regiment. He was 
mustered into the United state- service at Areola 



and served throughout the period of war and was 
mustered out at Nashville. Tenn. He took part in 
the battles of Stone River. ( 'hickaniauga, Kenesav 
Mountain, Atlanta, and in other prominent engage- 
ments. At Stone River he was so unfortunate as 
to be taken prisoner of war but was held only 
twenty-eight days, after which he was paroled and 
was soon exchanged and permitted to rejoin his 
regiment. After the close of the war he returned 
to Illinois and lias since been a resident of Shelby 
County. 

The marriage of our subject took place in Rose 
Township. .Inly 17. 1872, his bride being Miss Mary 
C. Palmer, daughter of John and Rachel (Morri- 
son) Palmer. The lady was born in Bucyrus, Ash- 
land County. Ohio. May 12. 1851, and she has 
become the mother of two children — Oscar 0. and 
Frank P.; the latter died iii infancy. .Mr. Bow- 
man has always followed agricultural pursuits 
except during the time which he spent in the brave 
defense of his country, lie owns eighty acres of 
excellent land, upon which he has made good im- 
provements. His political views have led him to 
affiliate with the Republican party and hisreligious 
convictions have made him a member of the 
Lutheran Church in which he is an active worker. 
Mrs. Bowman died in 1 s 7 (J . 



L. OSBORN. One of the best improved 

( .•y I farms in Flat Branch Township, section 

/ ' 18, Shelby County, is that upon which 

the gentleman whose name is at the head 

of this sketch resides having retired from the 

active management of agricultural business. Mr. 

OsbOlTl lias one hundred and eighty acres in the 
farm on which he resides, all of which is well 
improved land; he also owns forty acres near the 
homestead. He purchased this land and settled 
on it in March. 1865, it then being all unbroken 
prairie. Since then he has made it a comfortable 
home place and has been successful in his under- 
takings as a general farmer. He came to his 
present location from Macoupin County, where In- 
had lived near Gillespie for some years. He form- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



135 



erly lived in Jersey and Greene Counties, having 
improved some property in both places. 
Our subject came to this stale when a boy, with 

his parents. They early settled in Sangamon 
County, and the young man went with them to 
Greene County, where he grew to manhood and 
was married. He was horn in Athens County. 
Ohio. August 1."), 1.H22. and is the son of Moses 
and the grandson of Josiah < (shorn, the latter 
being a native of Long Island, and of Welsh 
parents and ancestors. He was one of eleven sons. 
all horn on Long Island. He served as a soldier 
through the Revolutionary War and followed the 
calling of a farmer. He lived to he an old man, 
his deatli probably occurring in Connecticut. His 
son Moses Osborn and our subject's father, was 
one of a large family and was born in Connecticut, 
where he grew up and learned the trade of a 
smith, lie later became an itinerant preacher, and 
was thus engaged during part of the War of 1812. 
and although he was not an active participant in 
that struggle- lie saw many of its results, lie was 
married in New York to .Miss Judith Francis, a 
native of the Island of Guernsey, who came of 
French parentage. She was fifteen years of age 
when her father and mother moved to America 
and settled in New York, where they lived for 
some years, and later came to Ohio, there passing 
away after attaining a good old age. Their de- 
cease occurred in Athens County. 

After marriage Muse- Oshorn and wife settled 
in Athens County. < >hio. in an early day and there 
began pioneer life. They lived there for some 
pears, making many improvements upon the farm 
that they had secured. After the birth of live- 
children, all of whom were sons, in 1826 they left 
Ohio to come tn this State. The\ came by way 
of the overland route with teams, living a camp 
life while on the mad. After a number of days of 
tedious journeying, they reached and located near 
Springfield. They, however, stayed here but a 
Comparatively short time when they proceeded to 
Greene County, where they secured a farm to 
which they benl their energies to improve. There 
both Moses Osborn and wife spent the remainder 

of their lives, and there died, being at the lime of 

their decease, about eighty-three years old. They 



were among the first and most influential old 
settlers in that county, and were prominent mem- 
bers of the .Methodist Episcopal Church at a time 
when church membership meant mure than it does 
now. .Much of Mi-. ( Ishorn's life had been spent in 
active church work. 

The original of our sketch is one of the young- 
est nf five sons and one daughter. He remained 
with his parents until he became of age. He was 
married in Greene County. February 25, 1850, to 
Miss Sarah E. Pruitt, who was horn in Greene 
County, this State. March 11. 1835. She is a 
daughter of James R. and Mahala (Ambrose) 
Pruitt, natives of Illinois and Virginia, respec- 
tively. Mr. Pruitt was one of the very first white 
children horn in the southern part of the State. 
James R. Pruitt was the sun of William Pruitt, 
who was in this State in tin- very early part of the 
present century, or before that time, and was en- 
gaged in the struggle with the Indians, prior to 
the War nf 1812. He carried a bullet to his grave 
received in a battle with the Indians. Mrs. Mahala 
Pruitt's father was also an early settler in Illinois 
and was engaged in the War of 1812, having been 
crippled in battle. His name was William Ambrose. 

James R. Pruitt and wife were married in Illi- 
nois and lived in Madison County for some time, 
later removing to Greene County, where they 
secured and improved a new farm. They were 
very early pioneer settlers and were obliged to 
begin life in a must primitive way. The bridal 
Costumes fur both bride and groom were of home- 
spun, and they had only wooden dishes to begin 
housekeeping with and a wooden bed. built of 
boards in a corner of the room in which they 
lived. They drove ox-teams to church, but made 
as much sunshine as possible out of the circum- 
stances with which they were compelled to con- 
form. They spent their last days in Greene Countj 
and there died, Mr. Pruitt at sixty-two years of 
age, and his wife at eighty-three. Mrs. Pruitt was 
a member of the Baptist Church. 

Mrs. Osborn and her brother William, are all of 
the family at present living. The lady was reared 
tu womanhood in her native county. She is the 
mother of eight children, two of whom are de- 
ceased. Amanda and Oscar F. The living children 



86 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are .lames A., Richard F., Mary B., Janet A.. Lewis 
W. and Luther A. The eldest living son is the 
husband of Alice Cotar and lives in tliis township 
on a farm. Richard took to wife Lou Minnie 
Cotar, now deceased. He lives in Christian County, 
and has married a second time, his present wife 
having been a Miss Mary Winters. Mary B. is 
the wife of I. F. Ilavertield. and lives in Vermil- 
lion County. 111. Janet A. is the wife of Wil- 
liam Manly, a fanner in this township. Lewis 
W. is a farmer in Christian County, lie married 
Maggie English. Luther is also a fanner in Chris- 
tian County and took to wife Fanny Zeitz. Mr. 
and Mrs. Osborn are members of the Evangelical 
Association. Our subject is an Independent in 
politics, not wedded to party, but voting for the 
man whom he believes to he best qualified to till 
the position. 

Mr. and Mrs. Osborn are both intelligent and 
educated people. They have reared a family of 
miiis and daughters who have proved to lie of 
exceptional mental caliber and with high ideas of 
principle. 



V 



•:- -: 




AMUEL RENNER. How blessed and sweet 
is the rest that follows the labor of a long 
I day spent in adjusting the work and man- 
agement of one's duties, no matter in what 
calling. Even so is the rest in the evening of life 
thai s man feels and enjoys after a careerof which 
each day was a repetition of its predecessor ill hard 
manual labor, and the worry of daily existence. 
This rest is now enjoyed by the gentleman who is 
the subject of this little biographical Sketch in out- 
line. An energetic, stirring man whose whole am- 
bition and energies was to keep in the van of his 
affairs, and abreast with the time in advancement 
of all kinds, he has well earned the pleasant re- 
tirement from active duties that he now enjoys. 

Our subject, who is now a retired farmer, is a 
Mm of Tobias Rentier, who was probably a native 
of Maryland. His mother was Cynthia Smith, who 
was born in New Jersey. Thej came t<> Shelby 



County, this State, from Belmont County. Ohio, in 
1 H37. although after marriage they first settled in 
Pennsylvania, removing from there to Guernsey 
County. Ohio, whence they went to Belmont 
County. At their advent into this State and coun- 
try, they settled in Richland Township, where they 
lived for some years. The father died about 1840. 
The mother survived her husband for several years, 
at last passing away in Richland Township. They 
were the parents of a large family of children, of 
whom our subject was the second in order of birth. 
He was probably born in Green County. Pa., his 
nataTday being November 12. 1815. 

Samuel Renner made his advent into Shelby 
County with his parents in the fall of 18.37. They 
at once settled upon a farm, and the lad was brought 
up to that calling. and has always followed it. He 
was married in Richland Township. November < s . 
1838, to Miss Martha Balch, a daughter of Amos 
and Martha (Leach) Balch. The former was a na- 
tive of Tennessee. The mother died when Mrs. 
Renner was quite young. The family went from 
Kentucky to Indiana, where the mother's death 
took place. After that sad event Mr. Balch came 
to Shelby County, this State, in 1836, settling in 
Richland Township, where he lived for about bun 
years, at the expiration of which time he removed 
to Bond County, and there died. Mrs. Renner is 
one of a family of eleven children, there having 
been seven sons and four daughters, and of these 
the lady who became the wife of our subject, was 
the youngest. She was bora in Indiana. Septem- 
ber 30, 1821. 

After the union of our subject and wife, they 
Settled in Richland Township, on a farm located 
on section 27, where they lived upwards of fifty 
years, until March. 1889, when they removed tn 
strasburg. where they are now making their home. 
Their town residence is a cozy place, where they 

can enjoy the aflern i of life with ilssoft mellow 

sunset in serenity and peace. Some of their chil- 
dren live near at hand, and in them and the lives 
of their families they live again their own youth- 
ful experience. Mr. ami Mrs. Renner are the par- 
ents of twelve children. Those livingare Martha. 
John, Joseph, Emeline, James and Elizabeth. Mar- 
tha is the wife of Joseph Rouse, and is distinguished 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



139 



for her matronly bearing, b.eing a gentle and lov- 
ing wife and helpmate; Emeline married James 
Turner; Elizabeth is the wifeof Berry Barker. The 
eldest son. Stephen was a soldier in the War of the 
Rebellion, and died a victim of typhoid lexer, at 
Jefferson Barracks, Mo., after having served for 
three months. The other deceased children passed 
away when young. 

In his political preference Mr. Renner is a Re- 
publican having been in his youth, a follower of 
the old line Whig party. Religiously he and his 
wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church, in which body they have done good ser- 
vice. Our subject and his wife have passed a lone- 
life in usefulness and devotion, not only to their 
own personal desires and aims, hut for the elevation 
and helpof their fellow-men. Theyhave more than 
passed the Scripturally allotted portion of life and 
approach the time when wearied with the cares of 
existence, each will be glad to say: 

•■( lood uight; now cometh gentle sleep. 
■•And dreams that fall like gentle rain: 
"Good uight! oh holy, blessed and deep 

••The rest that follows pain. 

■•How should we reach God's upper Light 

••If life's lone- day had no good-night." 



*eh 



ffi^ISBURY .1. SLOAN. To have well tilled 
J the position of a good citizen in any 
'^3^ town, is a record of which a man in either 
high or low life may feel proud. It is a 
worths ambition to place before the young of any 
community that they should make their aim in 
this direction and should become enterprising, 
earnest, public-spirited members of society, always 
upholding the laws and regulations of the com- 
monwealth and promoting the good of the people 
among whom they live by every means in their 
power. A worthy life does this in any event, but 
it is also worth an effort and an aim. Such a 
member of the business and social circles of Oconee 
do we find iii the gentleman whose name appears 
at the head of this paragraph, and whose portrait 
IS shown on the opposite page. 



Mr. Sloan was born in Knox County. Ohio. 
April 7, 1829. His parents were Samuel and Katie 
(Taylor) Sloan, who wen' natives of Ohio. His 
grandfather was a soldier in the Reyolutionarj 
War and died at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, when ninety- 
eight years old. (If the parental family Disburj 
was the fust horn. Two of his brothers died in 
infancy and William was killed by lightning while 
herding cattle on the prairie near Nokomis. 111. 
Harriet married Jacob Straub and resided in Mont- 
gomery County where she died April .">. 1891; 
.Martha became the wife of John Fritz and resided 
near Odin, 111., until her death about twenty years 
ago, and Mary was the wife of Arthur Brown and 
died some fifteen years ago at. Nokomis. 

It was in the spring of 1856 that our subject 
located in Shelby County, and here he has ever 
since made his home. He engaged in farming, 
merchandising and stock-raising in which branches 
he has continued without interruption for forty- 
four years. He recently turned over his mer- 
chandising interests here to his son, though he still 
owns and operates a large stoic at Arthur. 111., 
where he has ? 1 ■i.llllll invested. The store is car- 
ried on under the linn name of Sloan & .loins, 
the junior partner being an adopted son of our 
subject. In 1K7H Mr. Sloan took a trip to Cali- 
fornia to recuperate his health, and the following 
year he went to Wyoming where he embarked ill 
the cattle business. In this he continued engaged 
in Wyoming and Oregon for lour years, then re- 
turned to ( (COnee and resumed his old business, in 
which he has since been engaged. 

The marriage of Mr. Sloan at Vandalia. III., in 
the spline' of 1K.">2 gave him a wife in the person 
of Miss Susan Casebeer. Eight children were born 
to this union and the two eldest (twins) died in 
infancy: Bosha is married and is carrying on the 
mercantile business in Oconee; Otis is in the same 
line of work at Herrick, 111., and is also married; 
Alonzo was killed in a railroad disaster and was at 
the time of his death a merchant; Capitola married 
B. W. Kerr of Oconee and died in this place sev- 
eral years ago; Docia is engaged in teaching and 
makes her home with her father. Tin' firsl mar- 
riage was uncongenial and Mr. Sloan procured a 
di\ orce from his « ife, 



lid 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Tha second marriage of our subject was with 
.Mi.-. Ella Morrison, a daughter of L. L. Gale of 
Oconee, who was born in Michigan in 1855 and 
who lias had no children. Public affairs deeply 
interest this gentleman and he has strong faith in 
the future of the Democratic party with which he 
is allied. He is regarded as a pre-eminently good 
and useful citizen of this town and county. He is 
a worthy member of the Oconee Lodge, No. 392 
F. & A. M. of which he was a charter member, al- 
though he became a Mason at Pana, 111. For 
many years lie has been the Lodge Treasurer and 
still holds that honorable and responsible position. 
Although he gives liberally to the support of the 
Gospel, to the Sunday-school and to all public en- 
terprises he is not identified with any church. 




LNKV BRIDGMAN. Our subject comes of 
a German family whose characteristics have 
been modified in some directions and made 
')) more intense in Others, by a residence iii 
the Southern Mates. His grandparents were na- 
tives of Virginia, although of German ancestry. 
His grandfather Bridgman, whose given name our 
subject does not know, died when in middle life. 
After his death, his wife removed to Tennessee 
with her family of children and later to Illinois, 
where she died at about eighty rears of age in 
Morgan County. She had a family of seven or 
eighl children, of which Martin Bridgman, the fa- 
ther of our subject, was one of the younger, his 
birth state being Virginia. 

Our subject's father was quite young when his 

father died and at an early day, with his mother, 
went from Virginia to ( Granger County. Tenn., and 
there he grew to manhood. OCCUpving himself as a 
tanner. He was there married to a Tennessee lady 
whose maiden name was Anna Dyer. She was burn 
and reared in the place where her marriage occurred 
and was one of an old and highly respected fain 
ily. After the birth of all the children but (inc. 

Martin Bridgman, wife and family, came to Morgan 
County, this state, in ix.'il and afterwards secured 



a farm devoting themselves to improving it. Our 
subject's parents are both yet living. His father 
was eighty-One years old February 18, 1891. 
Ili.s mother will be seventy-eight years old Novem- 
ber III. 1891. On that day the old people will 
have lived together for sixty-two years; a remin- 
der that in some cases, at least, marriage is not a 
failure. 
Our subject is one of ten children, one of whom 
died in infancy. Of the remaining children there 
are five sons and four daughters yet living. All 
of these have married and have families of their 
own. Henry Bridgman was born in Granger 
County. Tenn.. September 111. IK.'!7. He was four- 
teen years of age when his parents removed to 
Morgan County, this State. They came over the 
prairies with teams and it wasafter a long journey, 
varied by many adventures, that they found a home 
near Jacksonville. Here they located and there 
our subject, became of age. 

In March 8, 1866 he of whom we write united 
himself in marriage to Lavina Angel, she was 
born in Morgan County, near Arenzville, October 
21. 1845, and is a daughter of John and Susan 
(Smith) Angel, natives of Indiana and Tennessee. 
When young people, thej came with their parents 
from their respective states to Morgan County, 
111. This was in the early part of the '30s. There 
John Angel was reared having been only four 

years of age when his father and mother, George 
and Elizabeth (Turnam) Angel settled here, se- 
curing a tract of land upon which they lived and 
died, being well known pioneer settlers. After 

marriage, John Angel and his wife began life on an 
almost new farm, which they improved and made 
their home for many \ ears. The\ have now ret ire. 1 
from the active proprietorship of the farm and live 
iii Jacksonville. They are advanced in life, being 
respectively sixty-eight and sixty-four years of 
age. The\ are prominent members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. Mr. Angel is a man of lirm 
financial Standing. lie is the owner of more than 
six hundred acres of land in this township, and of 
large property in Morgan County and in Jackson- 
ville. 

Mrs. Bridgman is the eldest of fourteen children. 

three of whom died while quite young. Eleven 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Ill 



Mill living, and of these eight are married. 
After the marriage of our subjecl and his estimable 
wife, they adopted agriculture ns their calling. 
They own and improved the greater purl of three 
farms. In the spring of L880, they sold their 
places and came to Shelby County, purchasing the 
farm of two hundred and forty acres on section 13, 
Flat Branch Township, which they al presenl oc- 
cupy. Here they have ever since lived. The whole 
of this large farm bears the besl of improvements 
and on it is a line brick. two-Story residence, that 
is a picture of comfort and tasteful arrangement. 
There arc also other buildings upon the place in 
i he besl condition. .Mr. Bridgman has. besides, 
forty acres of timber land, in section II. of this 
township. 

The original of our sketch and his capable and 
amiable wife, have welcomed eight children l<> their 

home and hearts. One of these Henry ('., is de- 
ceased. The living children are John M., R. 
Guthrie, Ada !'».. Charles W., William 1!.. L. Edgar, 

and Nellie L. John took to wife Addie Pontics 
and resides on a farm in Pickaway Township. The 
uc\i son resides al home. The other children are 
all still inmates of the home nest. They are bright 
and intelligent young men and women, and arc a 
credil to their parents. 

He of whom we write, and his wife arc members 

of the United Brethren Church at Locusl Grove,in 
this county. Mr. Bridgman is a rabid Republican, 
having fought for the principles that that party 
Strive to maintain. In August, 1862, he laid aside 
his private interests and affairs and enlisted in the 
War of tin' Rebellion, joining Company One Hun- 
dred and Fifteen of the Indiana ( a valrv. Col. John 
II. Moore and (apt. Newman being in command. 
The regiment was with the army of the Cumber- 
land and fought in the battles of Pesaea. Chieka- 
mauga and Franklin. In the second named battle, 
Mr. Bridgman was shot by an enemy in the right 
wrisl and was then placed in the field hospital at 
Nashville, after which he came home for a furlough, 
but later returned to the field of battle and served 
with his regiment about one year longer. During 
his war experience he did good service ami was 
finally discharged at Springfield, III., after serving 
two years and ten months. He first enlisted as a 



private, and was then a Corporal. lie had the 
good fortune to escape being captured. Mis war 

experience is an interesting topic as told by Mr. 
Bridgman, and a comparison of notes with an old 
comrade is only less than an engagement itself. 



I fr i | > ■ | ^ p \w ' ■ 



f 1 ' I I I ' I ' 




1I.I.IAM II. JACKSON is a well-to-do and 
widely known fanner and stock-breeder, 

^V/ living on section 35, Of Pickaway Town- 
ship, where he owns a line farm of four hundred 
acre-, almosl all of which is in a high state of cul- 
tivation and having extensive ami costlj improve- 
ments. The buildings are of a high order, being 
well built and commodious. The residence iscoin- 
fortable and commodious, and all of the improve- 
ments have been made by our subject himself, the 
farm being for the most pari virgin prairie which 
had never been cut by a plow. 

Mr. Jackson purchased his presenl place of resi- 
dence in L 863 and ha- since lived here. Ih' first 
came to the county in 184 I but after a stay of two 
year.- he enlisted in the Mexican War, joining thi' 
Third Illinois Volunteer Regiment, Company B,of 
which Captain Freeman and Col. Foreman were in 
command. They were at once sent to the front 
and were engaged in the battle of Carmago, and 
in other skirmishes. After serving for one year 
our subjecl returned to Illinois and in 1847 located 
his land warrant which had been granted by the 
Government for services rendered. The warrant, 
covered one hundred and sixty' acres of land which 
he located in Ridge Township. lie is still the 
owner of this tract and it was there that he lived 
until 1863, when he came to this town-hip. 

The original of our sketch is noted throughout 
the township for his thrift and industry and as a 
Successful breeder of stock. Hi- home is a model 

in point of neatness and improvements in agricul- 
tural implements and conveniences. It resembles 
some of the finest breeding farms of the Blue Grass 
region of Kentucky, lie is the owner of two hun- 
dred and eighty acres in Ridge Township, which 
is all improved. 

He of whom we write came to this State in 1840, 



112 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



He lived in Fayette County till 1844. He was 
horn in Steubenville, Ohio, February 1(5. 1833. and 
is the son of Thomas and the grandson of John 
Jackson, who were both natives of Pennsylvania 
and came of Irish ancestry. His grandfather was 
a farmer in Pennsylvania where he lived and died. 
being at the time of his decease very old. lie had 
married a Pennsylvania lady who also died there. 
Our subject's father. Thomas Jackson, spent his 
early life under his father's roof, there learning 
the duties and secrets of farm life. He was mar- 
ried to W. Elizabeth Manley. She was also a 
native of Pennsylvania. After the birth of part 
of their children Thomas Jackson and his wife re- 
moved to Ohio, and some years later came by way 
of the overland route to this state, making his first 
settlement in Fayette County. There he and his 
wife located upon and improved a new farm where 
they spent the remainder of their days. They 
were both quite advanced in years at the time of 
their respective deaths, the father being fifty-three 
years of age and the mother seventy. Mrs. .lack- 
son was a Methodist in her religious preference. 
Her husband was politically an old Jacksonian 
Democrat, with all that that term implies, of chiv- 
alry and independence. 

( Mn subject is one of ten sons and two daughters. 
(if these only four of the sons and one daughter 
arc now living, all of these being married and 
having families of their own. Our subject was 
only a boy when his parents came to this State, and 
here he attained his majority. His first wife was 
a Miss Margaret Waters, she was born in Cham- 
paign County, this State, and there reared, she 
died alter about three years of marital life, being 
then in the meridian of her womanhood, she left 
t wo children. One, John T.. is now deceased, and 
one. William, is in the West, being there married 
to a Western lady. 

Mr. Jackson was a second time married iii this 
county to Miss Man A. Burk. She was born in 
Pennsylvania, and was young when, with her par- 
ent-. Robert and Esther Burk, she came to Shelby 
( Olinty. The family settled at a very early day 
on Robinson Creek and there the father and mother 
lived lor some time. They later moved to Rural 
Township, this county, where they purchased land 



ami there spent the remainder of their lives, being 
old people at the time of their decease. They were 
well and honorably known among the old settlers 
of the county. Both parents were members of the 
Presbj terian Church. 

Mrs. Margaret .1. Jackson was one of a large 
family, only a few of whom are yet living. Mrs. 
Jackson is one of the prominent matrons of the 
township, being a Leader in social life. She is a 

true wife and mother. Nine children have ( ie 

to brighten and gladden our subject's home and 
fireside. All of these are livingand are as follows: 
Robert. Samuel. M. Jane. Louisa. Esther, Mary A.. 
Elizabeth, Andrew anil Charles. Robert is a farmer 
in Bethany Township, this county, and is the de- 
voted husband of the lady whose maiden name was 
Sally .Mar-hall. Samuel took to wife Miss K. 
DeVaughn. They live on a farm in Ridge Township. 
Jane is the wife of George Hall, a farmer in this 
township. Louisa is the wife of Samuel DeVaughn, 
and lives in Rural Township. Esther married 
Morris Robinson, and lives in Windsor Township. 
Mary A. is the wife of James lladden and lives in 
Todd's Point Township. Elizabeth was united to 
Wilber Workman, a farmer in Okaw Township. 
Anderson and Charles are at home. 

Mrs. Jackson is a member of the Presbyterian 
Church, while our subject is a member of the 
Christian Church. He of whom we write is a 
Democrat in politics and has held several local 
offices in the gift of his party. 




| ARION BERRY, a resident of section II, 

Rose Township. Shelby County, is a son of 

1 Elijah Berry who was born in Fairfield 

County, Ohio. His mother, Elmira Culp, 

was born and died in that county. The father 
still survives and is carrying on Ins farm there. 
They had four children who lived to years of ma- 
turity, and of these onr subject is the only son. 

He of whom we write was born in Fairfield 
County Ohio, May. 7, 1849. lie was reared upon 
his father',- farm, and after coming of age he re- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



143 



mained with his father until the ensuing fall, when 
he \\ : i - married October 20, 1870 to Miss Missouri 
Zollinger who was bom in Fairfield County Ohio, 
May 2.'!, 1853. She was a daughter of Jacob and 
Margaret (Shaffer) Zollinger, both of whom died 
in Perry County, Ohio. When Mr. Berry married 
he settled in Fairfield County, Ohio and for two 
years engaged in farming. After this lie came in 
Illinois anil lived in Macoupin County for five 
years, and then returned to Ohio and resided in 
Perry County till the spring of 1884, when he 
came to Shelby County 111., and settled in Rose 
Township, where he owns two hundred acres on 
sections 10 ami 11. He has always been en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits ami has been suc- 
cessful in carrying them on. 

Mr. ami Mrs. Berry are the parents of eightchil- 
ilren. namely Yinnie E., Lousianna. Ernest A.. 
William E., Daisy B., Susie, Walter ami Mildred. 
The residents of Rose Township Lave united in 
making Mi'. Berry School Director, hut otherwise 
he has chosen to remain free from official duties. 
His political sympathies are with the Republican 
party ami he is liberal in his religious views. His 
pleasant home is the scene of frequent social gath- 
erings at which the hospitality of .Mr. ami Mrs. 
Berry is exercised for the happinessof theirguests. 



s- &, 



:>*<! 



\m one "' the pi01 
WvJ ship, Shelby C< 



a>~- 



[LLIAM NOTBROOK, deceased, was 
pioneers of Moweaqua Town- 
'ounty, ami his name is hon- 
ored as one of its upbuilders, who faithfully per- 
formed his share in the cultivation of it* fertile 
soil, ami helped to make this a beautiful ami well- 
improved fanning country, lie was of foreign 
birth, born in the village of Beilfield, Province 
of Westphalia. Prussia, Ma\ in. L824. He was 
left an orphan at a very early age. He attended 
school quite steadily in his youth, ami then be- 
gan life as a shephard. 

When he gained his majority. Mr. NotbrOOk 
entered the Prussian army, in accordance with the 
laws of the Land, ami after serving three year.-, 
was honorably discharged. He then came to 



America, as he thought that the prospects were bet- 
ter for advancement in this country than in the 
Fatherland, lie set sail from l!i cmci haven in 
April, and after a six weeks' voyage landed at New 
York. He secured a good situation as a clerk in a 
wholesale commission produce house, and was 
thus employed in the great metropolis until 
1855. 

In that year he came to Illinois with his wife, 
and with his limited means, he having only such 
money as he had frugally saved from his earnings, 
he bought forty acres of land in Moweaqua 
Township. There was a log cabin on the place, 
and in that humble dwelling he and his wife be- 
gan life in their new home. Ten years later he 
sold that land at an advanced price, it having in- 
creased in value under his skillful labors, and he 
then bought the eighty acres in the same township, 
which is now occupied by his family. lie removed 
the log cabin to his new purchase, ami it remained 
the abode of the family ten years longer, when he 
replaced it by the residence in which his family 
arc living, It is a commodious frame structure, of 
modern style, is nicely furnished, and is a most 
pleasant home. Here he dwelt in peace and con- 
tentment, working busily through seed time and 
harvest year after year, bringing his farm to a line 
condition, both as to tillage and the substantial 
improvements that he placed upon it. until death 
Stayed his hand April. 8, 1881, ami he rested from 
his labors in that dreamless sleep thai knows no 
waking. He was an earnest ami consistent Chris- 
tian, and for many years a member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, which he joined sunn 
after coming to America, as did his wife also. 

While a resident of New York City. Mr. Not- 
brook entered into marriage with Miss Wilhelmina 
Wagemann, a daughter of one of his father's old 
neighbors in the old count ry. the ceremony that 
made them one being performed in 1853. Mrs. 
Notbrook was born in the same place as her hus- 
band, and grew up with him. She came to Amer- 
ica in the same vessel that he did. Her parents 
were Wilhelm andCharlotte Wagamann, who were 
also natives of the Prussian village that was her 
birthplace. Two of her brothers came to this 
country. William is now a resident of Moultrie 



Ml 



PORTRAIT AXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



County. Henry, who is deceased, spent his last 
years at Moweaqua, where he located alter his ar- 
rival in America. .Mrs. Notbrook is a very esti- 
mable woman, possessing those qualities of head 
and heart that command respect and regard, and 
she i> an exemplary member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, she has two children living, 
Maggie the elder, is the wife of Michael E. Snyder: 
Wilhelmina lives with her mother, and is her staj 
and com fort. 







AVID DRAKE is a worthy member of the 
lj fanning community of Pickaway Town- 
ship, Shelby County. He was horn in 
Fairbanks Township, Sullivan County. 
End., .March 22. 1836. He is a son of Benjamin 
Drake, who was a native of Ohio, of which his 
father. .lames Drake, was for some years a resident, 
settling there iii pioneer times, prior to his removal 
to Indiana in 1817. lie was one of the firsl set- 
tlers in Fairbanks Township, where he bought a 
tract of Government land, on which lie at Brst 
built a log house for the shelter of his family. At 
that time, and for some years after, the county was 
sparselj settled, and deer, wild turkeys and other 
game were very plentiful. The grandfather of 
our subject continued to reside in that region on 
the farm that he had developed from the wilder- 
ness until his death. 

The father of our subject was but eight years 
old when the family sought to build a new home 
in the primeval forests Of Indiana, where he was 
reared to pursuits of industry. He early learned 
the trade of a tanner, and then bought a yard, 
which he operated for a time. He finally sold it 
and engaged in farming for awhile. He then 

I ghl another lanyard, and carried on a tannery 

iii connection with farming some years. Ih- lived 
to ,-i ripe age, dying on the home farm iii Sullivan 
County, Ind., in 1880. lie had married in early 
manhood. Sally GrOSS, who was horn either in 
North or South Carolina, and died at the home of 



her son in Sullivan County in 1 **.*>. She was the 
mother of ten children, all sons. 

Our subject received his education in his native 

county, where he grew to a stalwart manh 1. The 

first school that he attended was taugbl in the 
primitive log schoolhouse of pioneer days. It 
had a clay and stick chimney, being heated by a 
huge open fireplace, and in the aperture made by 
a loo- being taken out of the side of the house a 
row of window tdass admitted the light The 
benches were made of slabs, without backs, and 
the furniture of the school room was entirely of 
home manufacture. 

Mr. Drake resided with his parents until he was 
twenty-two years old. when his father gave him a 
tract of timber land in Fairbanks Township. He 
built a log house, and in that humble abode he 
and his bride commenced their housekeeping, and 
lived in happiness for some time. He improved 
the land and made it his dwelling place until 1869, 
when he sold it at a good price in order to identify 
himself with the farmers of Shelby County, as he 
had a high opinion of the fertility of the soil of 
this region and the many other advantages it pos- 
sesses, and rightly judged that he could do well at 
his calling in a section so favored, lie purchased 
eighty acres of his present farm, which is pleas- 
antly located on section 1 I. Pickaway Township, 
and he has since added to his realty, and now has 
one hundred and twenty acres of choice farming 
land, finely cultivated and amply supplied with 
good iniproYinents. including a substantia] set of 
farm buildings. 

April 1."). 1888, Our Subject took an important 
step in his life whereby he secured the companion- 
ship and assistance of a devoted wife in the per- 
son of Miss Ke/.iah Anderson. Their union has 
been blessed with children of whom these seven 
.■lie living: Alexander. Mary Frances, Cameron. 
Charles. Sarah .1.. Commodore and .lames V. 
Alexander married Viola l'olly. ami has one child 

named John; Mary Frances married George Will- 
iamson, and has three children — Ellsworth, Ro- 

-anue and Etta; Sarah married John ,\l. Hill, and 
has two children — Martha and I.vdia. 

Mr. Drake is sound in his political views which 
lind expression in the tenets of the Democratic 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



145 



party. Botb he and his good wife are members in 
high standing of the Baptist Church, and their 
community finds in them true friends and kind 
neighbors, who are ever ready to extend a 
helping hand In those who are in trouble and 
want. 






■8"fr*M , t; 



' ■i~H , *F 



M 



OIIX E. JENNINGS, State's Attorney and 
City Attorney of Sullivan, Moultrie County, 
and a member of the law firm of Jennings 
it Huff, is a native of Moultrie County. 
where he was horn March 9, 1864. lie belongs to 
one of the prominent families of the county. His 
father. Benjamin S. Jennings, is a native of Ohio, 
and his grandfather and great-grandfather also 
hoic the name of Benjamin Jennings. The latter 
came of English parentage and it is not unlikely 

that he was horn in England. His hoyl I days, 

however, were spent in Massachusetts, and he died 
in Pennsylvania. During the Revolutionary War 
he served in tin' Colonial Army. The grandfather 
of our subject, a native of the Keystone State, 
emigrated to Ohio, ami in 1853, came with the 
father of our subject to Illinois, making a settle- 
ment in Marrowbone Township. Moultrie County. 
lie died in 1867, at the home of his son in Loving- 
ton Township. On first coming to Illinois. Benja- 
min Jennings, father of John E., was employed as 
an engineer in a grist and sawmill, lie had 
learned the business in Ohio and was a practical 
machinist. After some years he removed to Lov- 
ington, where he operated a mill for a time and 
then located on a farm in the township of that 
name, some ten miles northwest of Sullivan. Af- 
terward removing to the city, he became one of 
the partners in the Sullivan Woolen Mills, with 
which he was connected until ISS7. when the fac- 
tory was abandoned and the machinery shipped to 
Canada, while the building is now being used as 
an elevator, since that time Benjamin Jennings 
has lived a retired life. He continues his residence 
in Sullivan where he is a very prominent citizen. 
He has been connected with the public interests in 
many ways and has acceptably lilled a number of 
positions of trust. He was a member of the first 



cil\ council in 1»7.">. was re-elected in 1875, again 
in 1877 and in 1879. On the expiration of thai 
last term he was elected Mayor of the city and 
had previously filled an unexpired term for one 
year. The Democratic party finds in him a stanch 
advocate, and his labors in its behalf have aided 
greatly in its success. With the best interests of 
the eounty he has been identified and his works 
are well deserving of mention in the county's 
history. 

Benjamin Jennings was united in marriage with 
Miss Eleanor Caddington, a lady of Scotch-Irish 
descent. She died at her home in Sullivan in 
1877, in the faith of the Baptist Church of which 
she had long been a member. In the family 
were eleven children, seven of whom are yet liv- 
ing — Addie R., at home; A/.a. who wedded Emily 
McCraig and is living in Sullivan; W. Henry, who 
married Dolly Harris, of Sullivan, and is an elec- 
trician employed by the Kester Electrical Com- 
pany of Tcrre Haute. lad.; Lucy M., at home; 
Samuel, who is married and is connected with the 
abstract office in Fresno. Cal.: John E., of this 
sketch; and Hillorv. who is foreman of the Canton 
Register, of Canton. 111. He married Minnie Tich- 
enor. The sons arc all Democrats and the family 
is one well worthy of mention in this Record. 

The subject of this sketch acquired his educa- 
tion in the public schools and was graduated from 
the Sullivan High School. Wishing to engage in 
the practice of law he entered the office of Meeker 
& Smyzer, under whose direction he pursued his 
studies for two years, when he was admitted to the 
bar at the Appellate Court at Springfield, January 
21, 1 887, Judges Wall, Conger and Pleasant officiat- 
ing. He was licensed by the Supreme Court. .Indue 
Scott presiding, and was one of a class of sixteen, 
self-made young men. who. though none had ever 
attended law school, fitted themselves for legal 
practice by their own efforts and won a place 
among legal practitioner-. Mr. Jennings had at- 
tained his majority only a short time previous to 
his admission to the bar. Soon after he was rec- 
ommended by the court ami received the appoint- 
ment of Assistant State Attorney of his county, a 
position which he tilled until his election as State's 
Attorney. He was admitted to the United States 



in; 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



District Court in Jan nary. 1890, and the following 
March, the linn of Jennings & Iluft' was formed. 
They do a general law business, making a specialty 
of criminal law and although little more than a 
year has passed since the organization of the firm 
these young lawyers, men of ability and enterprise 
have won for themselves a prominent place at the 
liar. Mr. Jennings is also Notary Public. In 
politics he is a Democrat and a stanch advocate of 
the party principles. In his youth he learned the 
trade uf a manufacturer of woolen goods, acquaint- 
ing himself with every branch of the business and 
could now. if necessary, (ill any position in a 
woolen factory, hut unless something unforeseen 
happens, he will continue his efforts at the bar. 
where he is meeting with such excellent success, 

Mr. Jennings joined Company C, of the Eighth 
Regiment Illinois National Guards as a private, 
but was soon promoted to Sergeant, was afterward 
elected Second and then First Lieutenant, and in 
1886, was elected Captain of the Company, a po- 
sition which he tilled for two years. He was thus 
Serving when called to duty during the time of 
the great St. Louis strike in 1886. lie has met 
with his regiment at every annual encampment at 
Camp Lincoln in Springfield, Col. Relley M. 
Smith, of Greenup, 111., being Commander of the 
regiment. The following have served as Captain 
of the company : Alvin 1'. Green, George Chap- 
man, Samuel Jennings. John 1']. Jennings, and 
Adolph T. Jenkins. 

Mr. Jennings is one of the prominent and enter- 
prising young business men of Sullivan, who. un- 
aided by capita] or influential friends, is working 
his way upward to an honorable and enviable posi- 
tion. He has not yet married hut makes his home 
with his father and two sisters. 



i=i 



■ 



~s 



r^+^l 



n=i 



• 



OIIN A. FKAliMAN. The Southern Stales 
added their full quota to the early settle- 
ment of Illinois, thousands Of families eini- 
grat ing from Virginia, Kentucky. Tennessee 
and the ( arolinas to the southern and south cent- 
ral portions of the Prairie State. They brought 



with them an element of sociability and friendli- 
ness which is universally accorded as a leading char- 
acteristic of the Southern people. Among such 
families is the one of which our subject is a repres- 
entative and his residence on section 21, Okaw 
Township, Shelby County, dates from the time of 
his birth, March 25, 1 <s:i7, as his parents, Henry 
and Nancy (Roberts) Fearman, had previously emi- 
grated to this State from Kentucky. 

The Fearmans were originally settlers in Virginia, 
where John Fearman, the grandfather of our sub- 
ject was born. The first wife of the father of our 
subject was Ellen Sandusky, to whom he was mar- 
ried in 1881 just previous ti> his coming to Illinois, 
where he purchased land in Okaw Township. This 
wife lived only a few years, after the family re- 
moval to the Prairie State, and he was called upon 
to mark his new home by her grave. 

Nancy Roberts, the mother of our subject and 
the daughter of Alexander and Mary Roberts, who 
were early pioneers of this State, became the wife 
of Henry Fearman in 1836. She was a true help- 
mate to him in his arduous labors as a farmer and 
they became tin' happy possessors of an excellent 
farm, upon which they passed their later days in 
comfort and prosperity. Her birth occurred in 1812 
and she passed from life in 1858, her husband sur- 
viving her some twelve years, dying January 27. 
1K70. at the age of sixty-two years. They reared 
three children. John A., our subject; .lames II. and 
Elizabeth E., who married George S. Terry. and died 
in Okaw Township. Their mother was a devout and 
useful member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
The gentleman of whom we write received such 
education as could lie obtained in the common 
schools of his day ami had a thorough and syste- 
matic training in farm duties. lie thus grew up 
fitted to meet the duties of life and to make his 
mark among the men of Shelby County. It was 
in 1H(!1 that he founded a home for himself and 
one other by a union in marriage with Elizabeth 
Terry, daughter of Reuben Terry. Like himself 
she is a native of this county, being born in Okaw 
Township, August I. 1844. No children have 

blessed this home. 

After marriage Mr. Fearman rented land and 
t died it for some time, but somewhat later removed 








aM^titic 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



i r.i 



t<> Shelbyville, where he carried on a mercantile 
business and in 1867 purchased a part of the farm 
which is now his. His Brat acquisition was sixtj 
acres of land which was mostly covered witn tim- 
ber and brush, and to this he added, as prosperity 
allowed, more and more land, and now lias two 
hundred and ten acres, upon which he has placed 
comfortable and substantia] improvements. 

The Democratic parly is the political organiza- 
tion with which our subject finds himself in har- 
mony, and he is a hearty and earnest worker for 
its prosperity, and has held various local offices. 
lie is Considerably opposed to secret societies and 
is an intelligent leader in public affairs. The 
Christian Church is the religious body with which 
his good wife is associated and in it she is a valua- 
ble and valued worker. 

The paternal grandmother of John A. Fearman 
was a Virginian by birth and bore the maiden name 
of McClelland. Her SQn, Henry Fearman. the 
father of our subject, was three times married. 
The lady with whom he was united after the death 
of Mrs. Nancy (Roberts) Fearman being .Mrs. .lane 
Doddy nee Ward, and by this union there were 
horn two children — Margie A. and Dora, who re- 
side at Lee's Summit, Mo. 




* LFRED JAMISON. The citizens of Shelby 
County, who came here during the early 



' history of this section and established 
themselves in what were then little vill- 
ages and hamlets, have been active factors in the 
development and progress of the county. Mr. 
Jamison having been a resident of Oconee for 
more than twenty-live years, has made his mark 
upon the social and business interests of the place, 
and as an influential citizen we are pleased to pre- 
sent his portrait and biography to our readers. 

Mr. Jamison, who is a dealer in hay. coal, lum- 
ber and live stock at Oconee, was horn in Mon- 
mouth County. N. .).. February 17. 1814. lli- 
father. Joseph, a son of Jacob ami Rebecca Jami- 
son, was horn October 2. 1781 in the same county. 
His mother was also a Dative there, and was horn 



February 1 1. 17*7. both she and her husband bora 
near the historic battlefield of Monmouth. The 
children who gathered about this worthy couple 
were five >on> and six daughters, a- follows: Ja- 
cob J.", born May 2*. 1803; Abram B., November 
is. 1804; Rebecca, November 30, 1806; Hannah. 
September 27. 1808; Joseph. December 7. 1810; 
Isaac, April 2.".. 1812; Lydia Ann, April 1. 1*14; 
Mary. November 15, 1*1.".; Sarah, March 2:'.. 1818; 
Elizabeth, February 23, 1*21: and the subject of 
our sketch, who was the youngest of the family. 
Of this large household, only Isaac, Mary, Sarah. 
Elizabeth and Alfred remain in this earthly life. 
Mr. Jamison received his education in the public 

schools of New Jersey, and when about sixteen 

years of age, he left the parental roof and went 
into the world for himself, first going to New York 
City, where he obtained a situation in a dry-goods 
store as a clerk. He continued in that position 
about five years, and then having accumulated a 
little money, returned to his native State and 
went into business, in which he had a one-fourth 
interest, establishing a general store at Cedar Creek. 
Here he continued for about two years, and then 
in 1*411. having a serious attack of the "gold 
fever." he went to California by the way of the 

Strait of Magellan, and remained in the "Sunset 
State" for some lime. Occupying four years in the 
whole trip. 

Having been reasonably successful in his western 
venture, the young man returned to New York 
City, and engaged in the pork-packing business, 

which he carried on for fifteen year-, hut in the 
Spring of 1865 he closed out his concern there and 
came to Shelby County, locating at Oconee, where 

he has ever since resided. Ilis marriage to Miss 
Gertrude Ellen Hegeman took place in New York 
City, April o, !*.">:'>. This lady was horn April 13, 
1837, upon Long Island, X. Y. 

On arriving in Illinois, Mr. Jamison invested 
his means in real estate and milling, and had the 
misfortune to lose two mills by tire, hut has con- 
tinued in the real-estate business ever since coming 
West, in which he has been vvy successful. < in 
locating here he purchased fifteen hundred acres 
of timber land, which he cleared up and worked 
the timber into lumber, lie has been active in 



450 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



business all his lifetime, and .-till continues with 
unabated power to actively control his own affah-s, 
although he is nearing the limits of three-score 
years and ten. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Jamison have been born the 
following children: Alonzo, born June 10, 1854; 
Alfred M., July 1,1855; Emma I.aur. .May 28, 
1858; Sarah Elizabeth, February 5, I860; Brackett 
Badger, January Ik. 1862; Harry Alonzo, January 
9, 1»(U; Hattie II.. March 22, 1865; Francis Rich- 
mond, October 12. 1867: Robert Regeman, March 
;i. 1869; Grace Gertrude, .Inn,' 2, 1871; Joseph 
stokes. September .">. l*7.'i; and Archibald Shelton, 
February 21. 1879. The six oldest are natives of 
New York City, and the younger members of the 
family were born in < leonee. 

The gentleman, whose life history we are here 
briefly sketching has been a life-long Democrat, 
and has always a lively interest in national. State 
and local politics. He is well read and broad in 
his viewsand keeps himself thoroughly informed 
in regard to public affairs, lie is a member of 
Oconee Lodge, F. & A. M., and carries insurance 
in the Masonic Benevolent Society of Chicago, 
lie was first made a Mason by Naval Lodge, No. 
69, in the State of New York, in 1855, and was 
demitted from that to Oconee Lodge in 1*7:5. 
Religiously the family may he considered a- ex- 
tremely libera] and strongly opposed to contention 
over the orthodox creed. The value of their lives 
and their work in this community can hardly he 
estimated, as thej have ever been active in pro- 
moting the best interests of the neighborhood, and 
have been liberal in their means in forwarding all 
movements looking to the material and social pro- 
gress of ( teonee. 




II.I.IAM [I. SPARLING, M. D.,Moweaqua, 
/ is a fine representative of the best phvsi- 



VA/ 

" " cians ot this section, whose learning abil 

ity and eminent success in their practice have 

contributed to raise the standard of their noble 

profession in Central llinois. Our subjecl wasborn 



in County Clare, Ireland, January 15, 1K4S>. His 
father, Joseph Sparling, was also a native of that 
Irish county, and was of German descent, his an- 
cestors having left Germanyon account of religious 
persecution and taken up their abode on the Em- 
erald Isle during the reign of Queen Anne. 

The father of our subject was reared and married 
in his native county, where his whole life was 
passed, his death occurring in 1850. lie was en- 
gaged in the mercantile business up to that time, 
and by his removal while yel in life's prime the 
interests of his community suffered a serious loss. 
His wife. Hannah Reynard in her maiden days, was 
born in the same county as himself and was also of 
German lineage. She survived her husband many 
years and in 1851 came with her seven children to 
America. She lirst settled at London. Canada, 
whence she subsequently removed to Hamilton. 
In 1859 she crossed the border, and from that time 
to her death in 1M77 was a resident of the United 
States, making her home in Detroit, Mich. The 
following is recorded of her children: Walter. Jos- 
eph and Charles are in the dry-goods business in 
Detroit; John is a minister in the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, a member of the Detroit Conference; 
Anna married .lames Keiller. of Detroit; Bella mar- 
ried William F. Deike. of Chicago; William H. is 
the subject of this biography. 

Dr. Sparling was hut two years old when he 
came to America with his mother, brothers andsis- 
tei'S, and therefore has no recollection id' his native 
island. He was given line educational advantages 
in the public schools of Canada and in the higher 
institutions of learning in this country. His lirst 
experience of school life was in tin' city schools of 
London and Hamilton. After the family removed 
to Detroil he became a student at the High School 
of that city, and was graduated from there in the 
Class of "(17. lie then .-pent a year of hard study 
in the Northwestern University al Evanston, 111. 

At the expiration Of that time he began to prepare 
himself lor the medical profession, for which he 
had a decided taste, under the instruction of Prof. 
N. VV. Webster-, of the Detroit Medical College. 
He was graduated from the institution in the (lass 
of '72. Having completed his medical education, 
the Doctor decided to enter upon his chosen call- 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



151 



ing at Cerro Gordo, l'iatt County, ilii> State, and 
he was located there from 1*72 to 1876, when he 
came to Moweaqua and the people of this city and 
the surrounding country have since had the bene- 
fit of his knowledge and skill. During his fifteen 
years' residence here he has devoted himself very 
closely lu his profession, and to-day has a reputa- 
tion second to that of uone other of his vocation 
in this part of the State. 

To the lady who presides so graciously over his 
home and looks carefully after his comfort and 
happiness, our subject was wedded in 1875. They 
have two children living, .lames I., and Mabel. 
Mrs. Sparling was formerly Miss Minnie Eva 
Lyons, and is a daughter of James and Annie Lyons. 
Her native place is Simcoe, Canada. 

The 1 loctor is a member of the Illinois State Med- 
ical Society, and of the Central Illinois Medical 
Society, also of the American Medical Association. 
lie is connected with the temperance order of 
Royal Templars. His parents were devoted mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal ( hurch. reared him 
in that faith, and lie and his wife now belong to 
the church of that denomination in this city. In 
the course of his practice he has formed many 
strong and lasting friendships among the people to 
whose ailments he has administered and he is the 
well-beloved physician in many a household where 
his presence has brought healing, or has soothed 
the last hours of the dying. 



-£eh 



-_....;., 



H^> 



AMES W. SCOTT. a veteran of the late war. 
in which he fought bravely in defense of 

the stars and stripes, has since done as good 
service as a thrifty, intelligent farmer in 
aiding the development of the agricultural re- 
sources Of this country, and is now living in honor- 
able retirement at Shelby ville, Shelby County. He 
was born March 11. 1826, in one of the early 
pioneer homes of Licking County, Ohio, his birth- 
place being eleven miles northeast of the town of 
Newark. His father. Peter 1'. Scott, a native of 
New Jersey, was one of the early settlers of llli- 
inois. locating not far from Peoria, and he was 



widely known throughout that region as a pioneer 
blacksmith and farmer of that section of the Slate. 
The paternal grandfather of subject, whose given 

name was Joseph, was horn, according to the best 
informational hand, in County Tyrone. Ireland, 
and was of Scotch antecedents, tin coming to 

America, he settled in New Jersey, and there 

reared a family, two of the sons serving in the 
War of 1812. lie was an iron worker, and his last 
days were spent near Newark. N. .1. His wife, a 
native of Germany, whose maiden name was Mary 
Himyon, also spent her last years near Newark. 

Peter P. Scott was reared in the state of his 
nativity, ami in his youth became a practical 
blacksmith, learning his trade at Newark, and fol- 
lowing it there until about 1820. In that year he 
went to Ohio, going thither with teams, anil located 

in Licking County He carried on his calling there 

until L828, when he made another move. startiiiL: 
for the wilds of Illinois with his wife aid four 
children, making the journey with two pairs of 
oxen to a wagon, in which were conveyed all their 
earthly belongings, including Mr. Scott's anvil, 
that he had taken with him from New Jersey, and 
which is now in the possession of the son of the 

subject, who bears the name of his grandsire, and 
is a resident of Marshall. Oklahoma. .Mr. Scott 
located one mile west of Washington and ten miles 
from Peoria, which was then known as Ft. Clark. 
Indians had full -win in the northern part of the 
State at that time, there were lull very few settle- 
ment of whites, and Chicago was but a hamlet. 

The father of the subject traded one pair of 
oxen and the wagon for a squatter's claim, and 
entered the land at tin' genera] land office at 

Springfield. Six acres of the land cleared and 

fenced, and a log house, stable and smoke house, 
constituted the improvements on the place Mr. 
Scott carried on his trade as a blacksmith for some 
years, and people came for many miles to get work 
done. He was a very skillful mechanic, and be- 
sides making all his horse-shoes and nails by hand. 
was of an inventive turn of mind, ami the firsl 
steel scouring plow ever used was from a patent 

made by him. In his last years he devoted him- 
self to the management of his farm until he passed 
away in April. 1870 at a ripe age, in the home 



152 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



that lie had luiill thereon. His wife, a native of 
New York City, whose maiden name was Catherine 
Murphy, wenl to Galesburg after his death, and 
there resided until her death, when full of years 
in .May. 1884. she was the mother of eleven 
children. 

The subject of this biography, although bul live 
years of age when his parents brought him t<> 
Illinois, clearly remembers the incidents of that 
momentous journey of the pioneer life that ensued 
in the wild, sparsely settled region now known as 
Tazewell County. Indians still lived there and 
deer, wild turkeys and other game were abundant. 
Our subject's education was obtained in the primi- 
tive pioneer sel Is of the early day- of the settle- 
ment of Illinois. The first one that he attended 
was taught in his father's house. The seats, which 
had no backs and no desks in front, were made of 
stabs or puncheons, and were supported bywooden 
pins. A log was taken out of the length Of the 
building and a row of glass inserted in its place to 
admit the light. In 1*:52. the year of the Black 
Hawk war. the inhabitants were constantly on the 
alert for fear of being surprised and massacred by 
the Indians, and it took hut very little to create a 
scare, our subject relates a rather amusing episode 
of tliis time. A man living near the school house 
w.i- out hunting squirrels. He shot one near the 
building and the hall, glancing, went through the 
i;lass and hit a girl on the side of the head, making 
an agly scalp wound. The scholars, supposing the 
Indians to he upon them, were very much fright- 
ened. The teacher, a young man from the East, 
Started with the wounded girl to assist her home, 
hut he soon fainted ami his pupil had to make her 
way home alone. The frightened scholars circu- 
lated the report that Indians tired into the school- 
house, and the neighbors, all armed, gathered 
together there, and excitement ran high until it 
was found out who did the shooting. 

Mr. Scott lived with his parents until he grew 

to manhood, in the meantime assisting in the farm 

work, and he then col enced to learn the trade 

of a cooper, which he followed in Tazewell County 

until 1850. In the spring of thai year he started 

with others for the gold Held- of California, leav- 
ing Pekin on the Nth of April, and making an 



overland journey across the plains and mountain-. 
At that time, there were hut very few white Set- 
tlers between the Missouri River and California. 
except the Mormons at Salt Lake. Indians reified 
supreme on the plains, ami innumerable buffaloes 
were encountered on the way. The little party 
arrived at Weaverville, .Inly '11. and our subject 
devoted his time to mining until tin 1 spring of 
1851. lie then gathered together his u.ains and 
returned home, traveling by way of the Isthmus 
of Panama to New York, from that city by rail to 
Dunkirk, thence by the Lakes to Chicago, and from 
there by the canal and the Illinois River to Peoria. 

The following year Mr. Scott bought a team 
with the intention of returning to California, hut 
realizing that gold was to he obtained by tilling 
the rich soil of this state as well as by .yetting it 
more directly from the mines of the Pacific Slope, 
he changed his mind and came instead to Shelby 
County to try farming here. He bought a tract of 
hind in what is now Okaw Township, a few acres 
of which were improved and a log cabin stood On 
the place. He lived there until 1861, when he 
settled on a tract of land in Todd's Point Town- 
ship, which he had bought from the Government. 

In August 1862, our subject threw aside his 
work to take part in the "real war that was then 
being waged between the North and South, in- 
scribing his name on the roll of Company G, One 
Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry. In 1HG.S 
he received injuries which incapacitated him for 
active duties, and he was ordered to the hospital 
by the surgeon, but this did not please him. and 
he induced the colonel to countermand the order 
and he remained with his regiment until June, 
1863. After that he was a short tune in Franklin. 
Tenn., whence he was ordered to Nashville, where 
was transferred to the invalid corps. When the 
Veteran Reserve Corps was organized, he was 
transferred to Company G, Fifth Regiment, and 
was transferred at Camp MertOn, Minneapolis. 
On the night before the election at Chicago, he 

was one of the live hundred soldiers sent to thai 

city to guard the rebel prisoners confined there 
who had made their plans to escape. He was kept 
on duty forty-eight hours without relief, and re- 
turning to Indianapolis ten days later, was soon 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



153 



after taken sick. He bad to go to the hospital for 
treatment, and was discharged from that institu- 
tion in February, 1865, and from the army, thus 
closing an honorable career as a soldier. wherein 
he had borne the hardships and privations incident 
to such a life with fortitude and true courage that 
lie might serve his country in the time of her 
greatest peril. In commemoration of those trying 
years, he is now connected with the Cyrus Hall 
Post. No. 138, <i. A. R. 

Returning home after he left the army. Mr. 
Scott superintended the improvement of his farm, 
and made his home thereon until his retirement 
from active business to Shelbyville in 1882. Death 
had deprived him of his good wife in April. 1879, 
after a wedded life of more than thirty years, they 
baving been married June 17. 1847. Her maiden 
name was Louisa Tucker, and she was a native of 
Mead County, Ky., a daughter of Truman Tucker. 
Her marriage with our subject was productive to 
them of these seven children. .lames W., Esther C, 
Elizabeth A.. Ida I... Emma 1).. Peter 1'. and 
Man A. 







1 1. I.I A M .1. TACK KIT. The name of 
jlj Tackett has been borne by some of the 
r/\{l most useful citizens of this county from 
the early days of it- settlement, and as an honored 
representative of that family that has helped to 
bring this section of Illinois to [ts present line con- 
dition we are pleased to place on these pages a 

brief life-record of William .1. Tackett. a highly re- 
spected resident of Shelbyville. lie is a skillful 
fanner, and has valuable farming interests, which 
are >t ill under his management, although he has re- 
tired to the city. 

But few of the present citizens of this county 
have lived in this part of the state as long as our 
subject, who has spent much of his life here as boy 
and man for sixty years or more. He is a son of 
one of the earliest pioneer families of Shelbyville, 
John and Enfield (Mason) Tackett. and his father 
for several years kept a hotel in the village in the 



early years of its history. For further parental his- 
tory, see the sketch of John A. Tackett on another 
page of this volume. 

William Tackett was horn in Bourbon County. 
Ky., June 11. 1826, the second son of his parents. 
He was hut three years old when they brought him 
to Illinois in 1829. Shelbyville, where the family 
set up their new home, was hut a hamlet, with a 
few log habitations, and gave but little intimation 
that it would become the beautiful city of to-day. 
Our subject grew up here under pioneer influences, 
and watched with interest the growth of the city 
from day to day. and has witnessed almost the en- 
lire development of the surrounding country from 
a wilderness to a well settled and wealthy county, 
and he can take pleasure in the thought that he has 
had a hand in In i n li in u about this wonderful trans- 
formation. His education was conducted in the 
pioneer schools of the city, which were taught in a 
log house, that had rude furniture of the most 
primitive sort, the seats being made of slabs, with- 
out backs, and with wooden pins for support. That 
was in the days before the introduction of the free 
school system, and each family had to pay for the 
support of the schools according to the number of 

scholar- sent. Mr. Tackett advanced his education 
by attendance at llillsboio Academy, and at the age 
of twenty-one he began to study medicine. 

Our subject was smitten by tin' gold fever after 
the discovery of the precious metal in California, 
and he was one of the famous "49ers" to go to 
that State in search of it. lie started with others 
in the month of March, and made the journey 
across the plains and mountains with mule teams. 
The little company of gold seekers saw no white 
settlers between the Missouri River and the Golden 
state, except the Mormons at Salt Lake. They en- 
countered deer, antelopes, buffaloes and other wild 
animals in great numbers in crossing what was then 
known as the "Great American Desert," and In- 
dians held undisputed sway throughout that deso- 
late region. The train arrived at Sacramento one 
hundred and ten days after Starting from Illinois, 
and our subject found that city in the pioneer 
Stages of its existence, and among its rude habita- 
tion- there were hut two frame houses. 

Mr. Tackett devoted himself to mining awhile. 



154 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mud then handled stock at a large profll the re- 
mainder nf his stay in California. In February, 
1852, he sel mil mi his return home, well satisfied 
with his experience nf life mi the frontier, lie 
t r:i vr led by tin' way of the Isthmus to New ( )rleans, 
thence by tin- Mississippi to St. Louis, from there 
by stage through Vandalia to Shelbyville, and mi 
ilir 20th ul' March he fmiuil himself once again 
among the familiar scenes nf his boyhood. After 
his return he practiced medicine fur n time, and 
then turned his attention to the grocery business, 
which In' conducted :i few years, but lie finally look 
up the congenial pursuit of farming, and resided 
mi his farm from 1859 to 1866, when hf again 
came ti> the city to live, anil lias ever since made 
his home here, lie continues In superintend his 
farm, however, and has it under a fine condition as 
to tillage and improvement, it being one of the 
best in those regards in the locality. Mr. Tapketl 
is a man nf much experience, possesses good men- 
tal endowments, is public spirited, and is in no 
ways backward in lending his assistance to all pro- 
jects that will in any way enhance the prosperity 
nf the city and county, with whose interests he has 
been identified for so many years. 

The pleasant wedded life nf Mr. Tacketl with 

Miss Mary .1. Durkee was entered upon in 1853. It 
has been blessed to them by the birth nf children, 
nf whom they have five, as follows: Edward,agen- 
ei'al merchant at Raymond; Mattie. wife nf Will- 
iam R. Glen, of Philadelphia; Archie . I., a resident 
of Raymond; Fannie, the widow nf Andrew Welch, 
nf Shelbyville; and .May. the wife nf ('. M. Aid- 
rich, nf Peoria. 

Mi-. Tackett was born in Tippecanoe County, 
[nd., and is a daughter of David F. and Freelove 
( Kink (Durkee. Her fat her was bom in Vermont, and 
was a smi of Dr. .Inh n Durkee, who was a practicing 
pli\ sician and a pioneer nf Tippecanoe ( mint v. set- 
tling near l.a Fayette, and engaging in his profession 
until his death. Mrs. Tackett's father was bul a 
boy when his parents settled in Indiana, and he 
grew to a stalwart manhood amid its pioneer 
scenes, and in due time wa> there married, lie 
lived in thai Stale until 1848, when he came In 
this county and casl in his destiny with the pio- 
neers who had preceded him. lie houghl a tract 



nf wild land in what is now Pickaway Township, 
developed a good farm, and resided on it a num- 
ber of veal's. He then came to the city to spend his 
remaining years. His wife died at the home nf a 
daughter at Wilmington, Will County, III. They 
reared these six children — George, Celia, John, Ed- 
ward, .lames and Mary -I. 



■>»■>'- --'-v.W- 



t n i i t i l | i 



ACOB BRUNNER, a thorpugh-going and 
honorable German-American citizen and 
practical and successful farmer, resides on 
section 22. Ridge Township, Shelby County. 
His father, George Brunner, was a native nf Baden. 
Germany, and his mother. Christine Klcm. was also 
born in the German's Fatherland. They emigrated 
to America during the summer of 1886, and made 
their first home in West Virginia, settling in Mar- 
shall County. They remained here industriously 
pursuing the vocation of farming for some nine 
years, but removed to Belmont County. Ohio, 
about the year 1845. They were not. however. 
thoroughly satisfied here and returning across the 
river to West Virginia, made their home in Ohio 
County, but finally returned to Hocking County, 
Ohio, where the father died about, the year 1855. 

Our subject is the eldest in a family of ten chil- 
dren born to his worthy parents, being born in 
Baden, Germany, October 20, 1832 and was some 
six years old when he came to make his home in 
the New World. He remained under the parental 
roof until his marriage, although he worked oul in 
j quite an extent at farm labor. The lady whom lie 
i took for his bride is a sister of Mrs. John W. Beery, 
and our reader will find further particulars in re- 
gard to her ancestry in the biographical sketch nf 

Mr. Beery, elsewhere to be found in this volume. 
This lady's name was Miss Elizabeth Swart/., and 
she became Mrs. Brunner. in March. 1858 at her 
native home in Fairfield County. Ohio, where she 
was born, -Inly 22. IK.'i.'i. Here they first made 
their home and returned to ii again after living 
for awhile in Allen County, that State. 

Iii August, 1886, Mr. Brunner brought his family 
to Slielb\ County, and settled on section 22. Ridge 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



455 



Township, where lie now owns eighty-eighl and one- 
half acres of excellent and arable land, and where 
he has made a genuine success of farming, being a 
man who is thoroughly devoted In his family and 
his work and who deserves and receives the esteem 
of all who know him. His integrity is unques- 
tioned and his character bears inspection by the 
most critical and faultfinding. Ten interesting chil- 
dren have come to brighten this home, namely: 
John M.. Rebecca ('.. Barbara !•:.. Ida !■:.. Lottie. 
Christine A.. Mary E., Lucy W., William S.. and 
Minnie ('.. all of whom are living excepl Rebecca, 
who died when aboul four years old. 



1'ollN R. CRAIG, Justice of the Peace of 
Shelbyville, is well and favorably known 
throughout Shelby County, of which he 
VV^g/ has been a resident these many years. A 
native of Campbell County. Ky.. he was born in 
one of its pioneer homes December 11, 1817. His 
father, .lames Craig, was a l'ennsylvanian by birth 
and a son of Robert Craig, a native of Scotland, 
who came to America when a young man and lo- 
cated in Pennsylvania, where he carried on farming. 
lie was married in that State, and subsequently re- 
moved to the wilds of Kentucky, going thither on 
the Ohio River. For a time he Lived in Campbell 

County, and then became an early settler of 1! ie 

County, where he bought a tract of timber, which 
he cleared and developed into a farm, his home- 
stead being located near the village of Burlington, 
and there he spent his declining years. 

The father of our subject was reared in his early 
Kentucky home, and in thai State sought and 
found a wife in the person of Mary Barrickman, 
who was also a native of that part of the country, 
and was a daughter of Jacob Barrickman-, a pio- 
neer of that region. Mr. Craig resided in Camp- 
bell County until 1818 or 1819, and then he too 
became a pioneer of a new State, removing to In- 
diana, and settling in the primeval wilds of Fay- 
ette County on a tract of heavily timbered land 
six miles south of the countj seat. His first work 



was to build a log house to shelter his family, and 
he (lien entered upon tin' hard task before him of 
clearing his land and preparing it for cultivation. 
At thai time timber was of but little value, the 
principal object of the pioneers being to get it out 
of the way. and large logs were rolled together 
and burned, which to-day would command a good 
price in the lumber markets. The country round 
aboul was but thinly inhabited, there were no rail- 
ways, and Cincinnati was the nearest market where 

the settlers could sell their produce and obtain 
needed supplies, though it was I lien hut a small 
city. 

Our subject's father lived in Indiana until 1839, 
when he came to Illinois, bringing with him his 
wife and seven children, the removal being made 

with teams, six horses being attached to a wagon, 
in which the household goods were conveyed, and 
the fainih camped at noon and nightfall to rest 
and cook their meals. Mr. Craig secured a suitable 
location in what is now Ridge Township, where he 
entered Government land, also buying some that 
led been previously entered by another man, and 
he and his family proceeded to occupy the set of 
log buildings thai stood on the place. In that 
home he dwelt until death cut short his busy car- 
eer in 1842, thus depriving the county of a useful 
and respected pioneer, who was doing his share in 
developing it- agriculture. His wife, who sur- 
vived him a number of years, also died on the 
home farm. 

The subject of this biography was very young 
when his parents w cut to Indiana to live, and then' 
under the invigorating influences of pioneer life 
he grew to a strong, self-reliant manhood. In 1K41 
he came to Shelby County and cast in his lot with 
the settlers of this region that had preceded him. 
They were few in numbers, and the eounln was 
still such as the Indians had left it. the land being 
mostly owned by the Government, and since sold 
at $1.25 an acre, or less. Our subject made 
his home on his parent-' farm remaining with 
his mother until his marriage, after which 
event he continued to occupy a pari of the 
old homestead until IS 17. In that year he went 
to [owa,goiug thither with a team, and became an 
earh settler of Davis County, Locating in Bloom- 



156 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



field, where lie bought a residence, and was engaged 
as a clerk for several years. In 1848 he returned 
to Shelby County and devoted himself to farming 
until he was elected to the position of Deputy 
Sheriff in 1870, when he removed to Shelbyville to 
assume the duties of his office, of which he was an 
incumbent six years. He was then elected to his 
present office of Justice of the Peace. During the 
several years that he has held this important posi- 
tion he has shown himself to be well qualified for 
it. and has given satisfaction to all concerned, as 
he is wise, shrewd and fair-minded. In his social 
relations he is a member in high standing of Okaw 
Lodge, No. 117. [.O.O. V. 

Mr. Craig was first married in 1 842 to Miss Eliza- 
beth Boulton, a native of Indiana. Their wedded 
life was brought to a close in L84 I by the death of 
the young wife. She left two children, James and 
Mary J. The second marriage of our subject, 
which took place in Iowa in 1850, was with Miss 
Sarah Hill, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of 
Jesse Mill. This lady passed from earth August 
13, 1891. Six children blessed their union. name- 
ly: Mary, Allie. John. Kate and Addie twins, and 

l.illie. 



^€>*^S^ 



r ^ i I1IKI.DS II. SANNER. Among the most 
^ active and progressive of the skillful tann- 
ers and stock-raisers who are conducting 
the ureal agricultural interests of this 
county is Shields H. Sanner, a residenl of Penn 
Township, and it gives us pleasure to represent 
him in this volume, dedicated to the citizens of 
this section of Illinois. A son of one of the eaily 
settlers of Madison County, our subject *vas horn 
in that region October 16, 1*17. His father, whose 
given name was Samuel, was born in Northumber- 
land County, Pa. lie learned the hade of saddle 
and harness maker in early life and pursued it in 
his native stale some ~i\ years before he took that 
important step in his life whereby he became a 
pioneer of Illinois in 1833. He was for many 
vears after that closely identified with the interests 
of Madison County and was of much assistance in 



its upbuilding, at the same time acquiring a hand- 
some competence. He came with his family 
to this county in L866 and his remaining years 
were spent in Venn Township, his death occurring 
there at a venerable age in 1880. His wife, the 
mother of our subject, was Barbara Paul in her 
maiden days and she was a native of Preston 
County. \Y. Va., which at the time of her birth 
formed a part of Virginia. 

lie of whom we write was the tenth in order of 
birth of the twelve children that blessed the union 
of his parents, lie laid the foundation of his 
education in the school in Madison County nearest 
his early home, which he only attended in winter 
after he was large enough to assist his father in 
the farm work. After gaining a good knowledge 
of the common branches he entered Blackburn 
University at Carlinville and remained there a 
short time. lie was nineteen years old when his 
parents came to this county from his native county 
anil began making a new home in Penn Town- 
ship, which then formed a part of Pickaway Town- 
ship and was mostly in a wild condition, with hut 
few habitations within its borders. < >ur subject 
and his brothers have been prominent factors in 
bringing about the great change that makes this a 
well-improved township, with many valuable farms 
and pleasant homes, where they found a wilderness. 

Mr. Sanner lived with his parents until he mar- 
ried and he then located on section 21. Penn 
Township, and carried on farming for himself on 
that place the ensuing three years. His next 
move was to Bethany, Moultrie County, where he 
and his brother-in-law established a store for the 
sale of hardware and agricultural implements. He 
remained in business at that point with Mr. Frazier 
until -la nuary. 1878, a period of three years, and then 
resumed farming, locating at that time on his pres- 
ent farm on section '22. Penn Township. He has 
placed upon it many substantial improvements and 
thus greatly added to its value since it came into his 
pOSsissiOIl, making il one of the choice, well-ordered 
farms of this locality, and from its rich, well-tilled 
harvest fields he gleans a good yearly income. 

Our subject was first married January 1. L872,to 
M isv Lucretia I!.. daughter of A. B.Frazier, then a resi- 
denl of Penn Township. A happy wedded life of 




B. T. WEBB 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



159 



six years was vouchsafed to them and then deatb 
removed the wife, May 29, I « 7 ■*"> . Four children 
were born of that union, namely: Paul Simpson, 
Frances Estelle, Margaret Grace and Louis Ross, 
the latter of whom died in infancy. February 1 I, 
1879, Mr. Sanner was united in marriage to his 
present estimable wife. Mrs. Sanner. whose maiden 
name was Cornelia .1. Green,is a native of Licking 
County. Ohio, and a daughter of Joseph Green. 
Her father was horn in New Jersey and went from 
there to Pennsylvania. When he was twenty-one 
years of age lie settled ill Ohio and was there mar- 
ried to Electy Clutter. Mrs. Sanner's mother, who 
was a native of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Green died 
in Ohio and Mr. Green in Pickaway Township, 
this county, whither he hail removed in L867, his 
death occurring in December, l«7(i. By this mar- 
riage Mr. Sanner had one daughter, l.ina II. 

Inheriting from a sterling ancestry principles of 
justice, truth and right-living, our subject's life- 
record is that of a true gentleman, who is faithful 
in all the relations that he sustains toward others. 
Religiously he is of the Melhodisl faith and i- a 
member of the church of that denomination, lie 
is an earnest thinker on all the questions that con- 
front the citizens of this great Republic, and in 
his political views is one of the most ardent 
champions of the Republican parly in all IVnn 
Township, which is one of the few Strongholds of 
the party in Shelby County. 



*^^l 



\mmmm 



^ :• 



\ ERRY T. WEBB, we are pieaseci to pre- 
sent to the consideration of our readers, the 




We are pleased to 



■ portrait and biographical sketch of the effi- 
S — eient School Director and Road Commis- 
sioner of Richland Township, Shelby County. An 
old settler in the county and a substantial farmer, 
he has gained the well merited approval of his 
neighbors as a worthy Christian gentleman and a 
citizen whose good judgment and practical g"ood 
sense made him useful in the community. He 
resides on section l.'i. Richland Township, ami has 
been in Shelby County since 1840. 

John and Elizabeth (Young) Webb, the honored 



and beloved parents of our subject, were horn in 
Tennessee, the former near Nashville in 17'.»L'. at a 
time previous to the organization of Nashville as a 
town, lie was born in a block house in which the 
family were shielding themselves from the Indians. 
lie and bis worthy wife were united in marriage in 

Tennessee, and came to Illinois in 1840, settling 
upon what is now known as section 13, Richland 
Township, in the days before such organization 
was effected. Here they passed their remaining 

years, being thoroughly interested in reducing the 
wilderness to a farm of thrift, comfort ami pro- 
ductiveness. The father died in tile seventy-eighth 
year of his age, and the mother when she was about 
sixty years old. 

The parents of our subjeel reared nine children, 
of whom one daughter died at the age of twelve 
years, and eighl reached man's and woman's es- 
tate. Louisa married Madison Crockett and died 
in Shelby County: George died in Mississippi; 
.Mary married Thomas Blythe, and after his death 
became the wife of Jesse Barker, and now resides 
in Shelby County; Nancy is the wife of Alfred 
Blythe; Lucretia became Mrs. II. Morgan and died 
in .Missouri. Our subject is the next in aye; Will- 
iam died in Dickinson County, Iowa; and Susan 
Ann became the wife of William Brady, and died 
in this county. 

The birthplace of Berry T. Webb was in Tennes- 
see, his natal day being April 8, 1825. It was in 
February. 1840, that he came to Illinois, where lie 
iiad two sisters already living, and the remainder 
of the family emigrated to this State during the 

fall of the same year. The Mexican War Called 
our subject from the pursuits of peace tothc activ- 
ities of the march and battlefield, and in June, 
1846, he entered the L'nited States service as a 
soldier serving through the Mexican War. and re- 
turning home in March. 1847. As part of his 
reward for service he received a land warrant and 
with this he entered one hundred and sixty acres 
of land where he now n sides. 

In October, 1848, the returned soldier began 

his domestic life by his marriage to Maria Ann 

Curry, who was horn in Tennessee, March 15, 
1826. Since marriage, the family home has been 
upon the same farm, to which Mr. Webb hasadded 



t60 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



by purchase from time to time, until he now owns 
four hundred and twenty acres of as fine land :is 
is to be found within the limits of Shelby County. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Webb three children have been 
granted, all of whom are residents of this county, 
namely: John W., Louisa E., and Martha E., who 
i- now the wife of Lafayette Stirwalt. Democratic 
simplicity, in the belief and practice of which Mr. 
Webb was brought up, and which he earnestly be- 
lieves to be the true doctrine upon which to base 
the life of the country, still commands his adher- 
ence and his vote. He has been a member of the 
Separate Baptist Chinch since the spring of L848, 
at which time an organization waseffected near his 
home, and his life both in his church connection 
anil in business circle- has from that day to this 
adorned the doctrine in which he believes. The 
influence of his family in the community is one 
which is conducive of good to all who come 
within the circle of its radiance. 



__j.5..j..j.*; 



IVORY J. MARTIN. The power of the press 
is a trite hut a forcible subject, for it is one of 
those themes which is constantly re-inforcing 
itself by provinganew everyday its reality. Throw 

out of account the influence which is exerted by 
the newspapers of Illinois the destinies of the 

Prairie state would he largely affected by such elim- 
ination. The sketches which we have been called 
upon to give of the newspapers and editors of 
Moultrie County present matters which are of in- 
terest to everyone. 

The Sullivan Progress has been from the first 

a success and it now occupies first rank with the 
best papers in this part of the State and has a well- 
equipped office for job w 01 k a ud all kinds of print- 
ing. It was originally issued in 1857 under the 
caption of the Express, hut was soon changed in 

title to the name which il now bears. Mr. Martin 

has been its editor and manager since 1885 and 
added to those duties its proprietorship in l xs?. 
Il i- now a seven-column six-page paper with a 
good circulation and i- issued weekly. Mr. Martin. 

who came to Sullivan, Moultrie County, in 1883, 



on account of having been appointed Deputy 
County Clerk by Mr. Charles shuman. took charge 
of this paper after the expiration of his term of 
office, and has now taken Mr. Shuman as his part- 
ma- in the management of the business. This was 
his first newspaper work hut he proved himself no 
amateur in the business. 

Mr. Martin was horn in Whitley Township, 
Moultrie County. November 7, 1859, and was 
there reared upon his father's farm and received 
his education at Lee's Academy at l.oxa. Coles 
County. For seven years he taught in Coles and 
Moultrie Counties, having taken his position at 
the teacher's desk before reaching the age of sev- i 
enteen, obtaining his academic course during the 
same years that he devotecr*to teaching, lie came 
of a family that has resided in the county for many 
years, as they settled here in the '30s. The father. 
John N. Martin, was horn in Coles County, this 
State, and was only five years old when the family 
removed to what is now Moultrie County. IK' is 
still carrying on the farm in Whitley Township 
and is the son of John Martin, a native of Ken- 
tucky, a grandson of .lames Martin, a Virginian, 
and a great-grandson of John Martin who mi- 
grated to Kentucky about the year 1777. during 
the Revolutionary War. The family was there 
in the days of Daniel Boone and had to make their 
home in a fort for self protection. 

The first John's son .lames was very v Igwhen 

the family came to Kentucky and he grew up near 
the Kentucky River anil there married, and reared 
his family. At a very early day he came with his 
household to Coles County. 111., anil later made 
his home near Bruce, Moultrie County, where he 
died in 1865, at the very venerable age of nine- 
ty-one years, having buried his wife some twenty 
vears before. For generations the family religion 
was of the old-school Baptist denomination and 
their politics of the Democratic order. 

John Mai tin. the second grandfather of Our sub- 
ject, was a young man when his parents came to 
Illinois and he here reached his majority and mar- 
ried a Miss Ncalv. Her father was known far and 
wide a- an Indian fighter on the frontier and was 
an original character in the early pioneer days. In 
his later l"ears John Martin removed to Whitley 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



III! 



Township, Moultrie County :in<l built a mill there 
John N. Martin, the father of our subject, is one 
of a family of four sons and three daughters who 
are all living. lie grew to manhood in Whitley 
Township and was married in Coles County to 
Miss Rachel Martin, who as well as her husband, is 
now living, having reached nearly three-score years 
of age. Of their children who are now living our 
subject is the oldest, the others being .l<>i'l K.. who 
is studying law under the Hon. John R. Eden, of 
Sullivan, and Nancy K.. who is yet al home with 
her parents. Our subject was married in Sullivan 
in 1886 to Miss Rose Eden, daughter of the Hon. 
John R. Eden, of whom nunc can be learned in 
the sketch of\that gentleman which appears in this 
volume. 

The subject of our sketch lias ever taken an ac- 
tive part in local polities since before the became 
of age, but he is no office'seeker. His paper is 
Democratic as are also his own political views. He 
is a man who is capable of a vast amount of hard 
work and he is exceedingly skillful in the man- 
agement of his business. His wife was reared in 
Sullivan and is a graduate of the Georgetown 
Convent in the District of Columbia. She is an 
earnest member Of the Christian Church and is the 
mother of three children — Olive, Eden and Nealy. 






AMES S. TRAVIS came to this county in the 
vigor of early manhood more than thirty 
years ago, and shortly afterward bought an 
unattractive piece of wild prairie land in 
Penn Township. He bent his whole energies to 
the pioneer task of improving it. and to-day has 
a well-developed farm, finely cultivated, amply 
supplied with substantial buildings, and compar- 
ing in every point with the best in the neighbor- 
hood. 

Franklin Township, Huntingdon County, Pa., is 
the birthplace of our suhject. and August 2*. 1834, 
the date of his birth. He conies of one of the old 
Colonial families of the Keystone Stale, and is a 
son of .lames Travis. Esq., who was a native of 
the same county as himself. His father was also St 



native of Pennsylvania, while the great-grand- 
father of our subject was born in Wales, lie came 
to this country before the Revolution, and settled 
among the pioneers of Pennsylvania. The grand- 
father of our subject was an early settler of Hun- 
tingdon County, where he bought a tract of land 
in the primeval forests and cleared a farm from 
the surrounding wilderness, which he made his 
home until his mortal career was closed in death. 
He married Elizabeth Grey, who was likewise a 
Pennsylvanian by birth, and she also died on the 
old farm in her native State. Both were members 
of the Presbyterian Church, and the old grand- 
father was a Whig ill politics. 

The father of our subject was an only child, and 
on the old homestead that he inherited his whole 
life was passed, and then death found him Febru- 
ary 7. 1851. He married Nancy Thompson, a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania, and a daughter of George 
and Isabella (Gardner) Thompson. She survived 
him many years, dying al last at a venerable age 
on the old farm in 1*72. Both were faithful mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church, and the father 
was a stanch supporter of the Whig party. 
lie was a prominent man in his community, 
and for several years served as Justice of the 
Peace. 

James Travis, of this biographical review, was 
one of seven children, and he was reared under 
wholesome home influences in his native place, 
and was educated in the local schools. In his 
nineteenth year he became an apprentice to .1. W. 
Jones, a carpenter, of Tyrone City. Blair County, 
Pa., and he was with him three years. During 
that time he acquired a thorough knowledge of 
carpentering, and at the end of thai timedid jour- 
ney work three year-. Then, in 1859, he came to 
Shelby County from his native Slate, and in I860 
invested in a tract of unimproved prairie in Penn 
Township, lie has transformed ii from a wilder- 
ness I" a highly cultivated farm, which is an 
attractive home, with its neat buildings and with 
the fruit, shade and ornamental trees planted by his 
own hand that adorn the place. 

.Mr. Travis has been aided in tin making of his 
home by a wife who is a true helpmate in every 
sense of the word. Their married life began in 



1(12 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



L858, and in the years that followed children were 
born to them, of whom they Lave six living, as 
follows' Adda, wife of Isaac Osborne; Nancy E., 
wife of Hiram Ilannnel; Emma L.; Clyde E., Lyda 
and Carrie E. Their sun William II. is dead. 
The family is highly thought of in the community, 
and Mr. Travis and four of the children are mem- 
bers Of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Travis is a 
native of the same Pennsylvania township as her 
husband. Her maiden name was Catherine E. 
(rain, and she is a daughter of Henry and Eliza 
train. 



^P^ 









"7| XDERSON HUNTER. Men of wealth 
and public-spirit have abundant oppor- 
i 1 tunities for advancing the social and in- 
dustrial as well as material prosperity of 
the section of country where they make their home. 
To do this requires a broad vision and a willing- 
ness to think of the general good as well asof their 
own individual progress, yet it does not require 
self-sacrifice in I he long rim. as the prosperity of 
the community in general enhances the welfare of 
each man in particular, and the man of means who 
takes a wise interest in his neighborhood will 
thereby advance his own prosperity. Such a man 
we find in Anderson Hunter, who resides on section 
X, Ridge Township. Shelby County. 

John Hunter the father of our subject was born 
in Fairfield County, Ohio, and his wife Elizabeth 
Turner was a native of the same state. They came 
from that county to this state and made their home 
in Shelby County, about the year 1n.">k. Their 
lirsl settlement was in the country in RidgeTown- 
ghip, but they lived there only a .-holt time and 

then removed to Shelbyville, where they com- 
pleted their earthly pilgrimage. They were the 
honored and venerated parents of a goodly family 
of seven sons and three daughters. 

The fifth child in this family was Anderson who 
was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, March 6, 1834. 
In that section he was given his education in the 
common schools and a thorough training in farm 
duties and there he grew lo manhood and resided 



until he was about twenty-three year- old. when he 
came to Shelby County. He returned, however to 
his native home to bring back as his wife the girl 
he "had left behind him." Miss Sarah A. Allen, 
daughter of George and Nancy (Carlisle) Allen, 
became the wife of Anderson Hunter. January 27, 
1857. Her parents were natives of the Buckeye 
State where the father died and the mother after- 
ward removed to this State settling in Ridge 
Township, Shelby County, where she now resides. 

Mrs. Sarah Hunter was born in Fairfield County. 
Ohio, August 13, 1837, and there she made her 
home throughout her childhood and maidenhood. 
After her marriage with our subject, she became 
the mother of a numerous progeny, twelve in num- 
ber, four of whom died in childhood and infancy. 
Those who remained to cheer the heart of their 
mother by their affection and lo become worthy 
members of society are: George who married Ida 
Weakly; Robert who took to wife Sophronia 
Longenbough; Harold was united in marriage with 
Ellen Yantis; Ida. is now Mrs. William Yantis: 
Preston married Mattie Eversole; Delmer, Lorin 
and Eva. The beloved and revered mother of this 
household, passed away from life in Ridge Town- 
ship April 21. 1887. She was a woman of beauti- 
ful Christian character and a devout and consistent 
member of the Presbyterian Church. 

The second marriage of Mr. Hunter took place 
in Hillsboro, 111., uniting him with Miss Lucia Jones, 
a capable and efficient home-maker and a woman 
of great loveliness of character. Mr. Hunter while 
living in Ohio, carried on for nine years the busi- 
ness of carriage-making, but on account of ill 

health he was obliged to relinquish his trade and 
has found in farming an avocation more suited to 
the maintenance of health. He has a magnificent 

far f twelve hundred and eleven broad acres, 

located in the townships of Ridge and Pickaway 
and upon them lie has creeled an attractive home. 
good barns and a good set of outhouses. 

The community in which Mr. Hunter appreciates 
highly his excellent qualities, good judgment and 
earnest desire for its prosperity ami has instructed 
iii him the duties of School Directorand Highway 
Commissioner, lie is a Prohibitionist in his polit- 
ical views and an active and earnest worker in 



PORTRAIT AM) l',I( )( iRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



163 



every way for the causes of religion and morality. 
Ik- has been for fifteen years an Elder in the Pres- 
byterian Church, in which he is a great worker 
and where his wife joins liim in efforts for the up- 
building of Christianity. In their beautiful home 
they extend a hospitality to their friends which is 
both generous and gracious, thus making it one of 
the most delightful social centers of Ridge Town 
ship. 



\ 




fclLLIAM REIGHLEY. This venerable and 



highly-esteemed citizen of Moweaqua owns 
and occupies a large and valuable farm, 
finely located, a part of it in the village and the 
remainder near by. Our subject was born ten 
miles east of Lewistown, Mifflin County. Pa., No- 
vember -2-2. 1810. His father. Matthew Reighley, 
was horn on the Irish coast, at a point where it 
approaches nearest Scotland, and he was of Scotch 
blood. During some period of his life he emi- 
grated to this country and was engaged at his 
occupation as a farmer in Mifflin County, when 
his death occurred iu October, 1814. He married 
after coming to the United States, Susan Close, a 
native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of Adam 
Close, becoming' his wife. She survived her hus- 
band many years and finally died in Adams 
County. Ohio, in 18.">2. She was the mother of 
eight children. 

lie of whom this sketch is written was in his 
fourth year when his father died and he was reared 
by his mother on the old farm that was his birth- 
place, and he remained with her until he was 
twenty-one. lie then rented land in his native 
county and farmed it until October, 1839, when 
he removed to Ohio, going there by canal and 
rail to Johnstown, thence by canal In the Ohio 
River, on which he proceeded to Wheeling, where 
he took a Stage for Adams County. Ohio, lie 
bought a tract of improved land and gave his at- 
tention to its cultivation as long as he remained a 
resident of the Buckeye State, which was until 1852. 
Ill that year he came to Illinois, making the re- 



moval with a pair of horses and a carriage, lie 
located at Chena Orovc. McLean County, where he 
bought a section of [and, having entered it from 
the Government on a previous visit, said land in- 
cluding the present site of the village of Belle 
Flower. 

Mr. Reighley lived in McLean County five years 
and then, renting his land, took up his residence in 
Ford County, buying property near Paxton. 
Three years later he removed to Drummond's 
( irove, near Gibson City, and remained there until 
187-1. when he came to Shelby County and invested 
in four hundred and forty-five acres of land, lo- 
cated as previously mentioned, in and adjoining 
the village of Moweaqua, where he has ever since 
made his home. He has here a line piece of prop- 
erty, substantially improved, and its possession 
places him among our most solid citizens. 

Fifty-one years ago. March 21, 18 11). our subject 
celebrated his wedding with Miss Rachel Bailey, 
who has been to him a loving and faithful wife 
during all these long years that they have shared 
life's joys and sorrows. Children have come to 
them, of whom these three have been spared to 
comfort their declining years: James Quincy, Will- 
iam Selkirk and John Wilson. Their only daugh- 
ter, Susan Mary, was born July 12. 1844, grew to 
womanhood, married Wallace P. Zook, and died in 
1875. Mr. ami Mrs. Reighley are sincere Christians, 
holding membership in the United Brethren Church, 
and have all endeavored to be true to their relig- 
ious obligations, including their duties as parents, 
neighbors and friends. 

Mrs. Reighley was born amid the pioneer Scenes 
of Adams County, Ohio, July 18. 1820. Her fa- 
ther. Eben Bailey, was a native of Kentucky and 
was a son of one Joel Bailey, who was born and 
reared in England. He came to this country when 
a young man and was married on his arrival here 
to .Miss Rachel Perkins, who was born in Ireland 
and was of English ancestry, They removed from 
Maryland to Virginia and thence to Kentucky, in 
the early years of its settlement. Mr. Bailey was 
opposed to slavery, so he crossed the Ohio River 
into the Northwestern Territory and settled on the 
present site of Cincinnati, where he bought a tract 
of timber land that is now included within the 



16 i 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



city limits. Later lie disposed of thai and removed 
to Adams County, of which he became a promi- 
nent pioneer. IK bought a large tract of forest- 
covered land, platted the village of Winchester and 
built the first house there. It was made of hewn 
logs and in it lie opened the first store in the town- 
ship. At that time his dwelling was < me mile from 
there. He was a resident of that place until his 
death and hi- enterprise helped to advance its 

growth. His wife also died there. 

Mrs. Reighley's father was reared on his father's 
farm in Ohio and always gave his attention to farm 
ing. In l.s.Vi he became a resident of Fountain 
• 'ounty. Ind.. where he bought a farm, upon which he 
dwelt until his demise in 1859, at a ripe'age. lie was 
married in 1818 to Rhoda Prather Odell, a native 
of Kentucky and a daughter of Thomas and Grace 
(Austin) Odell. Mr. and Mrs. Bailey reareda fam- 
ily of nine children. Mrs. Reighley's mother was 
an expert in the art of weaving and spinning and 
she taught her daughter those useful accomplish- 
ments and in her early married life Mrs. Reighley 
manufactured all the cloth used by her family with 
her o\\ n deft hands. 



4^> 



4&> 



<& » II.l.l AM VVHITWORTH, who. a- a saga- 
\ / ciOUS, skillful farmer, has helped to make 
V V Shelby County a rich, well-developed agri- 
cultural center, has at the same time acquired a 

valuable property, and not only owns a fine farm 
within the corporate limits of the city of Mowea- 
qua, lull has here a handsome, w ell-appointed resi- 
dence, in which he is living in retirement from 
active business, lie is a native of Perry County, 
Ind.. born Max 25, 1838, a -on of Abraham Whit- 
worth, who was born in Virginia in 1807. The 

father of the latter, also named Abraham, was like- 
wise a native of Virginia, and was the son of an 
Englishman, who came to this country and settled 
in the Old Dominion in Colonial times, spending 

the remainder of his life there. 

The grandfather ol our subject went from In- 
native state to Tennessee with his family in 1811, 
and after a two years' sojourn in the wilderness in 



that stale, he proceeded Northward into Brecken- 
ridge County, Ky., where hi' in time cleared a farm 
from the timber, and there closed his earthly pil- 
grimage. He married Nancy Board, who was horn 
in Virginia and died in Kentucky. 

The father of our subject was scarcely more than 
a babe when his parents took up their abode in 
Kentucky, and he crew to a vigorous manhood 
under the influences of the rough pioneer life of 
those days. When he became a young man he too 
became a pioneer, selecting the more newly settled 
Stale of Indiana as the scene of his operation-, 
and he there took unto himself a wife. Miss Martha 
Gregory uniting her life with his. She was also a 
native of Virginia, and was a daughter of Peter 
and Mary (Dobson) Gregory, natives of Virginia, 
the latter a daughter of William ( >. Dobson, al-o a 
Virginian. After marriage, Mr. Whitworth, who 
had formerly been a pilot on a Qatboat that plied 
on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, commencing 
life at boating when quite young, turned his atten- 
tion to farming. In 1801 he came to Illinois, and 
settled on a tract of land that he bought in Mo- 
weaqua Town-hip. located four miles east of tin' 
\ illage, where he resided until his life was rounded 
out in death in July, 1 864. His wife survived him 
until the following year, and then she too passed 
away, dj'ing in the mouth of December. She was 
the mother of eight children that were reared to 
mat urily. 

The early life of our subject was passed amid the 
scenes of his birth. He came to Shelby County ill 
1858, and he began his career here by working out 
by the day or month. Prudently saving his earn- 
ings, in 1864 he invested in eighty acres of good 
farming land four and one-half miles northwest of 
the village of Moweaqua, and later added to it 
forty acres more. He resided on that place several 
years, devoting his energies to its improvement, and 
when he left it in 1886 to take up his abode in the 
City he hail placed it under a high state of cultiva- 
tion, and had made of il a well-ordered farm. lie 
came lo Moweaqua in the year mentioned, bought 
property, and in 1890 creeled his present commo- 
dious residence, which is buill after plans drawn 
by himself and wife, i- very conveniently arranged 

and is an ornament to thecitv. He also has a line 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL IiKCORD. 



[65 



farm advantageously Located within the limits of 
this municipality, which contains sixty-four acres 
of well-tilled hind, and is amply supplied with 
buildings and eveiything needful for its successful 
cultivation. 

Mr. Whitworth has been twice married. In lKiil 
he was wedded to Mis> Sarah Lamb, a native of 
Hi eh la nd County, 111. Their brief but happy union 
was closed bj ber death in 1864. she left two 
children, Clara and Alice. Clara married William 
Landrain, and has two children. Alice married 
.lames Chance, anil has four children. The present 
estimable wife of Our subject, to whom he was uni- 
ted in marriage in L866, was formerly Miss Isabella 
Doyle, she is a native of Macoupin County, this 
stale, and a daughter of E. M. Doyle, who is rep- 
resented in this work. 

Mr. Whitworth, as we have seen, has become one 
of the prosperous citizens of this county through 
the exercise of good mental anil physical endow- 
ments, lie i- a gentleman of sound principles and 
blameless life, who is justly held in high consider- 
ation by his neighbors and associates, and in him 
the Baptist Church has a conscientious, right-living 
member, his wife also belonging to that church, 
and identifying herself with its besl efforts to ele- 
vate the moral status of the community. A- a 
loyal and true-hearted cil izen should, our subject in- 
terests himself in politics, anil is a stanch adherent 
of the Republican party. 






X 



\ ./ 




N 



jILI.IAM J. HUFF, M.D., of Prairie Home, 
i- a graduate of the Medical Department 
of the Michigan state University, at Ann 
Arbor, one of the leading institutions of learning 
in the country, and in t he practice of his profession 
he has acquired a tine reputation as a skillful and 

successful physician. He was born in Perry County, 
[nd., July 10, L846, and comes of the old pioneer 

stock of that Slate. 

William Huff, the father of our subject, was born 
in Spencer County. End., and was a son of Aquilla 
Huff, who was born near Harrodsburg, Ky.. his 



parents, who were Virginians, being among the 
early settlers of that region. 

The grandfather of our subject was reared in the 

wilds of Kentucky, anil subsequently became an 
early pioneer of Indiana when it was a territory. 

locating in spencer County, where he took up a 
trad Of Government land, which he converted into 
a good farm, on which hespenl his remaining days. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Mary RawlingS, 
and who was likewise a native of Kentucky, also 
passed her last years on that Spencer County farm. 
where she had helped her husband to build up a 
home. 

Dr. Huff's father was born in Spencer County, 

[nd., where he now lives. He was bred to the life 

of a farmer, ami always followed agricultural pur- 
suits until his retirement from active business. Ib- 
is still living on his farm one mile from Troy. 

Perry County, [nd., where he enjoys the g 1 will 

ami roped of I he community where so man \ years 
of his life have been passed. In early manhood he 
found a true helpmate and wife in the person of 
Margaret Davis, who was born in Kentucky, but 

Was reared in Indiana in one of its pioneer homes. 
They reared three children — loseph G., William .1. 
and Henderson M. Joseph G. wasa member of the 
Tenth Indiana Cavalry during the war. and give 
up his life for his country while in the service. 

Our subject early displayed an ambition to 
obtain a good education. and after passing his boy- 
hood in study in the public schools of Perry and 
Spencer Counties, and gaining a thorough knowl- 
edge of the common branches, at the age of seven- 
teen he began leaching, and thereby earned the 
wherewithal to pursue his Studies in the State I'lii- 

versity at 111 oington. In 1868 the young stu- 

deiit was complimented by election to the office of 
County Surveyor of spencer County. and he served 
satisfactorily four years, lie began the study of 
medicine with Dr. G. P. Adge, of Newton ville, and 
later placed himself under the instruction of E. M. 
Anderson, of New Boston. In 1878 he entered 
the Medical Department of the state University at 
Ann Arbor, and wa> graduated from there in the 
Class of '80. Thus well-equipped for his chosen 

calling he entered upon its practical duties at SL 
Meinrad. Spencer County, where he remained a 



166 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



year. He then came to Illinois, and for a, year and 
a half practiced al Macon. His next location was 
:it Dalton, from which place he came to Prairie 
Home a year later, andeversince Ins been in prac- 
tice here, and is recognized as one of our best 
physicians. 

The Doctor's marriage with Miss Emma K. 
Avery, a native of Perry County, Ind.. was cele- 
brated August 15, 1*82. They have two children 
living, James Karl and Catherine .Maud. The 
Doctor and his amiable wife are among the most 
valued members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and they are among our most agreeable society 

people. 



♦^ME 



WA 



? 



1M^ 



"71 NDREW .1. FOLTZ. Each life has its 

v . -/ I romance, its comedy and tragedy, but 
/// J. 1 most of us hide these more viv id colors of 
Qy our lives under a veil of reserve, and 

peering through it the casual observer can find 
Only hints and vague outlines of what is beneath. 
Could every man be his own historian and deal 
with himself honestly and frankly, biographies 
would be more interesting. That, however, is not 
always possible nor would it he in all cases advis- 
able, therefore we must lay down the facts as we 
know them and read between the lines as our 
sympathies and knowledge of human nature shall 
dictate. 

The subject of our sketch is a resident upon the 
farm that is located on section 12. in Rural Town- 
ship. Since 1849, he lias been a resident in Shelby 
County, and during thai time has been engaged in 
the work of planting and reaping, a noble work, in 
that, without the products which the farmer gives 

us. we COUld not support life. Mr. FoltZ was born 

in Union County, I'a. March 2. 1845. He is a son 
of Joseph and Mary Foltz also natives of Penn- 
sylvania. The family emigrated to Shelby County 
this state, in 1849 and tirst Mailed in the southern 
part of this county, entering some Govemmeni 
land, bui they soon removed to Rose Township, 
settling on Robinson (reek. In \s:>~i they again 
made a change, going to Knox County, .Mo. and 



here they resided until 1K(>2. when they returned 
l" Shelby County and passed their remaining years 
in Rose Township. The father died December I. 
In7!t. being at the time about sixty-eight years of 
age. The mother is still living and resides with a 
daughter in Knox County. Mo. 

Our subject is one of nine children born to his 
parents. Of these, eight lived to lie grown. Their 
names are Arden W. Lilah. .loseph 1 1.. Sarah. John, 
our subject. Andrew J. Thomas J. and Jerome. 
The eldest son lives in the southwestern part of 
Missouri, as does also his sister Lilah, who is the 
wife of Lorenzo Jarvis. Joseph II. resides in 
.Minneapolis. Minn. Sarah is the wife of Samuel 
Jarvis, and lives in Northwestern Kansas. John 
makes his home in Southwestern Kansas and 
Thomas .1. is a farmer in Western Kansas. Jerome 
died in Knox County, Mo. Our subject was 
reared a farmer and in his perigrinations with his 
family through the different States, he learned 
much of the methods employed in different por- 
tions of the country in agriculture, and also of 
the nature and requirements of the soil. 

When Andrew Foltz reached his teens, he was 
employed by the month in work as a farm hand. 
In 1KI17 lie was united in marriage to a lady who 
bore the historic name of Reed, belonging to a 
family of old and high Standing in Kentucky, and 
previously in Virginia. Emily Reed is the daugh- 
ter of William Reed anil was born in Kentucky. 
(let. .'!. islli. Mr. and Mrs. Foltz are the par- 
ents of the following children, most of whom have 
reached years of maturity. The eldest is a daugh- 
ter whose name is Minerva. She is the wife of 
Frank Beckett. The other children in name and 
in order of birth are as follows; Andrew ( 'amp- 
bell. William B., Laura; Genetta died in infancy; 
Albert II. and Effle. 

( )u his marriage our subject felt the importance 
of making a home of his own and he secured a 
farm in Tower I lill Township which he has culti- 
vatcd assiduously. Some ten years ago, the gentle- 
man purchased his present farm which comprises 
one hundred and sixty acres. It is tine land well 
located and watered, and bears good improvements. 
Politically our subject affiliates with the Democratic 
party although he is rather inclined to be inde- 



.:/. ! 






: 



j ' - - e .'■ & 

i ' - *- 

x Z ■ 




H . C. CARPE NTER. 



SARAH CARPENTER. 



PORTRAIT AND 15 K )( Hi A1MIK A L RECORD. 



171 



pendent in hi* vote, giving hi* influence not al- 
ways to the man of party if he thinks some other 
man i> better fitted to till the office in question. 
For some time, he has filled the position of School 
Director. He is a member in good standing, of 
the Church of God, and the Golden Rule, to do 
unto others as yon would that they should do 
unto you. is the precept that guides him in his 
relations, both business and social, with his fellow- 
men. The father of Mrs. Foltz died June 15, 
1891,-al the venerable age of ninety-one years. 



4 



&^= 



ENRY C. CARPENTER, who is highly es- 
\ teemed and respected throughout the com- 
*,S munity where he lives, is an intelligent and 
progressive citizen who gives much thought 
to the questions Of the day. lie makes his home 
on section 18, Ridge Township. Shelby County. 
His father was Israel Carpenter. wilO was horn in 
Lancaster, Pa., and his mother, Susan Hess, was 
probably hom in Pennsylvania of German parent- 
age, as was also the father. The father died when 
about fifty-two years old. the mother at the age of 
ninety-one years. 

The parents of our subject came to Shelby 
County. 111., from Delaware County, Ohio, about 
IH.'iT. and settled in Shelby ville. where they resided 
for a few months. Later they removed to a point 
north of Shelbyville near the fair grounds and 
then made their home in ( (kaw Township, where 
the father passed from earth. His widow died at 
the residence of our subject in Ridge Township 

some years later. They had eleven children, of 
whom our subject is the fifth in order of age. 

Henry C. Carpenter was horn in Delaware 
County. Ohio, October 1. 1825, and hence was 
about twelve years old when he came to Shclbv 

County. 111., with his parents. Here he grew to 
manhood and sjx nt most of his early life with the 
exception of four years which he passed in Sanga- 
mon County. He was reared upon the farm and 
has made agricultural pursuits his chief business in 

life. 

The marriage of Mr. Carpenter iii Ridge Town- 



ship, September 30, 1852, brought him as a wife 
Miss Sarah Downs, daughter of Electiousand .Mary 
Ann (Stiffler) Downs. For particulars iii regard 
to the history of this prominent family the reader 
is referred to the life sketch Of J. II. Downs which 
appears on another page of this volume. Mrs. Car- 
penter was the fourth in a family of eight children, 
and first saw the light December 28, 1831, in 
Washington County. Md. she came to Shelby 
County, III., with her parents in 1845, and here 
grew to a beautiful and vigorous young woman- 
hood in Ridge Tow nship. 

Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter arc the parents of nine 
children namely: George \\ '.. who married Mary 
E. McDonald and died at the age of twenty-two; 
Elections who look to wife Clara Worthman; 
Willie who passed away in infancy; James \\ .. who 
married Sarah M. Jones; Sarah Ann the wife of ( ). 
J. Engle; John Alonzo who look to wife Ida 
Brunei" Ira AV.; Mary Ellen, who died in infancy, 
and Nora J. ( )ur subject filled efficiently and sat- 
isfactorily the office of Supervisor of Ridge Town- 
ship for two terms, and has also been Road Over- 
seer and School Director. He formerly took an 
active part in political affairs but is independent in 
his party affiliations. He is liberal in his religious 

views and interested in all progressive ideas. IIi> 
splendid tract of the hundred and seventeen acres, 
most of which is located in Ridge Township bears 

every sign of the hand of a thorough, systematic 
and industrious farm manager. 

The attention of the reader is invited to the 
lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, 
which arc- presented elsewhere in this volume. 



•^•f-^-v 



NDREW J. STEIDLEV.a well-known resi- 
dent of Moweacpia. Shelby County, is of 
Southern birth and ancestry, and is also a 
representative of one of the pioneer fami- 
lies of Illinois, lie was born in Frederick County. 
Va.. December 23, 1829, and is a son of Solomon 
Steidley. who was born in Frederick County. Mil.. 

August 21. L789. I lis father was about fifteen 




472 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



years old when his parents removed to Frederick 
County, Va., where he was reared to agricultural 
pursuits, and there lie was married October 25, 
1811, to Rachel Barr, who was born in New Jer- 
sey, November 28, 17'.».'S. Her father, James Barr, 
was a Revolutionary soldier, and was with Wash- 
ington at '.'alley Forge. 

The parents of our subjeel Iefl their Virginia 
home in October, 1834, to seek a new one in the 
wilds of Macoupin County, this State, the journey 
being made with teams, a pari of the household 

g Is being taken to furnish their pioneer aliude. 

At length, after traveling Ave weeks, they came i<> 
what is now Barr Township, which at thai time 
was literally in the wilderness, where deer, bears, 
and other wild animals roamed at will. and the sur- 
rounding country had bu1 few white inhabitants. 
The nearest post-office tor some time was fifteen 
miles distant from their dwelling. Postage stamps 
were not then in use. and it cost twenty-live cents 
for each letter. The father of our subject bought 
forty acres of land a mile south of the present site 
of Barr 's Store. There was a log cabin on Hie 
place, and the land was fenced and partly im- 
proved. Alton was the nearest market, where the 
people purchased their sugar,salt and coffee, which 
were the principal supplies boughl at the stores, as 
the settlers were mostly home-livers, subsisting on 
what they could produce on their farms, and on 
game. The women carded, spun and wove flax 
.and wool for all the cloth used for garments or 

other purposes. Mr. Steidley was prospered ill his 

new home, as he was a man of untiring diligence, 
and he boughl other land until he owned four 
hundred and eighty acres at the time of his de- 
mise. all lying in Barr Township. His life wascut 
off by his death November 18, 1848, while yet in 
the midst of hi- usefulness, and his county was de- 
prived of the servile- of one of its most indus- 
trious and worthy pioneers. His wife survived 
him until Augusl 11. I860, when she breathed her 
la-t in the old home. She reared these seven chil- 
dren: .lame- B., Betsy A., Frederick, John S., Mar- 

garel II.. Mary < '. and Andrew .1. 

Our subjeel was in his lifth year when hi- par- 
ents brought him to Illinois. He attended the 
pioneer -choo]- of Barr Township, which were 



taught on the subscription plan, in primitive log 
houses, that were rudely furnished with seats made 
by splitting small logs, hewing one side smooth, 
and using wooden pins for legs, the seat- being 
without desk- or hacks. Mr. Steidley commenced 
. to assist in the farm work as soon as large enough, 
and lived with his mother until his marriage, af- 
fording her great assistance in managing the farm, 
lie taught one term of school before his marriage, 
later taught two terms in Barr Township, and then 
gave his attention to the mercantile business at 
Greenfield two years. He next went to farming 
near Fayette, Greene County, and was thus em- 
ployed there a year and a half. After that Macon 
County was his destination, and he sojourned 
there the summer of 1K.">7. Returning to Fayette. 
he remained there two years, and then went back 
to his old home. Barr Township, and the succeeding 
two years farmed there, except in the winter sea- 
son, when he resumed his old vocation of teacher. 
In the fall of 1862, we find him once more in Fay- 
ette, where he had charge of a school two terms. 
In the spring of 1864 he came to Moweaqua to 
accept a position as clerk for II. F. Day. and was 
with him for four years. Smith & Keiser. deal- 
ers in lumber and agricultural implements, were 
his next employers in that capacity, and he staid 
with them two years. Since then he has been en- 
gaged in various branches of business. 

In 1885 Mr. Steidley took a new departure, and 
entered upon the printers' trade in the office of his 
son in Maroa. He then commenced at the foun- 
dation of the editor's profession by learning to 
set type. He remained in the office at Maroa until 
1,X!S,X, when he came hack to Moweaipia. and for 
fourteen months was a clerk in a drug store. At 
the expiration of that time he commenced setting 
type in the office of the Call-Mail with his son. 
and has continued thus engaged ever since. lie is 
a man of versatile genius. of much culture, possess- 
ing an interesting fund of general knowledge, and 
wherever known is respected. Politically he is a 
sound Democrat. His social relations are with the 
Ma-onic fraternity. 

Our subjeel was married in lx.">2 to Miss Nancy 
K. Jayne, who was a native of Greene County. III.. 
born .lulv :i 1 . 1836. She was a most estimable 



PORTRAIT AND UK >< HIAI'IIK AL RECORD. 



173 



lady, and her death, February 26, 1881, was a sad 
bereavement to her family and many friends, she 
Irt't four children — Edgar C, Thomas J., Emily R. 
and Wilmer A. Mrs. Steidley was a daughter of 
Thomas and Emily (Renshaw) Jayne, aatives re- 
spectively df Kentucky and Tennessee, and 
early settlers of Greene County, 111. Her father 
was a prominent attorney, and at one time was in 
partnership with Senator John M. Palmer, al Car- 
linville. 111. 



TT BRAM GALLAGHER. The township of 
Holland, being practically unbroken by 
large towns and villages. gives line oppor- 
tunities for the cultivation of extensive 
farms and among them we are pleased to make 
mention of the property belonging to the gentle- 
man whose name we have just mentioned. He is 
notable as being the Supervisor of the township 
and at the same time is one of the most prominent 
and extensive farmers of Shelby County. 

Our subject was born in Fairfield Comity. Ohio. 
April 7. 1839, being a son of Jacob and Sarah 
(Middlesworth) Gallagher. The grandfather of 
our subject on his father's side was born in the 
green Isle of Erin. and when he emigrated to this 
country made his home in Pennsylvania and later 
removed to Ohio. The father of our subjed was 
born in Ohio and came to Shelby County in 1839, 
making his home first in Shelby ville Township and 
afterward in Holland Township, where he passed 
the remainder of his days. 

The parents of our subject hail ten children, all 
of whom attained their majority and are named 
as follows: Abram; William, who died in Shelby 
County: Henry, who resides in Holland Township; 
Elizabeth, who married first Adam Deel and after- 
ward Murray Locke and died in Holland Town- 
ship; Eliza, who became Mrs. John Burke and 
resides in Holland Township; Charlotte, who mar- 
ried W. 15. Lantz and lives in the same township: 
Mary C who became Mis. William Ragan, of 
Shelly ville; Martha, who married Silas Ragan and 
died in Holland Township: Douglas, who also 



resides in that township; Newton, who lives in 
i In- same vicinity. 

Abram Gallagher received his earl} training in 
the district schools and upon the farm and grew 
to a vigorous and useful young manhood. On 
May '.». 1865, he was united in marriage with Sarah 
Ewing, a daughter of Thomas Ewing and a native 
of Fairfield County. Ohio, where -In- was bereaved 
of her parents and was thus an orphan when she 
made her way to the State of Illinois. After mar- 
riage this young couple made their home where 

they now reside, possessing at that time some two 
hundred acres of land which they have now in- 
creased I'V purchase to four hundred acres. Here 

Mr. Gallagher is engaged quite largely in stock- 

raisinu, in which line he is successful. 

Two children came to Mess the home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Gallagher. They are still living and bear 
the names of Minnie and Clement. The early 
political training of Mr. Gallagher led him to 
affiliate with the Democratic party, but he is now 
independent in his views and casts his vote where 
he believes that it. will do the mosl good for the 
community. His freedom from party ties does 
not. however, deprive him of the political support 
of his neighbors and he is now serving his second 
term a- Supervisor of Holland Township, and for- 
merly held the offices of Town-hip Clerk, Road 
Commissioner. School Director and school Trustee. 
In religious matters he i> a believer in the doctrines 
which are set forth in the I nitarian Church, 



^fF 



s- -\ HARLES E. WOODWARD, proprietor of 
the C. E. Woodward Roller Flour Mill, is a 
well-known and honored citizen of Shelby- 
ville, Shelby County, with whose manufacturing 

interests he has been connected several years, and 
he has also been prominent in its public and social 
life. He was born June 12, 1815, on a farm eight 
miles from Bordentown, Monmouth ( ounty, N. J. 
His father, whose name was Nimrod Woodward, was 
a native of the same State, and was a son of IScii- 
jamin Woodward, who is also supposed to have 
been bom in New Jersey, and to have been a dc- 



171 



PORTRAIT AND RIOGR A.PIIICAL RECORD. 



»f 



scendanl of one of tin- early English families 
thai Commonwealth. He was a merchant and a 
miller at Imlaystown, Monmouth County, and 
his lasl years were spent there. 

The fatlier of our subject was a farmer by Occu- 
pation, and he had a choice farm located on (ream 
Ridge, Monmouth County, and there he tranquilly 
passed a long and useful life, dying in I870,atthe 
venerable age of eighty-two years. The maiden 
name of his wife was Catherine Emley, and she was 
a native of Burlington County, N. .1. She died in 
the home of her son, Clarkson, at Hightstown, N. 
.1. She was the mother of nine children, — 
Ferdinand, Charles E., Clarkson. Elizabeth, Mary 
A.. Reading and Emily (twins). Benjamin and 
Nimrod. The parents were pious and respected 
members of the Society of Friends, and reared their 
children in the same faith. 

He of whom we write laid the foundation of a 
solid education in the public schools of his native 
county, and subsequently attended the Quaker 
Academy in Philadelphia, where he pursued an 
excellent course of study, whereby he was fitted 
for the profession of teaching, and at the age of 
twenty lie entered upon its duties in his native 
State. New Jersey. In 1837 he accepted a position as 
teacher at College Hill, near Cincinnati. Ohio, 
which he resigned a year later to become assi>hini 
teacher at Cary's Academy, and two of President 

Harrison's cousins were ai g his pupils. He 

taught in that school a year, and at Vinccnnes, 
[nd., a like length of time, and in the winter of 
1840-41 he came to Shelby County, making the 
journey with an ox-team, bringing with him his 
wife and household goods. He located eight miles 

from the village of Shelbyville on a tract of land 
which he had purchased, a few acres of which were 
broken, taking up his abode in the log cabin that 

stood on the place. In the spring he entered upon 
the pioneer task of developing his farm, hut he 

did not wholly abandon his profession, as the two 
succeeding winters he taught in Shelbyville in a 
log building that had been used as a residene, 

there being at that time no schoolhouse in the vil- 
lage- 
After his two terms' experience as a pioneer 
teacher in thisconntv. .Mr. Woodward devoted his 



time exclusively to the improvement of his farm 

until 1848, when he came to Shelby ville. and suc- 
ceeded John Tachett as proprietor of the only- 
hotel of which the village then boasted. The fol- 
lowing year he bought a building, converted it 
into a hotel, which he managed one year. He then 
disposed of his farm and established himself in the 
dry-goods business at which he was engaged until 
he sold out at a good profit in 1859. 

In 1861 Mr. Woodward wasappointed Postmaster 
b\ President Lincoln and had charge of the post- 
oflice at Shelbyville until August 1862, when 
Gov. Yates appointed him Quartermaster of the 
Seventy-ninth Illinois Regiment. He served in 
that capacity very efficiently until the close of the 
war and was mustered out with his regiment June 
12. 1865. Returning home he resumed his duties 
as Postmaster which office he retained until relieved 
by President Johnson. After that he was employed 
as bookkeeper in a dry-goods house until 1868 
when he accepted a similar position in the Hour 
mill of C. C. Scovil. That gentleman dyinga year 
later, our subject was appointed executor of his 
estate, and with J. P. Davis and J. W. Ward bought 
the mill now known as the C. E. Woodward Roller 
Mill of which he has been sole proprietor since 
1862. He carries on an extensive business, manu- 
facturing an unexcelled brand of Hour. The mill 
occupies twO commodious brick buildings, each 
three stories in height, with a basement, and furn- 
ished entirely with first-class modern machinery, 
thi' capacity of the mill being one hundred and 
twenty-five barrels of Hour a day and two hundred 
barrels of corn-meal. 

That our subject has been successful in life is no 
doubt partly due to the fact that he possesses one 
of man 's choicest blessings, a good wife, whom he 
secured in the person of Elizabeth Armstrong, a 
native of Knox < iounty, [nd., to whom he was uni- 
ted in marriage in 1838. Thus for more than half 
a century they have shared the joys and sorrows 
common to mortals, and children have been born 
to them of whom they have six living, as follows. — 
Charles S., Belle, Nimrod. Emily, Letton and 
( larcnce 1.. 

During these many years that our subject has been 
.•i resident of Shelbyville his citizenship has been 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



I?:. 



invaluable to the community, as through his posi- 
tion as one of its enterprising business men lie has 
aided in promoting its growth and prosperity, his 
public spirit and liberality have helped to forward 
all schemes to the advancement of itsbesl interests, 

and he has rendered g 1 service in the important 

civic positions that lie has held. He has been Pres- 
ident of the Citv Council, and for twelve years lie 
was President of the Board of Education, and to 
his zeal and interest in educational matters while 
occupying that office Shelbyville is greatly in- 
debted to-day for the efficiency of its schools. Mr. 
Woodward is prominent in the social life of the 
city as a member of the following organizations: 
.lack-on Lodge, No. .■>•'!. A. I'. & A. M.; Jackson 
Chapter. No. 55, R, A. M.; and of Cyrus Hall Tost. 
No. 138, G. A. l!..of which he is Past Commander. 
As a true citizen should, he has always taken an 
interest in politics, and in early life was a Whig, 
hut since the formation of the Republican party, 
he has been one of its stanchest supporters both 
in times of war and in times of peace. 






< » ILLIAM W lKKY. The name noted is that 

\ / of the owner and proprietor of one the 
vV |i| U . farm- located on section 25, of Tower 
Hill Township. During the seventy-nine year- 
thai he has lived great changes have taken place 
in the calling to which he has always devoted him- 
self. Greece COuld boast of her temples and stat- 
ues. Rome of her law- and law-makers, but it re- 
mains for America to beat the world at Yankee 
inventions that area labor saving of incalculable 
degree to the agriculturist. Whereas in his boy- 
hood days our subject planted ami hoed the corn 
by hand, and cradled ami gathered the grain in 
tin' same manner, now the owner of a thousand 
acres can sit on the carriage -cat of his hinder. 
arrayed in a white polished shirt and patent leather 
hoot- and a line suit of clothes made to order, and 
can accomplish as much in a day a- was formerly 
accomplished in a month. 

All his life Mr. W'ircy has been engaged in the 

energetic and industrious pursuit ot hiscalling, hut 



he has now retired from active Labor and is enjoy- 
ing the fruits of hi- early efforts. He is of Penn- 
sylvania parentage and is proud of the fact that he 
is thoroughly American. Our subject's father was 
John W'ircy. who wa- probably horn in Pennsyl- 
vania, as was his mother, whose maiden name was 
Elizabeth Spidle. After marriage thej fn>t settled 
in franklin County. Pa., and afterward removed 
In Westmoreland County, in the same State, there 
the father died. Left with the can' of a family, 
the mother determined to seels easier conditions 
under which to make a living, and removed from 
the hilly country where she had lived in Pennsyl- 
vania, to the more fertile region in Richland 
( ounty, Ohio. Later, however, she with her chil- 
dren came to Shelby County, this state, and in 
1839 located on Robinson Creek, in Rose Town- 
ship. There the family lived and labored together 
for si\ years at the end of which lime they removed 
to Tower Hill 'Township, ami there the mother 
died, after a life spent in self-sacrifice and loving 
devotion to her family. Her decease took place on 
section 34, and she was interred with all respect 
and honor in God's acre of the township. Our 
subject's parents wen- not exactly in the fashion 
for pioneer days, for instead of having a family 
the number of whose children was counted in the 

teens, OnT) four little ones came to he the mother's 
comfort and stay in her time of tribulation and 
bereavement. 'Their name- are Catherine. Polly. 
William and John. Of these our subject was the 
third in order of birth, being the eldest son. He 
was horn in Franklin County. Pa., September \'l. 
1812, during that troubled period when it was de- 
cisively settled whoshould have supremacy in this 
country. IK' was reared in thevillage until he was 

fifteen years of age after which time he went to 
live with a man by the name of John Kinneard. of 
his native place, and he remained with him until 
of age when In- went to Ohio, and from 1833 to 
1839 inclusive, he made his home in Richland 
(ounty. of that State. At the latter named date 
he came to Shelby County, in this stale, and with 
his mother and family resided on Robinson Creek. 
Rose Township, untilaboul 1845, when he came to 
'Tower Hill Township, of which place he has ever 
since been a residen t. 



iti; 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Mr. Wircy. :>> has before been said, has always 
been engaged in the calling of agriculture. For- 
merly lie was the owner of two hundred acres of as 
fine land as there is in Tower Hill Township, and 
the greater portion of his life was spent in improv- 
ing this tract and making of il n farm that is a 
model in its way. This he sold when well advanced 
in years and n- w lives retired from the active 
duties of life. Our suhject ha- filled several local 
offices in the gift of the township, and has heen 
Assessor of Tower Hill Township for one year. In 
his political preferences he is a Democrat. 



o 



VIM'S WKAKLY. A young and prog- 
ressive man who has already attained a flat- 
J tering degree of success and whose friends 
predict for him a brilliant future, is he whose name 
is written at the head of this sketch. He is a far- 
mer and stock-raiser, operating two hundred and 
forty acres, located on section 17, Pickaway Town- 
ship. At this place he settled in December, 1887. 
Not yet having reached his third decade, he has al- 
ready accumulated a handsome property that many 
an older man has striven and labored iii vain for 

year.- to acquire. lie is one of the most thrifty 
men of the township where he has lived since his 
fourth year. He was horn in Ridge Township, this 

county. April 19, 1866. 

Since his fourth year our suhject has lived in 

Pickaway Township, where he acquired a g I 

COinmon-SChOol education that fitted him for the 

practical business of life, and since becoming of age 
he ha- heen engaged in farming on his father-in- 
law's land. lie is the -on of Aha P. and Mary 
A. (Miller) Weakly, natives of Ohio and III- 
iuoi- respectively. Our subject's father came with 
hi- parents. Samuel aid Maria (Fetters) Weakly. 
to tin- state and county at an early day. They 
became pioneers in Ridge Township, this county, 
ami there .Samuel Weakly became the owner of a 
large tract of new land, which he improved, lie 

lived to Own. Sis hundred acres of land, nearly all 

of which was well improved, and when he died in 
1890, at the age of seventv-five, he was in more 



than comfortable financial circumstances. He 

was twice married. His first wife died in the 
prime of life. .January 10, 1862. He was an 
active member of the United Brethren Church 
and Mr. Weakly helped to organize the church in 
this county and at various times held most of the 
church offices, lie was School Superintendent for 
years, a puhlic-spirited man and a liberal giver. 
Formerly he was a Republican in his political 
views, hut in his last years became an adherent of 
the Greenback party, and finally of the Prohibi- 
tionists. His last wife, whose maiden name was 
Rachael A. Schafer, and who had formerly been mar- 
ried to a Mr. Petty, yet survives him. She is now 
fifty years of age. She bore Mr. Weakly one 
child, who i- now deceased. The father of our 
subject. Alva P. Weakly was the second of four 
sons and six daughters. All are now married and 
have families with the exception of one. 

Alva P. Weakly became of age in Ridge Town- 
ship, and there married his wife, whose maiden 
name was Mary A. Miller, a native of that town- 
ship and a daughter of ('. P. Miller, an old settler 
there. For a further history of C. P. Miller's life 
refer to sketch of W. C. Miller, found in another 
part of this volume. After marriage the young 
couple began life as farmers in Ridge Township 
and there two children were horn to them. They 
then moved into Pickaway Township and now 
have a fine and well-improved farm of three hun- 
dred and sixty-live acres, which has heen their 
home since lKTi). This fine place is the tangible 
result of years of industry, prudence and thrift. 
In their church relations they are prominent mem- 
bers of the United Brethren Church, of which Mr. 
Weakly is a Trustee. For years hi' was Superin 
ten den 1 of the Sunday-school and Class-Leader. 
Politically he is a Republican and has held various 
local offices under his party. lie is now Justice of 
the Peace. 

Our subject is the eldest of the family born to 
hi- parents, seven children in all. of whom there 
are five sons and two daughters. lie of whom we 
write was married in this township May I. IHK7, 
to MiSS Clara A. Moll. She was horn here on the 
old Moll homestead, January 8, 1867, and was here 
reared and educated at "Westlield Seminary. She 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is the daughter of Daniel Moll, of whom a sketch 
may be found in another part of this volume. 

Mrs. Weakly is an accomplished and attractive 
lady, she and her husband are very popular 
among the young married people and their home 
is a delightful meeting-place for the gaiety and so- 
cial life of the community. Their marriage has 
been blessed by the birth of adaughter,on the Kith 
of April. 1888. She is a bright girl and is the de- 
light of her parents. The young husband ami wife 
me members of the Locust Grove United Brethren 
Church and there do efficient work. Mr. Weakly 
is a Republican in his political preference. 






Ne#3=€- 



\J 



\Ai 



>II.I.IAM 11. FAGEN, the gentleman whose 
name is at tin- head of this sketch, is the 

vV editor and proprietor of the Stewardson 
Clipper, and is a man of recognized intellectual 
and literary ability, besides having a keen busi- 
ness instinct and tact, that have done much to 
build up a reputation for his organ in the town. 
Mr. Fagen is versatile in his turn of mind, having 
been engaged successfully in several different kinds 
of business. He is of Irish ancestry and is noted 
among his confreres for the wit and geniality com- 
mon to the Irish race. 

The original of this sketch was born in Shelby 
County, near the count \ seat, April 21. 1861. He 
is a son of Michael and Margaret (Sherlock) I'm 
gen. both natives of Ireland, who came to the 
United States in early life, meeting and marrying 
in Shelby County. He of whom we write was 
born on a farm but was reared in Shelbyville, 
where he received his education. When about 
seventeen he entered the office of the shelbyville 
Democrat, tilling the humble position of office boy, 
or what is commonly known in the printing fra- 
ternity, as ••printers' devil." He remained in this 
otliee for six years during which time he was ad- 
vanced to the position of foreman of the otliee. 
He then engaged in a restaurant and grocery busi- 
ness at Shelbyville. Later he went to Cowden 
where he clerked in a store. In 1**7. he came to 
Stewardson and founded the (Upper, a five col- 



umn quarto sheet, published weekly, and devoted 
to the interests, both social and commercial, of 

Stewardson and vicinity. The paper is neutral in 

politics. 

Our subject's mother died at Shelbyville, Oc- 
tober 2, L888. The father still resides at Shelby- 
ville. The family was composed of five children, 
who are Mary, John, Andrew, and Michael, besides 
our subject. Mary is now the wife of David 
Burkhart. They are all residents of Shelby County. 

Mr. Fagen has eschewed the estate of a benedict. 

never having married., therefore his biographical 
sketch is not so lengthy as IS that of many of our 
subjects whose careers :i re eh ron iclcd ill this ReCOHD, 

because their history is largely that of thedomestic 
life. Doubtless he of whom we write has had his 
romance, few. if any there arc. who have lived past 
years of maturity, who have not. The original of 
our sketch is a Roman Catholic in his religious be- 
lief and training, being a devout niemberand gen- 
erous supporter of the same. For one year he held 

the position a- Marshal of the village of Steward- 
son. :i nd discharged the duties of the position to the 
satisfaction of all concerned. 



■■*•■;:■■&■■«■•— *- 



• •UN I!. MARTIN, proprietor of the Fast 
Nelson Tile Works, which are located On 
section 21. was bom in Sussex County, 
England, August 26, 1854. When only 
eleven year- old he left his native home and came 
to America, reaching New York in 1866, and at 
once coming on to the Prairie State, locating tem- 
porarily in Griggsville, Pike (ounty. and then en- 
tering a brickyard at Pana, this State, lie had had 
some experience in this line of work before leav- 
ing England, and has continued in it since coming 
to this country. 

In the Spring of 1872, Mr. Martin came to Moul- 
trie County and with his father establishing his 
brick works, began the manufacture of tile late in 
the spring of 1876, and since that season has given 
his attention chicih to that department of the bus- 
iness, lie has also engaged in agricultural pur- 



178 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



-nils, as he operates about three hundred acres of 
land besides giving the necessary attention to his 
tilf works. Ilr manufactures large quantities of 
tile ami finds his market mar home in Moultrie 
and Coles Counties. He has a thorough under- 
standing of the necessities of his work and keeps 
everything in the first-class condition, being a 
thorough business man and one who allows noth- 
ing to go bj default. 

The marriage of oxir subject, which took place in 
Hast Nelson Township, December 11, 1878, united 
him with .Miss Maggie J. Stewart, who was born 
near Philadelphia, November 5, 1!->(>o. To her 
have been granted live children who are as fol- 
lows: George 1'.. Sarah <■.. Ilattie C, Fanny E. 
and .Matilda M. All have been spared to their pa- 
rent-- with the exception of Fanny, who died at 
the tender age of three years ami eight months. 

The father of our subject, the late John S. Mar- 
tin, was horn in Mavfield. Sussex. England, and 
his mother. Fanny .1. Yidlcr. was a native of the same 
shire. They came to America in 1866, and it was 
the father who established the brick and tile works 
which are now operated by the subject of our 
sketch. His death, which occurred in October, 
1880, was very distressing in its circumstances, as 
ii was caused li\ his being caught in the cogwheels 

of a tile machine, lie had but two children lolin 

R. and Samuel and the latter is now deceased. 




It IIAFI. SNYDER, .It:., a resident of 
Moweaqua, though not now actively en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits, is identi- 
fied with the great farming interests of 
this county as the proprietor of a well improved 
farm, located in I'lat Branch Township, from the 
rental of which he derives a com fortalile income. 

Ih' is a native-bora citi/.en of this State, the oldest 

s if .Michael and Margaret (Kant/.) Schneider, 

who were among tin early pioneers of Sangamon 

County, ami there in their primitive pioneer home 

he first -aw the light of day October 23, 1884. 

\\ hen lie was two year- old. hi- parent- removed 
to ' liri-lian ( ounU. anil settled near the line be- 



tween the county and this close to the present site 

of the village of Moweaqua, which, like the sur- 
rounding country at that lime, was still wild land 
owned by the Government. He attended the first 
schools ever taught in this section, which was con- 
ducted in a log hou-e. and provided with furniture 
of the most primitive sort, fashioned by hand, the 
seats being made by splitting logs, hewing one 
side smooth, and inserting wooden pins for lei;-, 
there being no desks or hacks to the seats. A log 
was taken out the entire length of the building, 
and glass was inserted in the aperture thus made 
to admit the light. Holes were bored in the log 
underneath the window, pins were inserted, and 
a hoard laid on them served as a desk for the 
larger scholars to write upon. In those early days 
of the settlement of the county, dec]-, wolve- and 
wild turkeys were plentiful, and game often fur- 
nished an agreeable addition to the scanty fare of 
the pioneers. 

Mr. Snyder was reared to habits of industry, and 
commenced vvvy early to help on the farm, thus 
acquiring a thorough knowledge of agriculture 
that wa- of ureal use to him when he entered upon 
hi- independent career as a farmer, lie lived with 
his parent- until he married and established a home 
of his own on a farm that belonged to his father 
that was situated six miles east of Taylorville. 
Seven years later he removed from there to As- 
sumption, where he was assistant in a lumber yard 
for I wo years. At the end of that time he came 
to Moweaqua, lived a while in the city, and then 
settled on his farm in Flat Branch Township. In 
the years that ensued, he busied himself in its im- 
provement, and had brought it to a good condi- 
tion when he rented it in IHHl. and retired to 
Moweaqua. The farm is still in his possession, and 
contain- two hundred and eighty acres of fertile 
land, the greater portion of which is well improved 
and is well supplied with necessary buildings and 
machinery . 

Mr. Snyder was first married in 1857 to Miss 
Frances Malone, a native of Indiana, and a daugh- 
ter of William Malone. She departed this life in 
1867, after a happy wedded life of ten years, leav- 
ing one child. Albert Mr. Snyder was again 
married in 1871, taking as his wife Miss Ellen 




W. F. LOGAN 






PORTRAIT AM) BIOCRAPIIK AL RECORD. 



I. si 



Annette Deflfenbacher, a native of Decatur, III.. 
mimI a daughter of Seibold and Mary .1. Deflfen- 
bacher. Her pleasant union with our subject has 
brought them these four daughters: — Margaret, Mm 
.1.. Lucy !•'.. and Evelina. 

Politically, Mr. Snyder is a Republican, lie has 
always taken an interest in educational matters- 
and has been active in securing to the youth of Ins 
township good advantages as to schooling while 
serving as School Director and Trustee, and he has 
always shown himself willing to advance the wel- 
fare of the community in whatsoever direction he 
could. 






^8f 




A/ 



»ILLIAM F. LOGAN, one of the promin- 
ent business men of Marrowbone Town- 

y ■* ship. Moultrie County, lias extensive con- 
nections in Sullivan. Dalton City. Etna, Greenup, 
Mount Zion. Coles and Ileivey City, in all of which 
he deals in farm machinery andalso.at sonic points. 
buys and sells grain. 1 le has been a resident of the 
county since flJ76 and is a native of the adjoining 
county of Shelby where he first saw the light .lime 
2 1. 1. s.V.i. 

William R. and Susan (Martin) Logan, the par- 
ents of our subject were born in Kentucky, and 
Benjamin F. Logan, the grandfather, was one of 
the Mist settlers in Shelby County, where he was a 
Justice of the l'eaee from the time the county was 

organized until he became t >hl toofHciate. He 

was a descendant of the same stock from which 
Gen. John A. Logan sprang, and the family is 
justly proud of the patriotic record of that distin- 
guished kinsman. 

William R. Logan was married in Shelby County 
and lived there through the remainder of his life, 
working at his trade as a carpenter. His excellent 
wife also remained there until her death. Two 
only of their family of live grew to manhood. 
namely, our subject and John A., who is now a 
clerk in a wholesale house in Sedalia, Mo. The 
death of the parents occurred while thej were -till 
in the prime of life, and William was Only about 
three years old when he was left a phan. An 



uncle, G. W. Logan, cared lor the child until In' 
reached the age of twelve years when he determined 

to --paddle his own canoe" and work his way up 
stream no matter what obstacles were in his way. 
(■oing with his uncle F. A. Logan to Sedalia, Mo.. 
he worked on a farm for three years, after which 
he returned to Windsor, and served a- a farm hand 
through the summer, attending school in the 
winter, and completing his education in a -elect 
school at Bethany. After this he taught school 
for two years and then began work on a farm 
which he hail rented. 

It was in August, 1**7. that Mr. Logan first en- 
gaged in tin- implement business at Bethany and 
finding the outlook favorable he gradually in- 
creased his stock until it has reached its presenl 
magnitude. I. ike many another successful man he 
began business with very little money, being 

Obliged to Use hollowed capital, but he is. in the 

common parlance of the day a "hustler", always 
busy and attending strictly to business to the 
management of which he seems to he peculiarly 

well adapted. lie is never neglectful of the in- 
terests of a customer nor willing to he idle if there 
is an opportunity for effort. 

The subject of this sketch has been twice united 
iii the bonds of marriage. In 1881 he took to wile 
1!. Eva Ciowder, a daughter of David M. Crowdei - . 

She was horn in .Moultrie CoiinH in 1861 and 
after a brief married life she passed from earth in 
April. 1890, leaving her husband and three beauti- 
ful children — Bessie, Daisy, and David — to mourn 
her loss. The second marriage of our subject took 
place January 1. 1891 ami he was then united 
with Lennie Meyer, a native of Moultrie County 
and a daughter of Henry Meyer. 

Mr. Logan is a Republican in his political views, 
hut not in an\ sense a politician, yet he is always 
sufficiently interested in political movements and 
thoroughly conscientious in regard to casting his 
hallot according to what he believes to he the right. 

In religious matters he has been for a long while 

connected with the Cumberland Presbyterian 

Church where he and his wife an' active in the 
various work- of the church. lie e.'ives employ- 
ment to a force Of from fifteen to twenty men at 

Bethany, as he ha- a multifarious business com- 



482 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



prising no1 only his implement warehouse, but also 
a harness simp and carriage salesroom. Besides 
this he is engaged in drilling wells and erecting 
wind mills. lit' has several men also at his other 
points of business. 

A portrait of Mr. Logan accompanies this sketch. 



-mi 






F.V.JASPER LEWIS DOUTHIT. Here we 
have another of those "high-minded men" 
who constitute the veal strength of a State. 
A native prophet, sure to have had his share 
of the usual buffetings, a zealous missionary in the 
home held, one early inured to poverty and toil, 
who has never faltered in the onward, upward 
course, never flinched from his task of battling for 
the right, without his name no list of the worthies 
of Southern Illinois would lie complete. As a 
'■Unitarian Oberlin," his story has been briefly 
told in a small pamphlet published in Boston, from 
whose pages mainly have been gathered the fol- 
lowing facts: 

Jasper L., son of Andrew E. and .Mary Ann 
(Jordan) Douthit, was horn in Shelby County, 
about four miles east of Shelbyville, October 10, 
1834. His great-grandfather, Evan Douthit. a 
"Hard-shell" Baptist minister, of Welsh-Scotch an- 
cestry, emigrated with hisfamily from North Caro- 
lina to Tennessee, and thence, about 1830, to this 
county, where he was a pioneer settler and preacher. 
Tw ■ three years later, accompanied by a num- 
ber of his descendants, like the patriarch of old. 
he again journeyed in search of a new home, find- 
ing at length a permanent abiding place in that 
pari of Mexico which is now Texas. There con- 
tinuing his pulpit Labors even when so old and 
feeble thai he musl needs be supported by a man 
Standing on each side of him as he spoke, he lived 
to be more than eighty years old. His wife long 
surviving him attained the remarkable age of one 
hundred and fifteen years. 

Andrew E., grandson of the above named, and 
son of John I), and Elizabeth ( Ellis) Douthit. both 
members of the •■Hard-shell" Baptisl Church, was 
born in Tennessee. lie came with his father and 



grandfather to Shelby County. III. Tin' Douthits 
entered Government land and also bought a trait 
of Francis Jordan, an early pioneer of Shelby 
County. Members of the Douthit and .Jordan 
families in Texas took part in the war which se- 
cured the independence of that State. 

The mother of our subject was a daughter of 
Francis Jordan. She was born at a fort in Frank- 
lin County built for protection against the Indians. 
Early left motherless, busied with housework, and 
living in the backwoods where educational advan- 
tages were of the slightest, she nevertheless taught 
herself to read and write. A woman frail of body, 
but of strong conviction, being accustomed to 
think for herself, she did not hesitate to denounce 
the evils of slavery and intemperance at a time 
when the popular opinion of the neighborhood 
was decidedly on the other side of these great 

questions. Her religious views, as they were grad- 
ually developed, growing with her growth, and as 
silently, were of the liberal Christian type, and 
were such as enabled her with cheerful courage 
and a beautiful devotion to duty, to perform the 
labors and endure the trials of a life of constant 
loil and care. 

With the exception of a short stay in Texas, his 
father and grandfather having been induced to 
join their kindred in that State iii 1843, remaining 
however through one cotton harvest, the youth of 
our subject was passed in active labors on the 
home farm in this county, with but scant oppor- 
tunity for schooling or even for home study. The 
family Bible was his firsl reading book. Other 
well conned volumes were Robinson ( 'rusoe. Life 
of David Crockett, Weem's Life of Marion, and 

t rl'imshaw'S History of the I ' ni ted State-. I le early 

set hisheart on becoming a minister of the gospel. 
Such was his thirst Cor learning, and the inability 
or unwillingness of his father to indulge him in 

this direction, that lie left home and let himself to 
work as a day laborer with the shovel on the Illi- 
nois Central Railway to earn money to defray his 
expenses a1 a boarding-school. Two joyful years 
were now spent by him at Shelby Seminary, where 
he paid his way partly by teaching, partly by 
building (ires, sweeping and other work. Uniting 
with tin' Methodist Church, though without en- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



483 



dorsing all the articles of faith. he was offered a Christian ministry June 22, 1862, Revs. Robed 



license to preach. This he declined. Next en- 
rolled as a student at Wabash College, Crawfords- 
ville. hid., he continued living on frugal fare and 
doing janitor's work until he fell sick and was 
forced to u<> home. 

A brief business experience in a book and drug 
store, culminating in a failure with the financial 
flurry of ixf>7. marriage in the meantime with 
Miss Emily Lovell, of East Abington, Mass.. and a 
period of school teaching for both, were what the 
next few years brought t<> his life. 

In l,s.">K came a new departure. Mr. Douthit 
felt that he must go forth to seek a wider field of 
action; he was led to seek a position in the Boston 
office of Fowler it Wells, famous phrenologists and 
publishers, lie was soon employed as a lecturer 
on phrenology and hygiene. Traveling in this 
capacity in Massachusetts, he met many Abolition- 
ists but failed to make the acquaintance of any 
Unitarians. The anti-slavery sermons and ad- 
dresses of .lames Freeman Clark and Theodore 
Parker were read 1>\ him with exceeding interest. 

The following year found our subject again in 
Illinois living with his family on a farm in Shelby 
County. His lirst vote for President had been 
cast in 1856 for .fames Buchanan. In the winter 
of lXfil he became associate editor of the Shelby 
Freeman, the first paper in this pari of tin' state 
to stand for •• Free soil, free labor and free speech." 
Accepting the appointment of Governmenl en- 
rolling officer, at a time when Knights of the 
Golden Circle and others were bent on forcible re- 
sistance to the draft, his life was often in no little 
danger. Several shots were one night fired 

through the open doors of his home. None the 
less did he discharge his patriotic duties without 
flinching. 

The voice within still prompted our subject to 
preach the Gospel on the lines of the larger hope. 
To his wife came the happy thought that his words 
might be acceptable in Unitarian pulpits. At the 
suggestion of Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 
Robert Collyer was appealed to for advice. UN 
response was a cordial invitation to come to the 
Unitarian Conference soon to be held at Detroit. 
Thither he went and was there ordained to the 



Collyer. Dr. George W. Hosmer, Charles G. Ames 

and others taking part in the services. In scl 1- 

hoiises, dwelling-houses and groves of Shelby and 
adjoining counties, people came together to "hear 
Jasper preach." Feeling the need of better equip- 
ment for his work, he was enabled through the 
kindness of friends living at a distance, who had 
heard of his zealous and effective itineracy, to take 
a three year's course at the Meadville Theological 

School (Unitarian), where he was graduated in 

June, 1867. Since that date, with the exception 

of a brief term of preaching at Piinceton, III., his 

ministry has been confined to the towns and vil- 
lage- of his native prairies, mostly within the 
familiar haunts of his boyhood. At the " Log 
Church" east of Shclbyville, he preached to a con- 
gregation of woodchoppers and their families, re- 
ceiving for his Brsl year's work a big jug of mo- 
lasses, given by a poor foreigner. The nexl year 
the contribution- amounted to about $10. Mr-. 
Douthit taught a subscription school to eke out a 
support for the family. The Sunday-school ses- 
sions were sometimes disturbed h\ people angered 
at the speaker on account of hi- advocacy of tem- 
perance. The first Christmas tree in Shelby County 
was sel up in the •• Log Church." And there it i- 
said. was sung, probably for the lirst time in this 
county, the hymn, ■' Nearer my God to Thee." 

Mr. Douthit was instrumental in organizing a 
church at Salem, now Oak Grove, where a bouse of 

worship was built for the joint Use of the ( aillp- 

bellites and the liberal Christians, Elder John 
Ellis, of the former sect, being an efficient helper: 
Unity Church at Matoon, and a Christian Union 
Church near Mode. ( )ui missionary began regular 
preaching at Shelbyville, in the old court-house, 

February 15, 1874. A Sunday— ehool \\n- n 

started, books for a library being received from 
Dr. James Freeman Clarke'- church in Boston. 
In May thirteen people signed a statement pro- 
fessing "faith in Jesus Chri-t a- the -on of (bid 
and the Savior of men." and acknowledged the 
Bible as the divinely authorized rule of faith and 
practice. In November a church of twenty-one 
members was fully organized, lion. George Par- 
tridge, of St. Louis, offered thegifl of $500 toward 



184 



PORTRAIT AND BI GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



building a house of worship. This encouraged 
the people to contribute liberally <>f their humble 
means to the same end. Orthodox ministers united 
with the literal in the services at th*- laying of the 
cornerstone, November 21, 1875. As the result 
of ;i protracted scries of evening meetings held in 
February and March. 1876, by Mr. Douthit, with 
the help of the good Elder Ellis, the church roll 
was increased to nearly one hundred members. 
The 8th of May saw the new house completed and 
dedicated, Dr. Clarke, of Boston, preached the ded- 
ication sermon .in the morning and Dr. Eliot, of 
St. Louis, preached in the evening, when Mr. 
Douthit was installed as pastor. The building was 
made to accommodate about four hundred persons, 
and the church and Sunday-school has since wit- 
nessed to a healthy growth and unabated interest 
in its Christian faith and life. 

In October, 1870, Robert Collyer wrote to the 
Christian Register, '- 1 can hardly tell how much 

a 1 Mr. Douthit has done in that region. It is 

simply wonderful. He has wrought witli such a 
manful and Christian valor as to win his way. 
\\ here any olher man. one thinks, must have failed. 
It is worth my while." he adds, " to say that his 
best helper and inspircr. after God, is his wife." 
Elder John Ellis, writing in 1 876, reports •• Brother 
Douthit as having exceeded beyond his expecta- 
tions," and adds: --lie is a Channing Unitarian and 
sails under that banner, and yet is what I would 
call a real, out-and-out old-fashioned, Orthodox. 
Evangelical, Congregational, progressive, liberal 
( hristian." 

A sketch of Mr. Douthit in the memorial volume 
of Shelby Seminary, by Hon. George I.'. Wendling, 
contains these words of high appreciation: "I 
will testify everywhere that his whole life-work 

and example in this county has been an evangel of 
peace, temperance and puritj ." 

In 1880 Mr. Douthit began the publication of a 
paper. Our "Best Words, a brave exponent of (hris- 
tian truth and practical righteousness, which grew 
to lie a welcome visitor in many homes. The pros- 
pectus for the new series began in March. INK*, is 
an admiral ile declaration of lofty principles, worthy 
to lie ipioted in full, did space permit. In its c - 

mendable endeavor •• to translate the dialect of a 



scholaristic, thought-burdened Unitarian ism into 
the every-day language of the common people." 
Our Best Words stood without a rival in the West 
or in the East. Having dropped its denomina- 
tional character the paper is now continued as a 
weekly. " independent in all things and neutral in 
nothing that concerns human welfare." It earn- 
estly advocates the principles of prohibition to the 
liquor traffic and favors the work of the Woman's 
Chrsitian Temperance Union and the Fanners' 
Mutual Benefit Association. 

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Doufhit are Helen 
Maud, married to Joseph Garis; George L.. Robert 
Collyer and Winifred. Robert C. following the 
footsteps of his father, is now ( 1 s:M ). a student at 
Meadville Theological School. 



* 



' OlIX 1!. II. LICK, a prominent farmer and 
stock-raiser, making his home on section .">:!. 
Oconee Township. Shelby County, was born 
in Seneca County. X. V.. in 1834. He is 
the son of John and Maria (Young) Ulick, both 
of whom were bom in Pennsylvania. In their 
family were five sons and two daughters, the two 
youngest passed away at an early age. 

William Henry Illick. the eldest son of John and 
Maria, is married and living in < >swego, Ind.. where 
he is carrying on a farm ; Franklin M. is married 
and living at Kosemond. 111., upon a farm: Samuel 
A. died at Taylorvilie. this State, in 1882; Kilward 
V. enlisted in a Cavalry Regiment in Indiana, and 
being in the campaign at Pittsburg Landing, was 
taken sick and died during a visit home at the age 
of twenty-six years: Susan M.. the wife of Thomas 
Fritchman, a farmer, resides near Wellington, in 
Sumner County. Kan.; I.vdia A. was twice married, 
her present husband being Robert Hatty, residing 
at Stonington, 111. 

The subject of this sketch grew to manhood in 
New York and removed with his parents to Indi- 
ana in 1K.")7. After burying his parents in that 
State, he came to (hristian County. III., and was 
married at Taylorvilie, to Miss Elizabeth Melton. 
daughter of John and Caroline Melton, who were 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



185 



natives of North Carolina, and came to Illinois 
prior t<> their marriage. Mis. llliek was born in 
Madison County, this State, in 184 i. and had live 
brothers and four sister-, namely: .lames C., 
Henry 'I'.. (twins) Andrew .1.. Martin V.. Amaziah. 
Martha A.. Mary I... Sarah A. and Hannah M.(twins.) 
All lint Mrs. [Hick and Hannah M. have passed to 
the other world. Andrew .1. enlisted in Company 
II. Thirty-seventh Illinois Infantry and died in 
the hospital at Springfield, Mo.; Hannah M. mar- 
ried Franklin llliek. the brother of our subject, 
and resides on a farm near Rosemond. 

He of whom we write came to his present farm 
six years ago. He and his good wife have had no 
children of their own. lint they have reared a son 
of Mrs. Illiek's sister, a hoy whom they took at the 
age of three months, and he is now a line and in- 
telligent lad of sixteen years, who stands in the 
same relation to his fosterparents that a real son 
would occupy. Mr. llliek is a Demoerat in his po- 
litical views. He has a pleasant home and is com- 
fortably situated. The father of Mi's, llliek died 
in Madison County, 111., in 1852, and her mother 
who is now eighty-two years of age resides with 
her daughter. Her parents were members of the 
Baptist Church. 



\ AVID LOW, a man who has the esteem and 




confidence of his friends and neighbors, 

and who is a public-Spirited citizen resides 

on section 23. Oconee Township, Shelbj 
County, where he carries on farming and stock- 
raising, lie was born in Guilford County, Tenn., 
April 26, 1831, his parents being George and Sarah 
Low. natives of that state. Their marriage and 
the birth of all their children took place in North 

Carolina, lull they removed to Illinois in 1849 and 
there spent the remainder of their days. 

David Low had nine brothers of whom Amslcy. 
Gideon and Simeon were soldiers in the Union 
Army, during the Civil War. Joel R.. John R., 
and Daniel 1!.. are all living, the former in Iowa 
and the others in this State. David was a resident 
of North Carolina during the war and was con- 



scripted into the Confederate army. He passed his 
examination, and was accepted hut while waiting 
for assignment to his regiment, he and about live 
hundred others lied from the camp at night, and 
breaking through the lines escaped to their home. 
He worked upon his farm for about a month and 
when he saw thai the authorities were on the alert 

and apprehending the conscripl he "took to the 
hushes" as he says and remained in concealment 
from October to Christmas. During thai time he 
lay on the ground and endured greater hardships 
and dangers than he would have encountered in 
the Confederate service, Imt he was thoroughly 
Union in his sentiments, and preferred to endure 
all this for the cause of the Union rather than to 
lift his hand against the old flag. 

About Christmas time Mr. Lowengaged to work 
in the saltpetre works near Greensboro, N. C. This 
enterprise failed and he went home and spent one 
night, hut the second nighl •■hunters" were in pur- 
Suit of him and he took to the woodsagain. While 
concealed in the house of a neighbor he was sur- 
rounded and captured by a detachment of the 

Raleigh guard. He was sent to Raleigh and seven 
days later to Kingston, N. C, where he remained 
from April 2 to May I. By this time he thought 
he knew enough Of military affairs and persuaded 
thirteen of his comrades to join with him in taking 
••French leave." 

These refugees took to the woods once more. 
and were so closely pursued h\ soldiers on horse- 
back as to be obliged to take refuge in a swamp. 
They sat in mud and water nearly to their necks 
from 2 p. m., until dark and the pursuers passed 
within ten feet of them. Two of the party were 
recaptured and the others escaped to their respect- 
ive homes. Mr. Low had to remain in hiding until 
the close of the war. lie spent one winter in a 
Cave, going occasionally to the home of sonic 

Union family to gel f Land then returning to 

his dreary abode. He spent his time in the cave 
in making combs, baskets and trinkets, selling them 

to Union people for f 1 and clothing, lie would 

sell a line comh of his manufacture for ten cent- 
in silver or $10 in Confederate script. He was re- 
captured hut made his escape at great peril. His 
sufferings and privations were incomparably greater 



186 



PORTRAIT AND UIo( .KAPIIK AL RECORD. 



than those of many enlisted men, being in (•(instant 
peril from armed and open enemies as well as 
from secrel foes. It is not strange that lie would 
feel that his escape from bodily injury was miracu- 
lous. He was unable to gel through the line with 
his family and would not go and leave them, lie 
hist all his property, amounting to a number of 
thousand dollars in stock and money. 

The lady whose union with our subject brought 
to her such great trials, during this period of hard- 
ship and suffering, became his wife, September 13, 
1857, in Guilford County. N. C, which was her 
native county as she was born there February 2d. 
1836. Her name before marriage was Rosannah 
Pike, and her parents were natives of the same 
state with herself. 

To Mr. and Mis. Low eight children were born, 
namely: Sara R., born September 2:). 1K.">2. who 
married Daul Neice in Oconee Township, and after 
giving birth to one child died October 28, Dshh; 
George William, bom September 20, I860, married 
Sallie Marifield and resides on a farm near Kose- 
mond. III.: Turley II.. horn May 2(1. 1863, is un- 
married and lives at home; Joel I)., horn January 
10. 1866, is married and resides in l'ana. III.: 
Melinda S.. horn October 29, 1867, is married and 
resides in Oconee Township; .Melissa horn May 25, 
L871, after the removal of the family to the North, 
and Mary E., horn August 17. 1 874, are at home 

with their parents, as is also .lolin II. A., horn Sep- 
tember II. I S77. 

It was about eighteen years ago when Mr. Low 
removed tot hiistian County, 111., and nine years 
since he purchased the farm on which he now lives. 
lie has a timbered farm of one hundred and eighty- 
live acre-, about one-half of which is under im- 
provement. I'pon this there is about fourteen 

acres i chard and considerable attention i> paid 

to the raising of -mall fruit, lie hasa y I house 

.-Mid a comfortable home. 

Mr. Low has been instrumental in securing the 
organization of a school district for the acco ni- 
dation of the children in this comparatively new 
country, and a pleasant school-house i> situated on 
a Corner of hi- farm. He has always voted 1 he 

Republican ticket. He is not a member of any 

church though heartily in accord with all Chris- 



tian endeavors. His wife and children are mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church. He raises sorghum 
and manufactures molasses each year, and makes 
maple sugar and syrup in its season, devoting 
considerable time and money to the improvement 
and operation of this business:. He has a centrifu- 
gal machine for separating and drying sorghum 
sugar which he hopes to make a success. He is a 
good citizen who endeavors to do right as he sees 
the right, and will not be coerced into doing 
wrong by any human power. This characteristic 
was evinced by his attitude toward the confederate 
power. 



ISAAC N. PORTER. No man so truly loves 
his country as he who has suffered and fought 
_J for it, and those citizens of Illinois who gave 
to our Nation in her time of trial their hearty sup- 
port and their best efforts 11)1011 the battle held, 
have gained not only a heartier sympathy with the 
institutions represented by our national haulier. 
hut also a record for themselves of which any pa- 
triot may well feel proud. 

Among those men of Shelby County, who have 
thus an honorable war record, we are pleased to 
named the subject of this sketch, who follows the 
double avocation of a farmer and carpenter, in 
Oconee Township. He was born in Harrison 
County, Ohio, March 27. 1840, his parents being 
William and Susan (Cribhs) Porter, natives of 
Ohio. In their household there were six sons and 
rive daughters, and Isaac is the firstborn son. 
Teresa, now Mrs. Row. of Oconee Township, being 
the eldest. Following them came Isabella, now 
the wife of John Martin, of Indian Territory; Dan- 
iel, who resides in Missouri; Albert, who lives at 
Sioux City, la.: William, living in Montgomery 
County. III.: George, a resident of Iowa; Priscilla. 
the wife of Mr. Drain, of Oconee Township; and 
Abbie and Maggie, who reside at home. 

The subject of t his sketch enlisted in Company 
A, Ninety-Seventh Illinois Infantry, and was as- 
signed to duty in the Anns of the Mississippi. 
After six months' service he was transferred to the 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



1*7 



United Stale- gunboal "Chilachthe," and did duty 
on the lower Mississippi and the Yazoo Rivers. At 
Ft. Tamberton, while on the Yazoo Pass expedi- 
tion, this young hero was wounded, Mareh LO 

1863, and was sent to the hospital at Helena. Ark., 

being afterward transferred to the general hospital 
at St. Louis. Being somewhat crippled by this 
hard service and wound, he was plaeed in Com- 
pany K, Eleventh Veteran Reserve Corps and 
served out his unexpired term, being discharged at 
Boston., .Mass., July 7. 186fi, whence he returned to 
his parental home in Oconee Township. 

It was not until 1877. that Mr. Porter decided 
to establish a home of his own, and he chose as a 
partner of that home .Miss Annie Pressgrove, who 
was born in Oconee Township in 1859, her parents 
being William and Eliza Pressgrove. The parents 
had ten children, only four of whom are now liv- 
ing. The wedding day of Mr. and Mrs. Porter 
was February 22. To them was horn three chil- 
dren, Hugh II.. horn in 1 S7',> : Anna Laura, a babe 
now three months old, and tine child who died 
when five months old. Mrs. Porter is a worthy 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a 
faithful and devoted wife and mother, capable in 
all housewifely arts and active in promoting the 
best interests of the community. 

Mr. Porter is a member of the Coplin Post No. 
2(>8, (i. A. R. at Oconee, and his political views 
have led him to affiliate with the Republican party. 
His handsome farm of one hundred and sixty acres 
is situated on section 7, Oconee Township, and is 
in a highly cultivated state and richly productive. 



! 



1 




. 1LLIAM F.ARMSTRONG is actively car- 
rying on agriculture on the farm where he 
resides with his father, a respected resi- 
dent of Penn Township, Shelby County, this home- 
stead being the birthplace of our subject lie is a 
representative of some of the earliest pioneer fam- 
ilies of this state, his paternal grandfather, John 
Armstrong, having been one of the original pioneers 
of this county, and is distinguished in its history as 
the first settler of Penn Township; while the 



maternal grandparents of our subject, .lames and 
Nancy Oerdicn. were early pioneers of Rose Town- 
ship.' 

Aaron Armstrong, the great-grandfather of Wil- 
liam V., was a native of North Carolina, and was 
a son of a Revolutionary soldier who lost his life 
ill battle. Aaron removed from the State of his 
nativity to Warren County. Ky.. where he resided 
hut a short time, however, prior to his removal in 
1809 to the Territory of Illinois. lie was one of 
the first settlers of Madison County locating there 
in the year that the act was passed establishing 
Illinois as a territory. There were but few 
white men living in the whole length and 
breadth of this now populous and great common- 
wealth, and as the Indians held full sway and were 
oftentimes hostile, the whites had to band together 
and live in forts. The great-grandfather of our 
subject secured a tract of land live miles south of 
Edwardsville, built upon it, improved a good farm, 
which remained his home until his death in 183:}. 
The maiden name of his wife was Mary Landers. 
She was born in South Carolina and died in Mad- 
ison County in 1830. 

John Armstrong was born in Warren County, 
Ky., in 1803. lie was butachild when his parents 
came to Illinois, and he was reared amid its wild 
pioneer scenes and in due time he married a daugh- 
ter of one of the early settlers, .lane Roach, who 
was born in Kentucky in 18(12. and died in Illinois 
in 1 s 7 7 . Lithe fall of 182."> the grandfather of 
our subject came with others to Shelby County to 
seek a suitable location on its fertile soil. He 
selected a claim to a tract of Government land on 
section li. township 1:5. range -'i. now included in 
Penn Township, and at once commenced the erec- 
tion of a log cabin, which was the first building 

ever erected in the northern part of Shelby County, 
and he was the first man to locate in Penn Town- 
ship, his nearest neighbor for a time being ten miles 
away. Before completing his cabin he returned to 
Madison County for his wife and child, and in the 
fall of the year brought them back in an oxwagon 
to the scene of their new home iii primeval wild-. 
where wild animals such as deer, wolves, panther- 
and wild turkeys roamed at will where there were 
but few evidence- of the approaching civilization. 



188 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



St. Louis, many miles distant, was the nearest town 
to which the pioneers could convey their produce 
to exchange for needed supplies. Notwithstand- 
ing tUr many difficulties that he encountered he 
developed an excellent farm, which h'e occupied 
until death deprived him of the companionship of 
his wife and he then passed his remaining days 
with his children, dying in 1886 at a ripe old aye. 
The father of our suhject, Beverly Armstrong, 
was born October '!'■'<. 1827, in Clinton County 
while his mother was there on a visit. IK- was 
reared in this county where his parents had estab- 
lished their home, and was educated in its schools, 
attending the first ever taught in this section of 
the country. It was held in a log 1 m 1 1 < 1 i 1 1 iz' located 
in Plat Branch Township. The benches, which 
were without hacks or desks, were made of slabs 
thai were supported by wooden pins. and the build- 
ing was heated by means of a large open fireplace. 
In his youthful days the people lived principally 

off the products of the farm, and were clad in 

homespun made by the busy hand- of tin' women. 
Mr. Armstrong lived with his parents until he 
was twenty years of age and then entered a had 
of Government land in what is now Moweaqus 
Township. lie had married in that year Miss 
Emeline Virden, a native of this county, and in 
the log cabin that he built on his claim he and his 
bride began housekeeping. In 1858 he sold that 
place and bought the one that he now owns and 
occupies, that is finely located on section .'! I . I'enii 

Tow n si dp. constituting a choice and well-cultivated 

farm amply supplied with all necessary buildings 

and good modern machinery, lie has been pros- 
perous in the pursuit of his calling, anil ill the 
many years that he has been residing in I his county 
he has always shown himself to lie a useful citizen 
who has won an honorable place among the solid 

men of his Community, and has done his share ill 

developing the agriculture of this section of the 

I so 

Stat.-. 

The subjeel of this biographical review is the 
only son of his parents and in their home, which 
ha- always been hi-, he was reared to a stalwart 

manh I. lie received a sound practical training 

as a farmer and is now managing his father's farm 

with signal -iiccc-s. thu- relieving him in a greal 



measure of the cares and labors that heset him in 
hi- early life. He is a shrewd, careful man in his 
dealings and at the same time displays push and 
enterprise in carrying on his affairs, so that his in- 
terests brings him a goodly income in repayment of 
his outlay of labor and expense. 

The greatest sorrow that Mr. Armstrong litis ex- 
perienced in life was the death of his wife in 1886. 
Her maiden name was Emma O. < Jerry, and she was 
a native of Indiana. They were wedded November 
13, 1878. By her death our subject lost a devoted 
wife and these four children were left motherless: 
Tressie. Charles, Birdie and Essa. 



8£ 



a*^ 




ARKS 11. ELLIOTT. Our .subject is a 

| representative of a good Southern family. 

tufr on the paternal side owing many of the 

traits of his character to the warm blood 

and generous hearts of the state which Uiasts of 

having given more Presidents than any other, to 

the Executive Department of our Government. 

Mr. Elliott is the owner of a g 1 farm located on 

section 7. Tower Hill Township, whereon he set- 
tled in 1855. Our suhject was horn in Anderson 
County. Ky.. November 23, 1K2.~>. He is a son of 
John and Melville (Berry) Elliott, natives respec- 
tively of Virginia and Kentucky, in which latter 
State they were married and where they began the 
serious consideration of life together on a farm. 
Our subject's father died in 1846. His mother sub- 
sequently came to Illinois and passed her declining 
years with her son. passing away from this life at 
'he advanced age of seventy-eight years. 

The original of our sketch was one of eleven 
children and the youngest of these was twelve 
years of age before there was a death in the family. 
Our subject was the sixth in the family in order of 
birth, having five older and five younger brothers 
and sisters. During boyhood his school advantages 
were limited, hut since reaching manhood he has 
applied himself diligently to study, and is a vora- 
cious reader of good literature. 

While yet a youth, he learned the trade of car- 
pentry in Indiana, to which State he had removed 




J> :x^*' 




%%i 



JACOB KIRCHER. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



I'.U 



settling in Davis County, where he remained for 
Some time. He later went to .Marion County, lie 
was united in marriage with Mary J. Brown, on 
the 23d of July, 1848. The lady was a daugh- 
ter of Lewis L. and Mary (Johnson) Brown. 
She was horn in Marion County, [nd., January 12. 
1832. Soon after marriage, our subject with his 
wife, came to Shelby County and settled on the 
farm where he now resides. At that date lie pur- 
chased two hundred and thirty acres of Govern- 
ment land, which was then new and unbroken. 
Upon it he has made valuable improvements, hav- 
ing erected a commodious and comfortable dwell- 
ing, with barns and outhouses necessary for the 
protection ami accommodation of his stock. 

When Mi'. Elliott settled upon the prairie, there 

was d ie else living any place near, and he has 

thus seen the development of the whole State. 
Fana was unknown at that date, and the Illinois 
Central Railroad was not yet completed. Our sub- 
ject has given his undivided attention to farming 
and mixed husbandry. He is now the owner of 
three hundred and thirty acres of land which, with 
the exception of twenty acres of tine prairie land, 
is under thorough cultivation, and well improved 
in every way. 

Mr. and Mrs. Elliott have been the parents of 
six children, whose names are: Elizabeth I... John 
Irvin, Emma, Walter and Fannie. One child died 
in infancy. Elizabeth is the wife of Moses E.Sim- 
mons, of Fana; John Ervin is a resident in Nevada, 
Mo.; Emma and Walter remain at home, and are 
the comforts of their parents' middle life; Fannie 
is the wife of Thomas Finefrock. and resides in 
Fana. this State. 



X 



Y ACOB KIRCHER. :i wealthy resident ofShel- 
byville, was for many years actively en- 
gaged in farming, but he now lives in re- 
tirement, though he still owns one of the 
choice farms for which Shelby County is justly 
noted, lie is a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, 
October 20, 1827, being the date of his birth. lli- 



father, whose name was bonis Frederick Kircher. 
was also horn in that place, a- was his father he- 
fore him. Tin- latter came to this country in 
1834, and spent his remaining years in Maryland. 
The father of our subject learned the trade of a 
shoemaker in his youth, and with tin- exception 
of the time that he was a -oldier in the German 
army, he followed his calling in his native Wur- 
temburg until 1829, when, ambitious to better his 
condition, he emigrated to this country with his 
wife and four children. lb' landed at Baltimore 
with empty pocket-, and what was worse, in very 
poor health. He was fortunate enough to obtain 
the assistance of friends, by whose help he went to 
Hagerstown, where he found employment in a liv- 
ery stable. He worked faithfully, frugally saved 
his money, and his wife also worked hard, and 
after a time with their united earnings they had 
enough to buy a horse and wagon, with which 
they started for Ohio, taking with them all their 
earthly possessions. They walked the greater part 
of the way, camping and cooking by the roadside 
whenever they were weary, and when they arrived 
at Lancaster, Ohio, they decided to proceed no 
further. 

Mr. Kircher looked aboul for a suitable location, 
and finally selected forty acre- of land belonging 
to the Government situated" in Hocking County, 
ten miles from Logan, the county seal. He did 
not have money enough by fifty cents to pay for 
his claim, hut he obtained it by mending a pair of 
hoots, and then walked to the land office to enter 
his land. His homestead was heavily timbered 
and he had to cut away large forest trees to 
make room for a cabin, which he built of loirs. 
covering the roof with hoards rived by hand and 
held in place by weight poles, the floor being made 
of puncheons and the chimney of earth and sticks. 
The father was a man of remarkable industry 
and not only labored in the day time, working 
hard to clear his land, in which he was assisted by 
his wife and children, but he employed his time in 
the evening making -hoes, and thus earned the 

money to support his family. The older children 
soon went out to work, receiving their board and 
their clothe- for their services, while our subject 
was left at home to a — i-t his parents. He and 



492 



PORTRAIT AKD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his mother cut the lirst crop of wheat, she using a 
:t sickle and he a butcher knife. The family pros- 
pered and the father was enabled to buy eighty- 
five acres of land adjoining, and in time improved 
a valuable farm, upon which he lived until his 
death at the ripe age of seventy-nine years. His 
wife survived him some few years and then died at 
the home of her daughter in Richland Township, 
this county, at the venerable age of eighty acres. 
This worthy couple were the parents Of six sons 
and one daughter, named as follows: Louis, John, 
Godfrey, Jacob, Mathias, Philip and Hannah. John 
and Mathias reside in Richland. Louis, Philip, 
Godfrey and Hannah are deceased. 

Jacob Kircher was only two years old when the 
family came to America, so that he has hut little 
or no recollection of other than his adopted home, 
.lust as soon as he was large enough, and that was 
when he was very young, he began to assist in 
clearing the land and tilling the soil of his father's 
homestead. He remained an inmate of the parental 
household until his marriage and soon after that 
all-important event, in company with his brother- 
in-law, he bought one hundred acres of land near 
by, On which was a set of log buildings. He and 
his brother-in-law farmed together on that place 
until 1855, when he sold his share of it. having 
decided to settle in the fertile farming regions of 
Illinois. Accompanied by his wife and two chil- 
dren, he journeyed across the country from Ohio to 
this State with a pair of horses and a wagon, and 
on his arrival in this county he invested all the 
money he had in forty acres of land in Ridge Town- 
ship. This purchase included a primitive log cabin, 
which had an earth and slick chimney, a puncheon 
Hour, and t wo doors, hut had no windows. Our 
subject and his family, and his brother and fam- 
il\ spent the winter of L855 56 in that rude struc- 
ture, doing all their cooking by the fireplace, corn- 
meal being their chief diet. 

Mr. Kircher had been reared to habits of indus- 
try and economy, was possessed of good judgment, 
and moreover had been fortunate in the selection 
of a wife who afforded him material assistance in 
his labors, and his wealth steadily increased. He 
bought other land at different times and the old 
farm upon which he settled so many years ago, and 



which is still in his possession, now contains three 
hundred acres of well-improved land, amply sup- 
pled with good buildings and everything necessary 
to cany on agriculture successfully, and besides 
this he owns valuable city property, lie continued 
to live on his farm until 1891, when he removed 
to Shelhyville. where he has since made his home 
in retirement from active business. A life of hon- 
esty and uprightness has won him the esteem of 
all who know him, and he is regarded as one of 
our most trustworthy citizens. He and his wife 
and all of their children are members of the Luth- 
eran Church, and have done much to help their 
pastor and fellow-members to make it a power for 
the advancement of religion in the community. 

Mr. and Mis. Kircher were united in marriage 
in 1852. .Mrs. Kircher. whose maiden name was 
Rosanna Phipher, is a native of Ohio, born April 
2."). 1832, and a daughter of John and Magdaline 
Pipher, who were natives of Wurtemburg. and 
pioneers of the Buckeye State. Our subject and 
his wife have been blessed by the birth of the fol- 
lowing children: Lena, wife of William Roof: 
Hannah, wdio married John Kimmel and died at 
the age of twenty-four years; Matilda, wife of 
John Kniller; Theodore: William; Mollie. wife of 
Theodore Warner; and Philip. 

The reader's attention is invited to the litho- 
graphic portrait of Mr. Kircher presented on 
another page. 



~^+«~= 



SCAR F. ROGERS, a farmer and stock- 
raiser residing on section 20, Oconee Town- 
ship, Shelby County, was born in Hamilton 
Square, Mercer County, N. J., March (!. 1826. The 
same county was the birthplace of his father. 
Jacob Rogers, and his mother, whose maiden name 
was Sarah Wall, was born in that State and grew 
from early childhood in Mercer County. There 
were live brothers and six sisters, of whom Oscar 
was the eldest. Following him came Ferdinand, 
who resides at Hamilton Square, X. J., and is en- 
gaged in the manufacture of rubber goods; Fze- 
kiel and Humphrey (twins), both living in Mon- 



PORTRAIT AM) IslnOKAl'IIICAF RECORD. 



193 



mouth, N.J.; Amanda, now Mrs. < lordon, residing in 
Mercer County; Anna E., the widow of Charles 
Cole, residing in Windsor; Jacob, living in 
Mercer County; George, was n member of the 
Firsl Louisiana Cavalry in the Confederate 
army, and died during the Civil War; Phoebe, 
was twice married, her present husband being 
Mr. Johnson, of Pemberton, N. J. Edith, wife of 
John Tyndall, residing at Windsor, X. J.; and 
Mary, who is unmarried and resides in New York 
City. 

Oscar F. Rogers and Mary J. Allen were united 
in the In d \ bonds of matrimony December 27. 
1S4!>. She was horn in Mercer County, Decem- 
ber 14, 1S;J2, and of her family there were 
three — Harris, .Mrs. Rogers and Margaret. Her 
brother and sister make their homes at Prince- 
ville and Asbury Park, X. J. Mr. Rogers came to 
Oconee Township in the spring of 1 h ."» 7 . and buy- 
ing one hundred and twenty aero of land, en- 
gaged in farming, which has been his principal 
occupation through life, although he has also found 
opportunities lor considerable dealings in real 
estate in connection witli his farming for the last 
seventeen years. 

'lo Mr. and .Mrs. Rogers seven children were 
horn, three of whom are now living. Their eldest. 
Elvina, who was born in Xew Jersey, married 
Mr. Wesley T. Elliott and resides at Oconee, 111., 
with her husband and nine children: Adelaide 
was born in New Jersey and died in that State 
when about two years old. as did also Harris. 
Allen married Addie Hamlin and resides on a 
farm in Oconee Township, where he was horn, 
with his wife and one child. Mary passed away 
when she was a lovely girl of thirteen summers, 
and Frank died in childhood; licit is unmarried 
and lives at home. The parents of this family 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
( leonee. 

The Civil War called our subject to the defense 
of his country and enlisted in Company II. Fifty- 
third Illinois Infantry, and was assigned to duty 
in the Seventeenth Army Corps, serving under 
( ien. Sherman. This was one of those sad cases 
of brother being arrayed against brother, as our 
subject was in the Fnion Army and his brother 



George in the Confederate service. He passed 
through many hardships and dangers, hut lived 

to return to his rejoicing household. Me has con- 
nected himself prominently with the Grand Army 
of the Republic and belongs to Coplin Post, No. 168, 
at Oconee. He takes an active part in political af- 
fairs and thoroughly endorses the party which 
made so noble a record as the stanch supporter of 
the administration during the Civil War. His 
neighbors, who appreciate his many excellent 
qualities and believe heartily in his integrity and 
good judgment, have placed him in the offices of 
School Trustee and Tax Collector, lie has two 
hundred acres of finely improved land within 
sight of the village of Oconee, and upon it be is 
content to pass the remainder of his days, sur- 
rounded liv his affectionate children. 



^IMM 




FWTOX J.GALLAGHER,a prosperous and 
f wealthy fanner and stock-raiser, residing 

on .section 2! k. Holland Township. Shelby 
County, was born in this township. September 29, 
IK");-). He is a son of Jacob and Sarah (Middles- 
worth) Gallagher who were horn in Fairfield 
County, Ohio. For particulars in regard to the 
ancestry of this gentleman our reader is referred 
to the biographical sketch of Abram Gallagher, his 
brother, which will be found elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. 

The subject of this sketch is the eighth in a fam- 
ily of ten children, and his home has always been 
in Holland Township, where be lives on the old 
original homestead which was entered by his father 
from the Government about forty-five years ago. 
His education was given him in the public schools 
of this county, and he received thorough and -\>- 
lamatic training upon his father's farm, gaining 
health and Strength for life's duties. He owns four 
hundred acres of excellent farming land upon which 
are good improvements and a fine large brick house 
which is an ornament to. the township. 

Our subject was united in marriage April :>, 1881 
with Miss M. Lettie Allen, who was born in Hol- 
land Township. Shelby County. August 20, 1860. 



mi 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



She i- a daughter of Jedediah and Mary (Hege) 
Allen. This worthy couple were born in Ohio and 
came :b pioneers to this county, and their daughter, 
Lcttie is the third in a good family of eight. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher four bright and healthy 
children have been born, all of whom are living. 
They are by name Floyd, Ray, < >ssa Fleta and Fred. 
The religious Indict' of the family is that of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church with which both Mr. 
and Mrs. Gallagher were long connected, and where 
>hc i> still prominently identified. Her husband is 
not now a member of the church although a be- 
liever in Christianity and he gives liberally of his 
means for the support of the Gospel. His early 
political convictions were in accordance with the 
doctrines of the Democratic party and he voted 
with that organization for many years. bu1 he has 
recently been more interested in the farmers' move- 
ments and now votes with tin- Farmers Mutual 
Benefit Association. Mr. II. Gallagher is very 
pleasantly and comfortably situated, having suffi- 
cicnt of this world's goods to provide abundantly 
for himself and family without being burdened 
by cares. His value in the community is appreci- 
ated by his neighbors who consider him one of the 
solid and efficient members of the social and indus- 
trial community which makes its home in the town- 
ship of Holland. 



OIIX A. TACKETT. Among the citizens of 

this county who are most active in promo- 
ting its interests are many who were born 
within its borders, grew with its growth, 
and since attaining manhood have been potent in 
increasing it- wealth and importance as an agricul- 
tural, commercial and manufacturing center, so 
that to-day it ranks as one of the first counties in 
Central Illinois in those respects. John A. Tackett, 
capitalist, is a representative of the class alluded to. 
lie ha- been a life-long, resident of Shelbyville. 
where his birth occurred September 28, 1832. and 
for man} yearshe basb en prominently associated 
with the best interests of city and county, using his 



wealth freely to advance various enterprises that 
have contributed to their development. He is largely 
interested in farming and also does a general brok- 
erage business, and all that he undertakes he brings 
to a successful issue. • 

He is a son of John Tacketl. one of the first set- 
tlers Of Shelby villi-, who was one of the leading 
pioneers of this part of the country until death de- 
prived his co-workers of his aid in the upbuilding 
of this section in 1850. He was a native of Prince 
William County. Ya.. where he grew to man's es- 
tate anil married Enfield Mason, a native of Fau- 
quier County. Ya.. who died at Shelby ville in 1837. 
Three of their live children were reared: Charles, 
who died at Shelbvville: William .1.. a well-known 
resident of Shelbvville; and John A. of whom this 
sketch is -written. After marriage the father of our 
subject sought the forest wilds of Kentucky but did 
not make a permanent home there, as he was at- 
tracted to Illinois in 1829, foreseeing that men of 
his calibre could expend their energies to a good 
advantage in a country of .such splendid but un- 
tried resources. He journeyed hither with teams. 
bringing his household goods and being- accom- 
panied by his wife and the two children that then 
composed their family. He was among the first to 
settle on the present site of Shelbvville. where he 
found but little in the group of small log houses 
to indicate that the little hamlet was the nucleus 
of a flourishing and busy town such as is known 
by those of a later generation. 

Mr. Tackett built a hewed log house, which he 
opened as an inn for the benefit of travelers pass- 
ing through the town or coming in search of suit- 
able locations, or for other business and it became 
widely known by the traveling public as "Tackett's 
Hotel", and its comforts were duly appreciated. 
Then- were no railroads here for years after he 
opened hi- hotel and all travel was by stage. He 
added to his building-, greatly improved his prop- 
erty and continued to keep hotel until his death. 
He had an extensive acquaintance, was popular 
and well liked, always friendly and obliging in his 
relations with all with whom he came in contact, 
and lie was greatly missed in the community. 

Our subject having been born in the early days 
of the settlement of this county, has been a witness 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORL. 



495 



of almost its entire growth, and it may well be his 
pride that he has contributed to its rise and prog- 
ress since he arrived at the years of discretioa. He 
lias a clear and comprehensive knowledge of agri- 
culture and he is superintending his extensive 
farming interests with marked ability, while at the 
same time he is conducting a lucrative business as a 
broker, and from both sources derives a large in- 
come, lie is one of the wealthy men of his native 
county and his fellow-citizens always lind him 
rcaily to co-operate with them in whatever will 
benefit the public. 1 1 is name stands high in finan- 
cial circles, as his integrity in money matters is 
unimpeachable ami he manages his business after 
sound methods. His personal character is such as 
to gain him warm esteem among his neighbors and 
many acquaintances. Socially his relations arc 
with Okaw Lodge, No. 117. 1. < >. ( >. F. .Mr. 
Tackett was happily married in 1880 to .Miss 
Flora (ash. who presides gracefully over their 
attractive home and cordially unites with him 
in entertaining with pleasant hospitality any 
of their friends that may happen to enter its 

doors They hav ie daughter whom tiny have 

named lima Enfield. 

Mis. Tackett is a native of Westfield, (lark 
County. 111., and is a daughter of Henry II. Cash, 
one of the well-known citizens of that town. Her 
father was horn in Amherst County, \"a.. and was 
a son of Reuben Cash, who was a life-long resident 
of the Old Dominion. .Mrs. Tackett's father went 
from his native State to Kentucky when he was 
twenty-six years old. and from there came to Clark 
County, this State, four years later, lie settled in 
Westfield. and in time became one of it- leading 
merchants. He carried on business a number of 
years, but now lives retired in that town, lie 
married Rebecca Evinger, a native of Kentucky, 
and they have reared five children, — Watson G., 
Flora X.. Hose M.. George A. and Henry E. 

Mrs. Tackett's grandfather Evinger was horn, 
reared and married in Kentucky, he being a son of 
one of the early pioneer families of that State. He 
in turn became a pioneer, coming to Illinois and 
casting in his lot with the early settler.- of Clark 
County. He became one of its most prominent 
citizens, and to him belongs the honor of having 



platted and named the town of Westfield. lie 
erected a set of mills, including grist and Carding 
mills there, but after a few year- they were burned 
and from that time he lived retired from active 
business until his death at the venerable age of 
ninety-one year-. The maiden name of his wife 
was Margaret Seabolt. She was a native of Vir- 
ginia, and went from there to Kentucky with her 
parents. She came to thisState with her husband, 
and died at Westfield, at the ripe age of eighty- 
four years. 



KNRY F. DAY. Mayor of Moweaqua, ami 
l its leading merchant, has long been pre- 
eminent in the commercial, public, political 
and social life of Shelby County, and has 
been an important agent in raising it to its present 
pOSil ion as one of the foremost counties of ( entral 
Illinois, lie is of English birth and ancestry, born 
March 7. 1835, in Birmingham, his father, John 
Day. being a prominent business man of that city. 
His grandfather was a manufacturer of line guns, 
and was a life-long resident of Birmingham. The 
father of our subject died in his native city in 
1849, and his mother died in 1851. Her maiden 
name wa- Rebecca Crane, and she spent her whole 
life in Birmingham. The following are the live 
children that she reared: Rebecca, Betsy, John, 
Henry and Thomas. John died in Birmingham, 
and the other- followed our subject to this coun- 
try. Rebecca married .lame- II. Fl-um.and settled 
at Moweaqua; Betsy married Thomas Hudson, and 
also located at Mow eaipia ; Thomas, who first set- 
tled in Boston, and later at Moweaqua, served in 
the late war in the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, 
.■ind now resides at Memphis, where he is engaged 
in the mercantile business. 

Our subjecl was fourteen years old when his 
father died, lie wa- at that time an independent, 
-ell-reliant lad. with a full -hare of the pertinacity 
and pluck common to the English stock, and he 

soon -el forth in the world to see life for himself. 
lie -ei hi- face toward the United Stale- of Amer- 
ica, and embarking December 5, 1849: on the w- 



196 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



sel "Parliament," he was soon cut on tin* ocean, 
sailing toward Boston, where hi' Landed tin 21th 
day <>f the following January, lie had been well 
educated in the schools of his native city, ami im- 
mediately after his arrival in Boston he secured a 
position as clerk in a bookstore, and subsequently 
became one of the book-keepers of Nash. Callen- 
der & Co. In 1854 he look up his residence in 
New York, where he engaged for a time in the in- 
surance business. In the latter part of 1K.V> he 
went back to his old home in England, and after 
spending several months amid the scenes of his 
boyhood, he returned to the United States m the 
spriug of 1h,"i7. 

lie was undecided where to locate and what to 
do. when good fortune led him to ask the advice 
of his friend, Tom Ponting, to whom he went in 
Chicago. That gentleman told him that he thought 
that the then newly founded village of Moweaqua 
presented many advantages to an energetic, wide- 
awake young man, who desired to establish himself 
in business. A hint is sufficient to the wise, and 
our subject was not long in acting on his friend's 
suggestion, lie arrived here in May, 1857, and 
the following February found him fairly started 
in a lucrative mercantile business, which he has 
conducted ever since, with remarkable financial 
success. Me began in a small way, gradually in- 
creased his stock, and has built up a large tiade, 
thai is liv no means confined within the limits of 
the city, hut extends far teyond, much patronage 
coming to him from the surrounding country, lie 

now has two Stores at Moweaipia. one for the sale 

of clothing and gentlemen's furnishing goods, 

hoys' wear. etc.. and the other for the sale of gro- 
ceries, dry goods, hardware, agricultural imple- 
china, glassware, etc. Both establishments are 
fitted up in good style, are well managed, and are 
stocked with first-class ^ Is and a large assort- 
ment in every line, at reasonable prices. 

The marriage of our subject with .Miss Louisa 
M. March, of Jacksonville, III., was celebrated June 
:;. 1862. Mrs. Day Is a daughter of Edward and 
Harriet (Stevenson) March. She understands well 
how to proide over her home, and has helped her 
husband and children to make theirs the scene of 
true hospitality and a pleasant abidiug-glace, re- 



plete with every desirable luxury and comfort. 
These are the names of the children of Mr. and 
Mrs. Day: William I... llenn M., Claire, Harriet 
M.. Mary Crane. Edna I... Aileen and Bessie Elea- 
nor. William, a resident of Concordia, Kan., mar- 
ried Grace Hinman, and they have two children — 
Eloise and Vance. 

Not only has Mr. Day home an important part 
in extending the business interests of Moweaipia. 
hut he is a conspicuous figure in its public life as 
the present Mayor of the city, to which position 
he was called in 1891 by his appreciative fellow- 
citizens, who recognize his talent for affairs, and 
know that wjth him al the head of the local gov- 
ernment all enterprises inaugurated for the henclit 
of the community will receive every needed en- 
couragement, and that all matters of civic import 
coming under his jurisdiction will he given care- 
ful attention. Our subject is a leader among the 
Democrats of this section, and has represented 
them at numerous county, district and .state con- 
ventions. Mr. Day is prominently known in social 
circles for his connection with the Independent 
Order of Odd Eellows a- one of its foremost mem- 
bers in Shelby County, lie belongs to Shelby 
Lodge, No. 271. and to Moweaipia Lodge, No. 
1013, K. of II. lie has represented the Shelby 

Lodge at the Grand Lodge several years, was for 

for ten years Assistant Secretary, and has been 
Grand Reporter of the state Lodge of K. of II. 
since IXK<;. 



4€h 



m> 



ON ATI! AN D. BRUCE. The family to 
which our subject belongs boasts a name 
that is famous in Scottish history. A lineal 
descendant of the Scottish Kings, the branch 
of the family to which our subject belongs emi- 
grated to America early in the eighteenth century 
and became possessors of large tracts of land in 

Virginia. Their relations there were with the 
people whose names are so intimately and prom- 
inently connected with the Colonial period of 
American history; the Reeds, Birds, Pen die tons, 
Lees and Unices were co-woi'kers iii Colonial 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



197 



time*. Like the majority of Virginia families 
the scions of their family spread out like the root- 
lets of a tree through the Southern and Central 
States, that to which our family belongs settling in 
Tennessee. 

Benjamin W. Brace, the father of our subject, 
was horn in Bedford County. Tenn., December 2.">. 
181)0. Our subject's mother was in her maiden 
days Miss Elizabeth Tull, another good old name 
whicli Sgures in Colonial history. She was born 
in Bedford County. Tenn.. November, 2.">. 1805. 
They removed to Shelby County, soon, if not im- 
mediately after they were married, settling here in 
1828, in Windsor Township on Sand Creek, and 
were among the earliest pioneers in that portion 
of the country. Air. Bruce, Si'., was a farmer by 
occupation. The social bond at that early day was 
kept linn by their church relations. Both he and 
his wife were communicants of the Christian 
Curchand were ardent workers in the same. Their 
last days were spent in Windsor Township, the fa- 
ther passing away in the spring of 1861. His wife 
survived him by a member of years, her decease 
occuring January 20, 1875. 

One almost wonders that among the manifold 
duties incident to pioneer life which included not 
only baking ami brewing and making of garments 
for the members of the family, hut also the card- 
ing and spinning and making into cloth, of wool 
and cotton, that our subject's mother had time to 
rear nine children anil give to each of them the 
training which, as a conscientious and Christian 
woman, she felt she owed them. This, however, she 
did and of the brood of little ones that leathered in 
the old-fashioned kitchen about the fireplace, our 
Subject was the fourth child in order of birth, lie 
was horn m "Windsor Township, this county, April 
11. is:!:!. 

lie of whom we write was reared on the home 
farm in Windsor Township and remained with his 
father, assisting with the care and cultivation of 
the farm until he was married, whicli auspicious 
event took place August 19, 1K.V2. He was united 
to Miss Elenor B. Herod, who was a native of this 
county. She has borne him eight children. Their 
names are. Clinton D., Samantha A., George F., 
Addie M.. Estclla B.. Maude H.. Charles 0. and 



Clarence C. Samantha A. is now the wife id' George 
Garvin; Addie is the wife of .lames Moherly ; Est el la. 
B. died when little more than an infant: Maude 
II. is the wife of John W. Mohcrly. 

Mrs. Klenor Bruce died in Windsor Township. 
January 8, 1ST."). The first home of our subject 
after his marriage was located on Sand (reck: there 
they remained for one year and then removed to 
Windsor, of which he was the first inhabitant, there 
building the first house. His settlement in Wind- 
sor was made in 1856. lie was also proprietor of 
the first hotel in the village. It was known as 
the Windsor Hotel, and this he conducted for 
about three years, after which he was engaged in 
the mercantile business with John H. Whitstone. 
They continued in partnership for about three 
years at the expiration of whicli time Mr. Bruce 
sold out his interest and with the proceeds pur- 
chased a farm in Moultrie County, which, however 
he soon disposed of. During his residence in 
Windsor, our subjecf "a* engaged in farming, 
uniting with this flu- stock and grain business, in 
which he was a huge dealer for several years. He 
afterward operated a large grain store in company 
with Charles \ oris. Later including H. E. Smyscr 
and Levi Wilkinson in the partnership they con- 
tinued to carry on the grain and mercantile luisi- 
ness until about 1S72. They also opened a hank, 
in which they did a good business in connection 
with their store. 

Since leaving the partnership above referred to 
he of whom we write has engaged exclusively in 
farming ami dealing in stock. He is the owner of 
ahoiit four hundred acres of good land located on 
section 36, just outside the city of Windsor. Upon 

this farm he has a charming residence which he 
has erected on the point nearest the village. Hi- 
farm boasts of the hest of improvements and is m 
conspicuous feature in the agricultural district of 
the vicinity. Mr. Bruce has been an important 
factor in the building up of the town of Windsor, 
and the inhabitants owe him much for many con- 
veniences that make them so closely allied to 
larger cities. 

Our subject was ■■> second time married in Wind- 
er to Miss Man A. McAinant. Their nuptials 
were celebrated Maj 9, L s 7(!. The lady was born 



I '.IS 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in Ohio. She has presented her husband with two 
children — Robert B. and Elenore E. The latter 
died when t e 1 1 and a half years old. In hi.* polit- 
ical preferences Mr. Bruce is a Democrat, in that 
following the traditions of lu> family. He has taken 
an active part in religious affairs, having been a 
member of the Christian Church since 1857 and 
has filled th<' office of Deacon for about twenty- 
live year.-. The body with which he is united owes 
much to his generosity anil excutiye ability. 



AJVIUEL S. PETERS. A native of the 
%^? Prairie State and prominent in agricultural, 
political and church circles in Sullivan 
Township, Moultrie County, is the standi 
and worthy citizen whose name appeal's at the 
head of this article. lie was born in Clark 
County, this Male. November 1 1. 1834 and is a son 
of Andrew and Susan (Mitchell) Peters. The 
father was born and grew to manhood in theGreen 
Mountain state and afterward removed with his 
parent- to Ohio, where they located on a farm, 
which is now a portion of the city of Cincinnati, 
and there they died. 

The father of our subject was married in Ohio, 
his wife being a native of Wardford County, Ivy. 
They emigrated from the Buckeye state to Illinois 
at a very early da) in the history of this State. 
This wife was called hence by death and Mr. Peters 

married again, the second wife being the mother 
of our subject. Two children were horn to her, 
the second son, Oliver, being four years younger 
than Samuel, lie married Love Clarke, ana now 

resides in Iroquois County, this Stall'. ( )n the 

paternal side the family is of English ancestn and 
was established in Vermont at an early date in the 
colonization of New England. 

The early life of OUT subject wa- spent on his 
father's farm in (lark County, and he was only 
twenty years of age when he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mary Saveree whose father. John, 
was a Frenchman and her mother, Eliza, a native 
of Ohio. .Mrs. Peters is the second child in her 
father's family, of whom five arc now living, 



namely; Jeremiah, now a widower, who resides in 
his native county; Cynthia A., who married James 
Madley and died on the homestead in Clark 
County; Elizabeth, who became the wife of John 
I.. Collier and resides in Clark County; John M.. 
who married .Mary Bell and lives in Yincennes. 
Ind.. having served through the war as a soldier; 
Cynthia .1.. .John W. and William, died in early 
life, the latter in the army at the age of sixteen 
years, lie was a member of an Illinois regiment. 

The father of Mrs. Peters died when she was ten 
years old and her mother married Fred II illicit, 
who served as a soldier during the war in tin Illi- 
nois regiment. Three children were born of this 
marriage, namely: Angeline, 'now Mrs. Nitzman 
and Henderson and Henry. The last named is now 
deceased. The mother passed away in Clark 
County, in 1883. 

The five children who were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Peters are as follows: Susie, who is now the 
widow of Nelson Fred and resides with her par- 
ents; Elizabeth, who died in infancy; John An- 
drew, who married Ellen Wheeler and is farming 
in Missouri: William, who i> unmarried and lives 
at home with his parents and Mihlra. who married 
Mr. G. M. Stivers, a druggist at Bement, III. 

The subject of this sketch has made agriculture 
his life work, coming to Moultrie County in 1859 
and renting land for several years until he was 
able to purchase, in 1S72, the farm on which he 
now resides. He has ever taken an active interest 
in political affairs and espouses the principles of 
Democracy, lie hasserved with great efficiency in 
the offices of Highway Commissioner and Justice 
of the Peace lor nine years besides various school 
offices, lie still holds the position of Justice < if 
the Peace and his administration of justice is in- 
deed conducive to the peace of the community, as 
by his wise and judicious counsel, he saves many 
of his neighbors from expensive and aggravating 

lawsuits. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church is the religious 
body with which Mr. and Mrs. Peters lirst became 
united, as they joined that in 1861 but as there 
has been no organization of that kind in the 
neighborhood where they reside, they withdrew 
from it »ix years ago and joined the Presbyterian 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



:.iil 



Church, where they now worship and where they 
have proved themselves a power for good in all 
church work. This gentleman owns a splendid 
tract of two hundred and seventy acres and hi> 
son. William, has eighty acres adjoining. He is 
making preparations to build a residence the com- 
ing year, after which he will no doubt find great 
comfort in this new home in his declining years. 
lie is identified with the order of Masons, being a 
member of Sullivan Lodge No. 764and ofSullivan 
Chapter No. 128, as well as being identified with 
the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. 



V. 



ESSE A. BOWMAN,D. 1). S.,of Shelbyville, 
though a young man has already won a high 
reputation for his complete knowledge of 
dental surgery and stands at the head of his 
profession in Shelby County, lie is a native of 
Illinois, born near Rockport, in Pike County. De- 
cember 27. 18(1:?. His father. Joseph McEwen, was a 
well-known farmer of that county and for some 
years previous to his death, in 1868, resided near 
Rockport. His wife, whose maiden name was Nancy 
Moxley. survived him until 1870, her death occur- 
ring at Shelbyville. Six of their children were 
reared to maturity — William P., John, Mary, Jacob, 
Jesse and Thoma.-. 

After the death of his mother our subject was 

adopted by Dr. Joseph and Susan Bowman, of 
Shelbyville, and was carefully reared by them as if 
he were their own. lie was given line edueational 
advantages, and was graduated from the High 

Scl 1 in the Class of 'SI with a good record for 

scholarship. He then adopted fora while t he voca- 
tion of teacher in order to secure money to prepare 
himself for the dental profession. He taught his 
first term in Ridge Township, and when In' had 
sufficient money t<> defray his expenses at college 
in lss.'S he entiicd the Indiana Dental College at 
Indianapolis, from which he was graduated in the 
Class of 'si. with a thorough equipment for his 
chosen calling. After leaving college he formed a 
partnership with bis father and was with him until 



Dr. Bowman's death in 1888, since which time he 
has been alone. He bas pleasant rooms for the ex- 
ercise of his profession and is well supplied with 

all the modern appliances that have placed the 
practice of dentistry to-day among the arts or 
sciences. His skill, combined with his courtesej 
and geniality render- him popular with everybody 
and bas gained him a large patronage. 

The marriage of Dr. Bowman with Miss Anna 
Rice was solemnized in lssc. They have a charm- 
ing home and their household is completed by the 
presence of the three children horn unto them — 
Fred Homer. Carl Randolph and George A. The 
Doctor is well-known in social circles for his 
musical talent as he has a line voice that has been 
carefully cultivated and he is one of the leading 
spirits of the famous Shelbyville Palmer Glee 

Club. This is ( iposed of five members and is 

admitted to lie the finesl glee club in the Stale. It 
was a prominent feature in Gen. Palmer's cam- 
paigns in 1888 and 1891, being greeted with en- 
thusiasm by the music-loving populace wherever 
it sang and it was called to Chicago during the 
mayoralty campaign there in the spring of 1891, 
and received many plaudits from the people and 
encomiums from the press. Our subject and his 
wife are among the leading members of the Luth- 
eran Church. lie has been Superinteneent of the 
Sunday-school. Secretary of the congregation and 
for eight years has acted a- chorister. 

Accompanying this biographical notice is a lith- 
ographic portrait of Dr. Bowman. 






i t'BPS •!"!"!"»* — 



s. APT. GEORGE WRIGHT. Conspicuous 

among those of foreign birth who periled 
/' their lives and fortunes to help save the 
Union during the Civil War Capt. George Wright 
is not the least worthy of mention. Since the 
close of the Rebellion he has shown the value of 
his citizenship in a a far differenl held a- a farmer 
of this county who for several years has interested 
himself in the introduction of fine horses into this 
part of the State, having a well-equipped stock 
farm in Pickawai Town-hip. where he and his son 



502 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are quite extensively engaged in breeding horses, 
and have several valuable thoroughbreds of the 
besl strains, besides some imported stock of the 
purest blood. 

Capt. Wrighl was born in Hutton, Yorkshire, 
England, October US. 1825. His father, Robert 
Wright, was a native of the same shire, as was the 
grandfather of oursubject who spent his whole life 
among the Yorkshire wolds. The father of our sub- 
ject was reared to agricultural pursuits and al- 
ways carried on his occupation in his native shire. 
He married Eleanor Bradley, who also passed her 
entire life in Yorkshire. She was the mother of 
six children, only two of whom came to this coun- 
try, our subject and his sister Frances. The latter 
married Robert Dobson, and lives in Shelbyville. 

At the early age of seven years the Captain com- 
menced to earn his own living, as his parents were 
in poor circumstances, and he worked out by the 
year in different English shires until 1847, when 
he obtained employment in the chemical works at 
South Shields, where hi' remained two years. Am- 
bitious to see something of the world and to make 
more of life than was possible in the land of hi-. 
birth, in the pride and vigor of early manhood, 
he set sail from Liverpool in tile month of May 
in the vessel "De Witt Clinton." bound for these 
shores, anil landed at New York after a three 
weeks' voyage. lie went directly to Massillon, 
Ohio, where he obtained work as a farm hand, and 
he resided there until 1858. In that year he made 
a new departure, and coming to this county, be- 
gan his independent eareer as a farmer by purchas- 
ing two hundred and forty acres of wild prairie, 
paying $9 an acre for one hundred and sixty aero 
of it. and $12.50 for the remaining eighty acres, 
lie was a single man a I that time. hut he had the help 
and encourageinenl of his sister, with whom he 
resided until 1861. 

In thai year the war broke out, and our subject 
responded quickly to the call for troops first given, 
with all the loyalty to tin> Government under 
which he had come to build up a new home, and 
with all the patriotism of a native-born citizen. 
So rapidly did volunteers come forward in this 
county thai the quota was filled before our subjeel 
wi- mustered in. and he had to wait until the 25th 



of May before his name was enrolled as a member 
of Company B, Fourteenth Illinois Infantry, under 
Col. John M. Palmer. July 25, 1861, hi- regi- 
ment crossed from Quincy to Missouri, and was 
stationed in that State until tin' ensuing winter. 
being at different times quartered at Etolla, Macon 
City. Sturgeon, Jefferson City, Lipton, Springfield, 
Sedalia and Otterville, oi wherever their services 
were most needed, being at the latter place the 
greater part of the season of 1861 and till the 
1st of February. 1862. When Gen. Lyon fought his 
famous battle a1 Wilson's Creelc, and when Mulli- 
gan was engaged at Lexington, our subject and 
his comrades were sent to re-enforce them but ar- 
rived too late both time- to be of much use. While 
at Jefferson City our subject received his promo- 
tion to be Second Lieutenant of his company Sep- 
tember 28, 1861. 

When 1 1 i — regimenl left its winter quarters it 
wa- despatched across the Mississippi River to 
Ft. Donelson, and much to the disappointment of 
the brave men it arrived too late for the battle. 
They were, however, in good season for the en- 
gagement at Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, April 
6, 1862, and did some desperate fighting in that 
dreadful battle, as is shown by the fact that two 

hundred out of their live hundred were left on 

the field at the end of the encounter. On that oc- 
casion, while faithfully performing hi- duty, and 
cheering his men on to the conflict, Capt. Wrighl 
received a bullet wound in the left arm. 

October 2">. 1*72. marked another important 
event in the brave officer's military career, and it 
wa- on that dale that he received hi- commission 
as First Lieutenant, to dateSeptember 13, 1862,and 
reading "Promoted for meritorious service a1 l'itts- 
burg Landing." When the attack was made on 

( orinth.lhe Fourteenth Illinois distinguished itself 

for conspicuous gallantry in the fore-front of the 
battle. Its next move wa-toCrand Junction and 
La Grange, and June 17. 1862, found it at Holly 
Springs, Miss. The following October it was in 
the heat of battle at Metamora, sometimes called 
the battle of Hatchie. Our subjeel and his com- 
rade- -pent the winter of 1862-63 at Lafayette. 
Tenn.. and the following spring and summer were 
in active service in the famous siege of Vicksburg, 



PORTRAIT .VXD BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 503 



Here again our subject was honored by promotion hackney, bred in Effingham, Yorkshire, England, 

to the position of Captain, receiving his commis- imported to this country in 1890. Messrs. Wright 

sion, which was dated May 8, lK(i:i. J una 30, also have three imported English shire mares: "Lady 

1863. After Vicksburg had fallen he led his men Cannock," No. 2350, bred in Leicestershire; "Queen 

in the battle of Jackson, Miss., and afterward Sarah," No. 2.'>.">2. bred in Lincolnshire; "Queen 

camped at Natchez. He was subsequently detailed Henrietta, No. 2-">.">l. bred in Lincolnshire. These 

with his company to escort Adj.-Gen. Thomas horses constitute one of the best selected and most 

in New Orleans. He rejoined his regiment near valuable studs in this part of the country, and in 

Vicksburg, and in the opening month of l*til he their purchase the Captain laid the foundation of 

and a number of his fellow-veterans returned l<> a business that is increasing each year, and he has 

Illinois, where lie obtained furloughs for his men already become known as a horseman of superior 

at Springfield. For a month after that he was on judgment, of marked capability and far-reaching 

detached duty recruiting troops in this county. In enterprise, who seems to know the good points of 

the spring he returned to his regiment, which was a horse intuitively, and is never deceived in the 

then stationed at Memphis, but he shortly returned worth of an animal. In his son, a young man of 

to Illinois with Col. Hall, the commander of his much force of character, he has an able coadjutor. 

regiment to assist him in obtaining recruits. December 2!>. ISCI. (apt. Wright contracted 

Having replenished the regiment to the required a marriage with Miss Jennie Turner that has added 

number, they returned to the seat of war. arriving greatly to his well-being. Its happiness lias been 

at Cairo. May 13, 1864, and were soon at the front. enchanced by the five children horn unto them. 

The term of enlistment of the Fourteenth Illi- namely, John Sherman, Florence Agnes, Frances 

nois expired while at Huntsville, Ala., and soon Helena. Annie .lane and Alice Maud. Mrs. Wright 

returned to Springfield, III., where (apt. Wright is also of English birth and antecedents, born in 

was mustered out of the service, having served Lancastershire, and a daughter of John Turner. She 

long and faithfully and he returned to thiseounty came to America in 1862. 

with his honors thick upon him. Before the war our subject was a Democrat, aim 

The Captain took up the work that he had laid was a devoted follower of the famous Stephen A. 

down to do battle for his adopted country, and Douglas. The war seems to have changed his po- 

was engaged in tanning in Todd's Point Town- litical views decidedly, as since he left the army 

ship for a time, his own land being leased. In he has been a Stl'Ong Republican, and the parly 

INTO he took up his residence once more on his has no more ardent advocate in this section than 

farm in Pickawaj Township, and has since OCCU- he. 
pied a leading place among the most intelligent 
and progressive farmers of this section, lie has 
always dearly loved a line horse which he rightly 

considers one of the noblest of animals, and a few y— » RVIX HOMRIGIIOUS, a jeweler of Shelby- 
years ago he turned his attention to raising horses fef ville, Shelby County, bears a high reputa- 
in company with his son. and they have met with I ■> tion through the county as a business man. 
signal success in their enterprise. They now have and is widely known in social circles for his iiiiis- 
live costly, valuable stallions, four of them im- ical talent and for his connection with the famous 
ported, as follows: "Thornton Echo"' was foaled Shelby ville Palmer ( ilee Club as its leader, lie is 
in La Fylde, Lancastershire, England; "Royal Oak" a native of Amanda Township. Fairfield County. 
was bred in Cambridgeshire. "Hampton" was Ohio, the date of his birth being March 2*. 1836. 
bred in Lincolnshire, "Arthur" is a tine road- His father, John Homrighous, a prominent citizen 
ster, half HambletOnian and half Cleveland Bay; and business man of that place, was born in thai 

and one of the handsomest and most prom- county, in the township of Bl n. October II. 

ising of the stallions is "Castleraugh," an English 1811, being as< tone of the early pioneers of 



i ■ ■ ' p » I ' TO|||W i l l i i i i 



.-,111 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



that part of Ohio, John Homrighous. The latter 
was born in Deadenshaus, Germany, November 21, 
1 7 .s 1 . His boyhood was passed in the Fatherland. 
but before he attained his majority he resolved to 
try life in America. Accordingly he embarked on 
the good ship •• Speculation," and some weeks later 
landed at Baltimore, lie returned t<> Germany a 
year or two later to revisit the scenes of his youth, 
hut he came hack to this country in 1805, and was 
a resident of Baltimore until L810, when he vent- 
ured forth into the wilds of < )hio, and became a 
pioneer of Lancaster, lie was finely educated, 
and his fellow-pioneers were glad to have him 
teach their children, so he taught for some time in 
and about Lancaster, and was one of the very first 
teachers of Fairfield County. lie was a preacher 
in the German Reformed Church, and ad- 
ministered spiritual food to the people very accept- 
ably. He was withal a man of thrift and industry 
and the quarter of a section of land that he pur- 
chased in Bloom Township under Ids skilful hand 
became a fine farm, though it was heavily wooded 
when it came into his possession. lie made it 
his home until he was called up higher to the 
realms of the hlest. The maiden name of his wife 
was Alspaugh. She was of German antecedents, 
hut was horn in America. 

In the county of his nativity, the father of sub- 
ject grew up under pioneer influences. He learned 
the trade of a cabinetmaker, and in 1 h 2 : > estab- 
lished himself at that in connection with undertak- 
ing at Royalton, and has been in business there 
ever since, he being one of the substantial moneyed 
men of the town. He also owns a farm in 
Amanda Township, jusl outside the corporate 
limits of Royalton. lie married in earlymauhood 
Miss Magdalina Wagner, and they have traveled 
life's road together many years. She was horn in 
Amanda Township, December 11. 1811, coming of 
one of the early pioneer families of Ohio. She is 
the mother of these live children. — lolm \V.. 
Frvin. .Mary A.. Lewis and Henry. 

Ervin Homrighous was educated in the schools 
of Royalton. and at the age of twelve years he 
began to learn the trade of a jeweler, and when 
fifteen years old commenced to learn the trade of 
,-i cabinetmaker of his father, He worked with 



him until he was twenty-two years of age, and 
then came to Illinois, and for seven years was act- 
ively engaged in farming in Holland Township. 
In 1865 lie came to Shelby ville. but he did not at 
once establish himself in any particular business. 
He continued to give his attention to agriculture 
and superintended the management of his line 
farm of five hundred acres in Holland Township. 
continually making improvements that enhanced 
its value. In 1881 he embarked in the jewelry 
business, taking advantage of a fine opening at 
Shelbyville for a first-class jewelry store, and has 
continued in it ever since. He has cine of the 
finest establishments of the kind in Central Illinois. 
handsomely appointed, and stocked with an ele- 
gant assortment of jewelry and precious stones of 
every description to suit all tastes and require- 
ments of even the most fastidious, as our subject 
is a connoisseur in his line, and makes his select- 
ions with nice discrimination and an artistic eye. 

.Mr. Homrighous was first married in 1858 to 
Miss Mary Allen, who was. like himself, a native 
of Amanda Township, -Ohio, ami was a daughter 
of Howard and Sarah (Leist) Allen. Mrs. Hom- 
righous died in 1870 and her household was thus 
deprived of the tender ministrations of a good 
wife and devoted mother. Four children were tilt 
fruit of that marriage, namely, — John, Milo, Met- 
ta and Frank. In April. 1871. our subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Esther Penwell, a 
native of Indiana, and a daughter of David and 
Samantha (Carver) Penwell. Mr. and Mrs. Hom- 
righoushave a charming home, and their many 
friends are always sure of a cordial welcome and 
pleasant entertainment at the hands of a host ami 
hostess of such well-known social qualities as they 
possess. Two children have blessed their mar- 
riage, Charles and Bob. 

Mr. Homrighous is not only a practical, wide- 
awake business man. but he has another side to his 
nature in that he has inherited from a music-loving 
race a decided talent for that noble art. and is one 
of the foremost singers of this county. He re- 
ceived a careful and thorough training in voice 
cult ui e in his youth, and ever since he was eighteen 
years of age he has given vocal lessons, and for 
some years he has been chorister at the Methodist 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



505 



Episcopal Church, lint he has gained his chief 
distinction as leader of the celebrated Shelbyville 
Palmer Glee Club, which is widely known for the 
marked musical ability of its members, and stands 
without a peer in the United States as a campaign 
glee club. The four gentlemen who have united 
with our subject to make the club famous arc K. 
T. llite. Dr. .1. A. Bowman, Edward Silvers and G. 
R, Graybill. During the political campaign of 
1888 the club accompanied (Jen. Palmer when 
he stumped the state for tin' Governorship, and 
was received with acclamation on every hand by 
the people who assembled to hear the General's 
political oratory, and who listened with rapt atten- 
tion to the songs rendered by the club, and testified 
to their appreciation by generous applause. When 
the exciting mayoralty contest was being carried 
on in Chicago in the spring of 1891, the Glee 
Club was honored by being called to that city to 
sing at ' the political gatherings of the Democrats, 
and if the candidate endorsed by Senator Palmer 
could have been sung into office, he would un- 
doubtedly have been reelected. As it was. the 
music-loving populace of the World's Fair City 
attended the meetings in crowds to hear the sing- 
ing of thi' dull, and it was highly commended by 
the press. 

In politics. Mr. Homrighous is a Democrat. 
Socially, he is a member Of .Jackson Lodge, No. 
53, A. F. &. A. M. Religiously, both he and bis 
wife are among the leading members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church. 



AI.YIN FRANTZ. The original of this 
sketch i> now enjoying the well earned rest 
from the hard labor and responsibility to 
which he has for years been subjected. He is now 

living in retirement from farm work in Lovington 
and here gives himself up to the enjoyment of 
things in life, which, although he has appreciated 
hitherto, he has been obliged to deprive himself of 
because of lack of time and mental freshness to 
thoroughly enjoy. The life of a farmer, especially 



one who has the charge of a good deal of stock, is 
one in which every hour of the day has it> duties; 
from the earliest dawn when the kine and calves, 
the horses and pigs ami other domestic animals are 
each calling in their own peculiar language for 
breakfast and care, until the night, when it is im- 
portant that each dumb brute should be safely 
housed and protected, there is something to look 
after, something to plan and much to execute. A 
farm is a small dominion and the fanner i> the 
petty monarch of all he surveys, and it will yield 
him well and prolifically in proportion as he >tu<lie> 
ii> needs and requirements. 

Our subject is of Irish- American parentage. His 
father, John Frantz, was born in Somerset County, 
Pa., and his mother, whose maiden name was 
Rachael McMahon, was a native of Ireland. After 
marriage they settled in Somerset County. Pa., 
where they remained a short time and thence re- 
moved to Perry County. Ohio, where they resided 
a good many years, and early in the '60s came 
to Moultrie County, here living until death claimed 
them for its own. Both passed away at the resi- 
dence of our subject in Lovington. They had 
nine children and of these our subject was the 
fourth in order of birth. He was born in Perry 
Count}', Ohio. January 23, 18:50. and there he grew 
to manhood, remaining under the parental roof 
until 1851, when he came to Moultrie County and 
soon after engaged in fanning in Dora Township, 
where he continued to live until March. 1885. 

At the date above named Mr. Frantz rented his 
farm and came to the village of Lovington where 
he has since been a resident. His chief occupation 
has been farming and he has devoted himself to 
this calling with a gratifying degree of success. 
He is now the owner of two hundred acres of land 
in Dora Township which is well improved and 
bears evidence of thorough and intelligent culti- 
vation on the part of it> owner. He of whom we 
write was married in Lovington Township. March 
19, 1854. His bride was Catherine F. Pen i well, a 
daughter of John I), and Isabella (I'odman) Peni- 
well. The former was born in Delaware and the 
latter was a native of Ireland. After marriage 
the\ settled in Pickawaj County, Ohio, where the 
wife and mother died. Mi'. Peniwdl then came to 



50(5 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Moultrie County, this State, in 1851, and settled 
in Lovingtoxi Township and later removed to Dora 
Township, where he resided until his death. 

Nine children grew up about their parents and 
of these Mrs. Frantz was the fourth in order of 
borth. She was born in Ohio, June 7, 1825. Mrs. 
Frantz is an intelligent and amiable woman who 
has ever been the loving helpmate and sympathetic 
companion in all that interests her husband. She 
i> the mother of four children whose names are 
respectively: Isabella, Rachael E., and Mary Wand 
one other child, the eldest, who died in infancy. 
Of these, Isabella is the wife of Reuben Landers. 
She died in LovingtOn Township, October. [HUH. 
Rachael E. died when only two years of age. Mary 
V. is the wife of T. 1). Wilt, 

The gentleman of whom we write has taken an 
active interest in political affairs for many years 
past, being a follower and adherent of the Repub- 
lican party. lie has held several offices in the gift 
ot the township in which he lives, having been 
Collector, School Director, and Highway Commis- 
sioner, all of which posts he has held to the satis- 
faction of his constituents. Mi'. Frantz is a 
gentleman whose high business capabilities render 
him lit for any position that might be required of 
him for the good of the township and the advan- 
tage of the people. He is a thoughtful, intelligent 
man. an honorable gentleman anil a scholar. 



E_ 



-«+>- 



&~ 



^^EORGE BAKER is successfully pursuing 
agriculture on the fertile soil of l'enn 
Township, where he has a farm that in 
point of productiveness, cultivation and improve- 
ment ranks with the best in its vicinity. June III. 
18,") 1 is the date of the birth of our subject in Har- 
rison County, Ind. Conrad Baker, his father, a 
well-known resident of that county, is a native of 
Germany. His parents spent their entire lives in 

that country and lie and his brother Theobald 

were the only members of the family that ever 

came to America. The latter settled in Floyd 
( ounty. hid. 

Conrad Baker learned the trade of a shoemaker 



in his youth and when a young man left his 
native laud to try his fortune in the United States 
of America. After his arrival he made his way to 
Indiana and settled in Harrison County. For a 
time he made shoes in Bradford and then engaged 
in the mercantile business, which he continued to 
carry on with good profit for some years. lie now 
lives retired in the same village in the enjoyment 
of a competence ample for all his wants. IK- was 
married after coining to this country to Sarah 
Ingram, a native of Harrison County. He was 
bereaved of her companionship by her death in 
1879. Her father, who was a pioneer of Harrison 
(ounty. served in the War of 1812 and fought 
bravely in the famous Battle of Tippecanoe. Two 
children were born to the parents of our subject, 
Lewis, the other son. being now a resident of 
Bradford, his native town. After t lit- death of 
their mother their father married again and has 
nine children by his second union. 

Our subject passed his boyhood in the home of 
his birth and was educated in the local public 
schools. He was active, capable and self-reliant as 
a lad and began to make himself useful when quite 
young. At the age of nineteen he left the paren- 
tal abode to start in life for himself and for one 
vear worked on a farm by the month in his native 
county, lie then left Indiana and for a year and 
a half lived in LaBelle County. Kan., where he 
was employed as a farm hand. Shrewdly foresee- 
ing that on the alluvial soil of this county he 
would have better opportunities to become inde- 
pendent in the exercise of his chosen Calling, for 
he had decided to try farming for himself, he 
came to this section of the State and in 187:5 
rented land. lie was thrifty, industrious and 
economical and in 1888 he had money enough and 
to spare to invest in a good farm and he bought 
the one that he now occupies, lie is the fortunate 
proprietor of a quarter section of prairie in l'enn 
Township, which is undci admirable tillage and is 
Supplied with all the uccessan buildings, besides 
being well equipped with modern machinery. 

During these years of toil Mr. Baker has by no 
means been without the assistance of a capable 
wife, to whose cheerful co-operation he is much 
indebted for the comforts of a cozv home. This 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



.-,07 



helpmate he secured in the person of Laura A. 
Martin, to whom he was united in marriage in 
1K73. Two children have been born to them. 
whom they have named Cora E. and Clarence. 
Mr. Baker is an intelligent member of the Farmer's 
.Mutual Benefit Association and in politics he holds 
himself independent, supporting at the polls which- 
ever pari v he deems best. 



—8- 



^§MM 



Qy-^ 




NDREW FOSTER. Our subjed is of Irish 
parentage and from both sides of the fam- 
ily inherits the wit and humor as well 
as the quick and nervous vital force 
of the Irish people. His father was John Foster 
and his mother was Eleanor (Morrow) Foster, both 
from Ireland, and having emigrated to this coun- 
try at an early day. removing to Moultrie County, 
this State, where they settled in Lovington Town- 
ship. The father of the family expired on his 
farm in the township. The mother passed away 
later, while in the town. They had eleven chil- 
dren, Of whom mil subjeel was the tenth in order 

of birth. 

Ross County. Ohio, was the place where Andrew 
Foster was horn September 24, 1816. lie was 
about four years old when his parents removed to 
Pickaway County. Ohio, and there he grew to 
manhood and there continued to live until 1844, 
when he came to Moultrie County with his wife 
and one child and settled in Lovington Township. 
His marriage took place in Ross County, Ohio, 
.March 2. L 842, and he was united to Lucinda Coch- 
ran, who was a native of the county in which she 
was married. She bore him four children, whose 
names areas follows: John A., who married Adclia 
Bicknell and died in Lovington, this state; the 
other children are Elizabeth I-..: Sarah J.; Milton 
C; Elizabeth E. is the wife of Henry II. Dawson; 
Sarah .1. was married to .lames Gregory; while Mil- 
ton C. was united to Mis- K. Bicknell. Mrs. Lu- 
cinda Foster died in Lovington October l. 1854. 

The original of our sketch was again married in 
Sullivan, this State, October 28, 1858, to Sarah .1. 
Lewis, nee Hubbard. She was born in Pickaway 



County, Ohio, September 21, 1831. six children 
were the result of this marriage. Their names are 
as follows: George E., Aha E., Charles G., I 'rah S. 
and Frank II; George E. married Amanda Binkley; 
Alva E. was united to Miss Li/./.ie Oailey; Charles 
G. was united to Miss Allie Souther; Frank II. 
married Miss Olive BoggS; tin' other son. Eddie, 
died when only eighl months old. 

He of whom we write lived on his farm in this 
county until about 1M;V2 or 1853, when he came to 
Lovington, where he has since been a resident. He 
is the owner of live hundred and twoacres of good, 
arable land, upon which he has laid out many im- 
provements. In politics he is an adherent of the 
Democratic party, its breadth of platform, free trade 
theories, suiting his ideas of a Republican form 
of government. His wife, who is personally a 
most affable lady, with an unusual conversational 
ability, has ever been her husband's encourager 
and helper in his work. She is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church and all good words 
and works find a sure lodging in her sympathetic 
and motherly nature. 

Our subject's father, John Foster, died in Au- 
gust, 1852, at the age of eighty-eight years. His 
wife. Mrs. Eleanor Foster, died in August. 1852,a1 
the same age her husband had attained when his 
decease took place. They were kindly and gentle 
old people, who had fulfilled their mission in life 
conscientiously and well. They bequeathed to 
their children principles of honor and rectitude 
that have followed them through life and have 
been of great advantage to them in a business way. 




EXRV BERNHARD. At the name miller, 
one's mind instantly and involuntarily sees 

picture after picture of the changes that 
have been wrought in the methods of pro- 
ducing the farinaceous product of which the stafl 
of life is made. One first sees two veiled women 
sitting on either side of -tone disks and grinding 
the handful of corn or wheat into powder; later, 
it was accomplished on a larger scab', and beasts 



508 



PORTRAIT AM) P.K iGRAPIIICAL RECORD. 



of burden turned the stones, and in the boyhood 
days of the early pioneers in this State, they saw 
quaint little mills whose wheels were turned by a 
thin stream of water that, east from the wheel. 
made merry bubbles and diamonds of light. This 
has all given way to the new process and now-a- 
<l.-i\ s when we go to mill, one sees only a bewilder- 
ing maze of belts and bands and machinery, 
that turns out the snowy while billows of 
flour at an amazingly rapid rate. This is known 
as the Roller Process of making Hour and if is one 
of these last mentioned places of which our subject 
i- proprietor. 

Previous to coming to Strasburgh, the original 
of our sketch was engaged in business in Effing- 
ham County, this State, where he remained until 
his mill Was destroyed bj tin' November 1. 1886. 
lie dill not. however, make the change until April, 
1887, when on coming here, he erected the tine 
mill of which he is the sole owner and proprietor. 
These mills have a capacity of turning out eighty 
barrels of flour daily, and being so accessible to 
the farmers in the vicinity, Mr^Bernhard does a 
large and thriving business. Our subject has a 
charming residence in Strasburg located on the 
principal residence street. It is gracefully presided 
over by his wife, who is a cultivated and talented 
woman, she was previous to marriage with him 
of whom we write Mrs. Louisa Krd. nee llartman. 
she is a native of Pennsylvania. Our subject had 
previously been married, his first wife having died 
in Shumway, this state. .Inly "2. L883. 

Henry Bernhard was born in Ittlingen, Baden, 
Germany, April '■>. 1835, and is a son of Henry 
and Margaret (Ziegler) Bernhard, both natives of 
Baden, Germany, the former having been there 
born September I. 1802. The mother passed awa^ 

in her native country in 1837. Some years after 
oursuliject came to America his father also emi- 
grated to this country in 1879, and thereafter 
made his home with hi* SOU until his death which 
look place in Shumway. this Slate. January .'!, 
1889. lie of whom we write received his early 
education in the schools of hi- native village and 
early received training of a practical nature, which 
is indispensable to German teaching, lie early 
learned the trade of milling, in his native home. 



In 1 M .") :i . when there was such an exodus from 
the European countries to the United States, our 
subject came hither with the intention of making 
his fortune, confident that so strong a pair of 
hands, guided by so willing and intelligent an 
understanding, would not be out of place in this 
great land where there are so many opportunities 
for one who is quick and intelligent. For nine 
months after first coming to this country he was 
engaged in milling in New Jersey. At the expir- 
ation of that time, he came to St. Clair County. 
111., where he remained until 18(54, when he re- 
moved to Banner Township, Effingham County. 

On settling in St. Clair County our subject felt 
the need of a home and companion, and solicited 
the hand of Catherine Sinn in marriage. His suit 
was successful and their nuptials were celebrated 
( tctober 27, 18.")S. The lady was born in Germany 
at her husband's birthplace, her natal day being 
December 2. IK3N. She was the daughter of 
Michael and Rosetta Sinn. Four children were the 
result of that union. Two of these. Lizzie and 
Louisa are still living. As before stated his wife 
died in lKX.'J. and after the many years that they 
had lived together, life seemed to him for awhile 
intolerably desolate. 

Always a public-spirited man. Mr. Bernhard has 
ever been quick to see advantages that would 
redound to the benefit of the public, and to exert 
himself in making these realities. In L872hetOOk 
an active part in securing the establishment of a 
post-office. The station was then called Tolerance, 
anil our subject was appointed Postmaster in 
which capacity he served until 1879, when the 
name was changed to Shumway. In L878"he 
erected the Tolerance Flouring Mills in the town 
of Shumway. Effingham County, at a cost of 
>=1 1,000. 

Prior to entering the milling business he of 
whom we write was engaged in merchandise for a 
period of eight years in which business he was 
very successful. The fact that he is truly the 
architect of his own fortunes must be very encour- 
aging to main young men who. like himself, 
have but small capital with which to operate, and 
whose wits and ability arc their best stock in trade. 
Mr. Bernhard has become a wealth v and influential 



r 









fr.S^udU 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



511 



man and this he has accomplished by his own un- 
aided efforts. He has held a number of local 
offices in his township, having been Supervisor, 
Clerk and School Director. Politically, he is a 
Democrat. Religiously, he is :i Freethinker. 



< ^;<^m® 



r m\ 



OIIX E. BRADLEY. Amongthemany who 
are gaining a maintenance as farmers in 
Lovington Township, is the gentleman 
whose name introduces these paragraphs and 
whose portrait is presented on the opposite page. 
lie is the owner and operator of a line farm of 
eighty acres on section 12. By honest industry, 
good judgment and unwavering perseverance, he 
has won prosperity, and what is far better, a repu- 
tation a* a man of honor and uprightness. The 
spirit lie has shown in worldly affairs, affords a Les- 
son toothers who begin life without capital, while 
the influence of his consistent life is fell far and 
near. 

Mr. Bradley is an honored representative of a 
patriotic and industrious family. His grandfather, 
John Bradley, served seven years as a brave sol- 
dier in the Revolutionary War. while his father. 
John Bradley, was one of the founders of the old 
free Soil party. The latter, a native of Chester 
County, l'a.. married Elizabeth Evans, a native of 
the same place a> himself, and there they dwelt for 
some years after their marriage. Later they re- 
moved to Trumbull County, Ohio, "here the faith- 
ful wife and mother died December I. 1838. Af- 
ter her decease the father came as far West as 

Illinois, where, in Lovington Township, Moultrie 
County, he closed his eyes to the scenes of earth 
February 21, 1872. 

Of the six children in the family circle our sub- 
ject was the fifth, and he was horn in Chester 

County, l'a.. December is. 1829. lie was a child 
of four years when his parents came to Trumbull 
County, Ohio, "here he grew to manhood, in the 
meantime acquiring as thorough an education as 
was afforded by the schools of the vicinity. lie re- 
mained on a farm in Trumbull County until tin 
spring of 1850. when he came to Moultrie County, 



111., and settled in Lovington Township, of which 
he has since been a resident. 

Mr. Bradley wasfirsl married, December b s . L856, 
to Mary S., daughter of Oren Dunscomb, who died 
in Trumbull County. Ohio. Mrs. Bradley was born 
in Trumbull County, and bore her husband one 
child, a son. Charlie II.. who married Miss Mary E. 
Weatherly and now lives in Sullivan. The wife 
and mother passed from earth August 18, 1866. Mr. 
Bradley was again married, in Pickawaj' County. 
Ohio. January lib 1871, choosing as his wife Miss 
Martha A. Hayes. This estimable lady, the daugh- 
ter of Jesse and Betsey (Hurst) Hayes, was born in 
Pickaway County. September 27. L836, and under 
the careful instruction of her parents and teachers. 
grew to a refined womanhood. Her happy mar- 
riage with Mr. Bradley has been blest by the birth 
of three children — John R. Mary E. and Alfred C. 

Since the organization of the Republican party. 
Mr. Bradley has been prominent in its ranks, and 
has served the people in various official capacities. 
lie is greatly interested in educational matters. and 
for twenty-five years has served efficiently as School 
Director. He has also been Highway Commissioner 
and held the minor offices of the township. But 
we would be doing great injustice to Mr. Bradley's 
career, were we to omit especial mention of his 
army record. On August 1. 1862, he enlisted in 
Company A. One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illi- 
nois Infantry, as a musician, lie served in the 
ranks until he was promoted to be Corporal and 
later Sergeant. The entire term of his service was 
three years, and during that time he participated in 
many engagements, among the most important be- 
ing the siege of Vicksburg and the battles of Little 
Hock, and Clarendon. Ark. After an honorable 
service he was mustered out at Pine Bluff, Ark., 
and returned home to resume the pursuits of peace. 

While serving his country. Mr. Bradley received 
a se. ere sunstroke which has been a source of great 
affliction Iq him up to the present time. As might 
i, u rally lie expected he belongs to the Grand 

Army of the Republic, being a prominent member 
of Lovington Post. No. 354. Socially he is a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity. In religious work 
he takes an active part, having been a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church since is;,:;, and 



512 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



his wife also holds membership in the same church. 
As one of the valiant soldiers to whom we owe the 
preservation of the Union, and as a capable farmer 
we are pleased to represent him in this volume. 






PAY1I) MAUTZ. Most of the new linos of 
thought instituted in this counti-3' arc not 
original with Americans, but are the out- 
come of the conditions under which our alien ele- 
ments have lived. It is true that not all of these 
new ideas are desirable, as for instance, the anar. 
chistic class, which was introduced from Germany 
but has been re-en forced by representatives from 
every oppressed nation. However, even the anar- 
chists may effect a change in the relation of the 
different classes of commercial and social life. 
Evolution in science and art is most prominently 
demonstrated by the Germans of whom-our sub- 
ject is one. He resides on section :i2. of Rural 
Township, having thereon a fine and well cultivated 
farm that shows the intelligent care that he has 
brought to bear upon the place. 

Our subject was horn in Wurtemburg, Germany, 
January *. 1845, and is a son of George and Rosi- 
na Maria Mautz, for whose further history see 
sketch of John F. Mautz in another part of this 
RECORD. In 1852, when every nation seemed to lie 
in a volcanic state, and there was a restlessness that 
pervaded every class of society, the family of 
which our subject was one, decided to emigrate to 

the United States. After landing they proceeded 
at once to Fail-field County. Ohio, where they re- 
mained for two years, and then came to this Male 
setl ling in Shelby County. 

The early life of the original of our sketch was 
spent upon a farm, where he drew in the spirit of 
freedom with every breath of air that he inspired 
lie early familiarized himself with the work of a 
fanner and his training in this direction was car- 
ried on by his father in the thrifty and speculative 
German fashion, making intelligent observation 

Second the effort- of hard and constant manual 

labor. The intervals of farm duties were filled by 

attendance at the district schools, after which he 



attended the Okaw Academy, al Shelbyville. He 
then finished his training at the University of 
Chicago, and was thus fitted to begin the practical 
lessons of life. He began his career by teaching 
school for two years in his home district. He 
then went to Chicago, where he served as clerk in 
the Chicago Savings Bank, for a period of live 
years, after which he returned to Shelby County, 
and has since then resided in Rural Township. 

November 15, 1876, our subject took upon him- 
self the duties and the responsibilities of the mari- 
tal relation, his bride being Louisa F. Weber, a 
daughter of Jacob Weber. The lady was horn in 
Wurtemburg, Germany. March 31, 1852. The\ at 
once .set up their lares and penates and the future 
seemed bright before them. For several years his 
wife was spared that he might know how sweet a 
thing a home is. December 12. 1885, she passed to 
the mysterious unknown, leaving one son. Ed- 
mund .1. to lie the comfort of the liereaved father. 

Mr. Mautz makes his home on the place origin- 
ally owned by his father. It comprises one hundred 
and seventy-six and two-thirds acres of land, one 
hundred and sixty acres of which are fine prairie, 
and well improved. He of whom we write, frater- 
nizes with adherents of the Democratic party. Al- 
though a man who is litted to fill any position in 
the gift of the county, he has no desire for public 
office or emoluments. He is a member of the 
Swedenborg Church. William Mautz. who is a 
member of our subject's family, was born October 
2:i. 1841. He received his training in the common 
schools of Germany and the United States. He 
is interested in the land of which OUT subject is 
accredited owner. 



v_- 



'^^fil^'-^S^ 



'■■• 



.-...> 



^ 



osEl'II LEI IN. Organization is the watch- 
word of all modern movements, and it is 
constantly on the increase. For many years 
trades have attiliated and worked for the 
interest of each other and for the support of their 
rights. But the two extremes of labor, the agricul- 
tural class anil the professional class have not 
joined hand- iii organizations looking to the up- 



I'OKTKAIT AM) lilo< JRAl'IIICAl. RECORD. 



513 



building of their mutual interests. Thai day is 
passing by and we find in both these classes a de- 
sire to follow the popular trend. Farmers are nun 
associating themselves under different organiza- 
tions, and perhaps there is none of these which is 
stronger than the Farmers Mutual Benefil Associa- 
tion, with winch Mr. Lehn is identified. This 
gentleman is a farmer and stock-raiser on section 
[8, Oconee Township, Shelby County, and was 
born in Roseheim, France, September i~>. 1884. 

The parents of our subject were .Joseph and 
Teresa (Echert) Lehn. The father died in his na- 
tive country when this son was M little child of 
only three years of age. The mother married 
again, taking :is her second husband Martin Eck, 
with whom she was united in marriage in 1840. 
Joseph came to America with his mother, step-fa- 
ther, brothel's and sisters in 1852. Of his father's 
children there were two sons and one daughter, 
namely: Louis, who is married and resides in Bond 

County, where lie owns a niacin lieent farm of 
nearly two thousand acres and is very extensively 
engaged in raising horses and cattle: Mary, who 
i- the widow of Anthony Fisher, (who died aboul 
ten years ago in this township) and who owns a 
farm of two hundred acres on section is. Oconee 
Township, and our subject. 

Joseph Lehn bouglvt his fine farm of three hun- 
dred and eighty acres as long ago as 1886. One 
hundred acres of this is in Montgomery County, 

this State, and the remainder in ( leoiiec Tow 1 1 - 1 1 i j >. 
In his earh youth he was trained to farm work, 
and he chose it as his life work and has been re- 
markably successful in its prosecut ion. lie has 
recently erected a handsomeand commodious home 
on section IS. and has finished and furnished it. 
with greal taste as well as comfort. 

The marriage of our subject in 1868 brought to 

his home a bride in the person of Miss Katherinc 
Lakers, who was born in Holland ill 1845 and 
came to America with her parents while still quite 
young. To Mr. and Mrs. Lehn six beautiful chil- 
dren have been horn, and they have the joy of 
seeing them all still in life and health ami under 
the parental roof. They are named as follows — 
Frank, Maggie, Teresa, Louis. Katherinc and Mary. 
All except the eldest arc in attendance upon the 



public schools and are benefiting by the instruction 
received*. Theypromise well to repay ahundanth 
all the care and affection which has been lavished 
upon them. 

Mr. Lehn was for a number of years after com- 
ing to America engaged in various avocations. 
For three years he worked in brickyards, and 
afterward started in on his own account in brick 
making, and also took an interest in buying and 
selling stock". With his general farming he deals 
a good deal in cattle and hoe's, raising them anil 
occasionally buying and feeding for sale. 

Mr. Lehn has always taken an active interest in 
political affairs and voted the Republican ticket 
steadily from 1856 until Grant's second election. 
at which time he voted the Democratic ticket. lie 
is quite liberal in his political views and says he 
"votes for the man." All the members of his 
family belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and 
attend services at l'ana. He is an honest and in- 
dustrious citizen having the confidenceand esteem 
of all who know him. 



=*=•{• y 



OIIN M. MATTOX. The work of such men 
as he whose name heads this sketch isa stim- 
ulus and tonic to any one who desires per- 
fection or to emulate perfect ion in any 
branch whatever. His farm, located on section 1:5. 
of Sullivan Township. Moultrie County, is a 
model of neatness, productiveness and scientific 
cultivation. Its owner here settled in 1865, and 
since that time he has devoted his attention and 
his personal efforts to bringing it up to its pres- 
ent hijrh standing agriculturally. 

Although he is the owner of but eighty-four 
and a half acres, this he has tilled to such a good 
purpose that it yields as much as does twice that 
much to many a fanner who fails to brine the in- 
telligent oversight to bear upon his possessions. 

He of whom we write was horn in Clermont 
County. Ohio. October 19, 1839. His parents. 
Jason and Maria (Meeker) Mattox. were natives 
of Kentucky and New Jersey respectively. The 



514 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



mother was born in 1807, and was about four 
years old when her family removed to Ohio and 
settled on the Miami River near the present site 
of the city of Cincinnati. They were very early 
settlers there, and the growth of the city was 
made under their observation. Our subject's 
father was probably born in Kentucky although 
it may have been that his birthplace was in Cler- 
mont County, Ohio; at least he was very young 
when his family settled in the Buckeye State. 
Our subject's parents were married and lived on a 
farm, where the father's decease took place, in 
Clermont County, Ohio, lie left eight children 
—William P., Miles A., A. J., Levi I... Mary J., 
Elizabeth, John N. and Thomas G. Miles A. died 
in Vigo County, hid; he had never been married. 
A. J. resides in Coffey County. Ivan.: Levi L. lives 
in his native county in Ohio; Alary J. is the wife 
of Abram Dunnham and lives in Missouri; Eliza- 
beth married Thomas Powell and lives in Nash- 
ville. Tenn.; Thomas G. died in tins county, leav- 
ing a willow and two children. 

The original of our sketch was reared on the 
home farm, and like the majority of Ohio hoys, 
he received very good common school advantages, 
and being bright and assimilative, with a large 
amount of vital foice, both mentally and physic- 
ally, he was early equipped for the practical duties 
of life. December 1. 1859, he was united in mar- 
riage with Rebecca Beck, a daughter of Jeremiah 
and Elizabeth Beck, she was a native of the 

same State and county as her husband. 

At the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion 
Mr. Maitox enlisted and was mustered into service 
in Company A, Fifth Ohio Cavalry, serving in that 
Capacity for over three years. lie was with the 
regiment all the time, and usually drove the ambu- 
lance wagon. His war experience is chiefly noted 
for his faithfulness and constant readiness for 
duty. After the war he returned to < )hio. and the 
following spring came to this state and county, 
where for several yeais he was engaged in culti- 
vating land which he rented, lie has a comfortable 
and well-built house upon his place and an orch- 
ard that he may well be proud of. lie devote.- 
much of his time to the cultivation of small fruits, 
and in the fruit season his place is a small Kden that 



would tempt any Eve to eat, whether the fruit 
was forbidden or not. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mattox are the parents of seven 
children. One daughter died in infancy. Those 
living are: Miles A., Benjamin II. . Elizabeth M., 
Flora E., John R., Estella M. and Edith I). Eliza- 
beth is the wife of Oscar Mizenheimer; Flora E. 
died in infancy. Like so many of his fellow- 
husbandmen, our subject is a Democrat, that party 
receiving the weight of his vote and influence. 
He is a member of the School Board of his dis- 
trict. Religiously he and his family, are mem- 
bers of the Christian Church and are kind-hearted, 
Christian people. 



¥-=7?REDERICK P. SXELL. During the many 

/ 
—IS) years that he has been a resident of Shelby 

County Mr. Snell has been a useful factor 
in promoting its agricultural development. He is 
now living in retirement in a pleasant home at 
Moweaqua in the enjoyment of an ample compe- 
tence that is the result of his early labors. He 
was born in Hamilton County. Ohio. August P.). 
1825, a son of one of the early pioneer families of 
that part of the country. His father. Daniel Snell. 
was born in Maryland in \1HH. and was a son of 
William Henry Snell, who was a native of Ger- 
many. 

The grandfather of our subject came to America 
in Colonial times, and. as was the custom with poor 
emigrants of that day. he was sold after he lauded 
on these shores to pay his passage. He was a cooper 
and followed that trade in Maryland until 17'.».">. 
when he went to Kentucky with Ins family, making 
the trip down the Ohio River in Batboats which 
had to In' guarded to keep the Indians away. lb' 
lived in Kentucky a few years and then removed 
to Warren County. Ohio, of which he was one of 
the early settlers. He bought a tract of timber 
land in Hamilton Township and in the years that 
followed devoted a portion of his time to clearing 
his land and the remainder to his trade, residing 
there until death rounded out his life. The maiden 
name of his wife was Christina Miller and she was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



5 1 5 



also a native of Germany. She came to this 
country with her parents, Philip Jacob and Chris- 
tina Miller, and she died on her husband's farm in 
Ohio. 

The father of our subjeel learned the trade of a 
cooper and after marriage purchased a home in 
Hamilton County and lived there amid primitive 
pioneer scenes until 1828. In that year he sold his 
property in that county, and returning to the old 
homestead in Warren County, he bought the in- 
terests of the other heirs and dwelt there the re- 
mainder of his life. His wife also died on that 
farm. Her maiden name was Sarah Peshenpaugh. 
She was born in Pennsylvania and was a daughter 
of Frederick and Pamelia (Vainer) Peshenpaugh, 
botb natives of Pennsylvania and of German 
ancestry. 

Our subject was hut three years old when his 
parents returned to the old home in Warren County, 
and there as soon as old enough he was sent to the 
pioneer schools. That was in the day of subscrip- 
tion schools before the free school system was 
established ami each family paid according to the 
number of scholars sent. Frederick assisted on the 
farm and remained an inmate of the parental 
household until he married and established a home 
of his own. He resided in Warren County until 
1855, and then came to this State and county, at- 
tracted thither bj the many tine advantages offered 
to young and energetic farmers to pursue their vo- 
cation successfully on this soil of surpassing fer- 
tility, lie purchased eighty acres of unimproved 
land in what is now Flat Branch Township, boughl 
a loir cabin which he moved to the place, and that 
humble abode was his lirst home in Illinois. The 
ensuing years of persistent and well-directed toil 
brought him prosperity and from time to time he 
was enabled to buy other land and once had three 
hundred and eighty-live acres, of which three hun- 
dred and forty acres ure still in his possession, and 
constitute a valuable and well-improved property. 
In 1SK2 Mr. Snell rented his farm and moved to 
Decatur where he purchased properly. He lived 
there three years and then traded for realty in the 
city of Moweaqua where he has since resided. 

In 1853 Mr. Snell took unto himself a wife in 
the person of Mis> Eliza Clark and to her devotion 



to his interests he is much indebted for the pros- 
perity that he enjoys. She was born in Warren 
( lounty, ( )hio. and i> a daughter of William R. and 
Nancy (lark. Her marriage with our subjeel has 
been blessed with children, of whom they have six 
living: Mark. Frank, Charles. William, .lames F. 
and Cora. Mr. and Mrs. Snell joined the Presby- 
terian Church while residents of Flat Branch 
Township and have since remained true to that 
faith, the sincerity of their religion being evidenced 
by their daily conduct in all the relations of life 
that they hold towards others, and as neighbors 
ami friends thej are highly thought of in their 
community. In his political views Mr. Snell is a 
firm believer in the doctrines of the Democratic 
party and advocates them through good and evil 
report. 



■ ^ ^ ^| ^ ^ i »)'iH ' 




AHCl'S ][. MILLER, a member of the 
\l\ Counts Hoard of Supervisors, representing 
I Moweaqua Town-hip. Shelby County, is 
conducting a profitable business as a har- 
ness manufacturer in the city of Moweaqua. lie is 
a native of Northampton County. Pa., and was 
born amid its pleasant scenery August 2'.). 1856. 
His father. William Miller, was also a Pennsylvania!!, 
his birth-place in Bucks County. He was reared and 
married in his native State, Marietta Boyer, also 
of Pennsylvania, becoming his wife. He was a 
harness-maker, and carried on his trade at Weavers- 
ville for some years. In 1862 he came to Illinois, 
and buying a farm near Blue Mound, Macon 
County, gave his attention to farming. He re- 
sided there seven years, ami then removed to 
Christian County, where he bought land, and en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits until 1887. In that 
year lie came to Moweaqua. and has ever since 
made his home here, lie and his wife have reared 
six children. 

Our subject was a lad of twelve years "hen he 
came to this Male with his lather and mother. lb- 
had previously attended school in Pennsylvania, 
and after coming to Illinois he became a student 
in the public schools of Macon County. He was 



:, I 6 



PORTRAIT AND BLjCEAPHICAL RECORD. 



reared to agricultural pursuits, and followed farm- 
ing until 1881, when lie established himself in the 
harness business at Taylorville. lit- carried it on 
there until 1885, when he came to Moweaqua, and 
has since been engaged in the manufacture and 
sale of harness in ibis city. He has gained a solid 
reputation for making a superior and durable har- 
ness of the best modern styles, and he has worked 
up a large trade. 

Not only lias Mr. Miller secured an assured 
place in the business circles of Moweaqua during 
the few years in which he has been a resident of 
the city as the head of an important industry, but 
he has gained entrance into public life in prominent 
civic positions. He was a member of the City 
Council in 1889, and in 1890 was elected Super- 
visor to represent Moweaqua on the County Board 
of Supervisors, and still retains that otliee. show ing 
in his careful performance of the duties connected 
with it that he is a lit man to be entrusted with 
important civic affairs. Politically, the Democratic 
party has no truer or more faithful supporter than 
he. 

Our subject was married to Miss Anna Marshall 
in March. 1881, and they have established a home 
wherein comfort and coziness abound and hospit- 
ality reigns. Two children, Jessie and Willie com- 
plete their pleasant household. Mrs. Miller is a 
member of the Presbyterian Church, and interests 
herself earnestly in all good works for the benefit 
of the community. 




AJNIEL P. SWALLOW, a wealthy, retired 
farmer, residing at Shelbyville, Shclhv 
~*i/T County, has materially assisted in advanc- 
ing the prosperity and high standing of 

this county as a great agricultural centre, and lie 
still possesses valuable and extensive farming in- 
terests in this part of the State. A native of 
Hamilton County. Ohio, Mr. Swallow was born 
March I. 1838, in the pioneer home of Jacob and 

Ke tu rah (Crane) swallow. His father was bora in 
New Jersey, and when he was young his parents 



removed from there to Hamilton County. Ohio, 
and were among its early settlers, the grandfather 
of our subject, who was a farmer, dying there at a 
ripe age. 

The father of our subject learned the trade of 
wagonmaker and followed it for some years in 
Hamilton County before he turned his attention 
to fanning. In 1851, with his wife and three 
children, lie came to Illinois to seek a new home. 
journeying hither with teams. He -settled in what 
is now Hose Township, which he had previously 
visited, and had purchased at the time eight hun- 
dred acres of land at $5 an acre, only a small part 
of the land being improved, two log houses and an 
unfinished frame house constituting the only build- 
ings on the place. He resided on his land until 
his death, which occurred in 1 Still and was caused 
by injuries received by the falling of the grand 
stand at the fair ground, hedyinga few days after. 
His wife, who was a native of Virginia, also died 
on the home farm, and both lie sleeping their last 
sleep side by side in the little private cemetery 
near by. 

lie of whom this sketch is principally written 
was a lad of thirteen years when lit.' came with his 
parents to Illinois, and he still has a vivid recollec- 
tion of the primitive scenes of those day-, for the 
country was still in the hands of the pioneers and 
much of its original wildness remained. Deer, 
wild turkeys and other game were plentiful and 
often furnished food for the settlers. Then- were 
no railways here and the people had to go to St. 
Louis, as the nearest market and depot for supplies, 
(tin subjeel was of greal assistance to his father in 
the management of his farm and after the hitler's 
deal 1 1 he still continued to reside on the old home- 
Stead until 1881, when he came to Shelbyville and 
bought his present residence. He -nil owns the 
farm in Rose Township, which is advantageously 
located four miles from Shelbyville. and since it 
came into his possession he has been constantly 
adding to its value by the many fine improvements 

that he has placed upon it. 

The marriage of Mr. Swallow with Miss .leannia 
Lumph, a native of ( )kaw Township, was solemn- 
ized April II. 1861. Mrs. Swallow's father. Jacob 
Lumph, was born, reared and educated in ( iermaii v . 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



When about eighteen years of age he came to 

America and for a time lived in Ohio. From there 
he came to Illinois in the early settlement of Shelby 

County, and located among the pioneers of Oka w 
Township. He resided there a few years and then 
boughl timber land one mile north of the courl 
house at $5 an acre. He cleared his land, devel- 
oped it into a good farm, and made it his home 
until death called him hence in 1860. His wife 
survived him many years, finally dying in Shelby- 
ville, in March, 1881, and her mortal remains were 
deposited by his in the Austin Cemetery, one and 
one-fourth miles north of Shelby villc. Her maiden 
name was Charlotte Frybarger. She came to this 
country with her parents at the age of ten years, 
from her native Germany, and was married here at 
the age of sixteen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Swallow have three children : Mol- 
lic who married William Whitecraft, and livesal 
Springfield; William and Roy. Our subject and 
his amiable wife are among our best people so- 
cially and religiously, and in them the First .Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church of Shelbyville, has two of 
it- most exemplary members, who are influential in 
promoting its growth materially and spiritually. 
Mr. Swallow has sound views in regard to politics, 
and is a true Republican. 



~s 



$+$ 



rr=i 



Q~ 



* EORGE s. DAVIS. It gives us pleasure to 
represent in this volume the native-born 

sons of this county who are now helping in. 
various ways to carry forward its interests. Among 
these figures tlie subject of this brief life record, 
who is a successful farmer residing in Pickaway 
Township, Shelliy County. lie was horn in Ridge 
Township March 8, 1853, and is the son of James 
Davis, who was one of a family of pioneer settlers 
of Illinois. His father was a native of Nicholas 
County. Ky., of which his father. Joshua Davis a 
native of Maryland, was an early pioneer. He re- 
sided in the wilds of Nicholas County until L833, 
and then with his wife and live children emigrated 
to the still more recently settled State of Illinois. 
The journey to their ni'u home was made In the 



way of the Ohio. Mississippi and Illinois Rivers to 

Naples, and thence to Morgan Count), where the 

grandfather of our subject rented land for a time. 
He subsequently removed to this county, which at 
that time was sparsely settled, and deer, wolves 
and wild turkeys were found in abundance. There 
win- no railways, and the farmers used to take 
their grain to St. Louis as the principal market. 
going thither with ox -teams, and also driving their 
hogs and cattle thereto sell. Grandfather Davis 

cleared a good farm from the tract of Unimproved 
land which he bought after he came to the county. 
and in the comfortable home that he built up 
thereon his eyes closed in death January I. 1868, 
at the ripe age of eighty years. The maiden name 
of his wife was Leah Still. She died in 1857 at 
the age of fifty years. Loth were faithful Chris- 
tian members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and carefully reared their childred in the same 
faith. 

The father of our subject was young when his 

parent- brought him to Illinois, ami here he grew 
to manhood and married, taking as his wife Mar- 
garet Leach, she wasborn in Ohio, a daughter of 
Amos and Susan (Mover) Leach. She reared eight 
children, six of whom are living. After marriage 
the parents of our subject resided in Ridge Town- 
ship a few years, and then bis father bought a 
trad of wild land in Pickaway Township, to which 
he removed his family. He labored hard to im- 
prove a farm, which under hi- management became 
one of the most desirable in the vicinity. and there 
in the midst of his usefulness he was taken from his 
family ami friends h\ the hand of death. He left 
behind him a good record of a life well spent. 

In the district school our subject received a prac- 
tical education, and on hi- father's farm was well 
drilled in agricultural pursuits, lie remained an 
inmate of the parental home until he was twenty- 
four years old. giving his father needed assistance 

in tilling the soil, and he then married and began 
farming for himself on rented land in OkawTown- 
ship. Four years later he bought the farm on 
which he now resides in l'ickawa\ Town-hip. He 
ha- it- eight) acres of rich prairie land under ad- 
mirable cultivation, and has provided it with neat 
and substantia] buildings, all of the improvements 



;> 1 8 



PORTRAIT AND 15K.K HJAPIIK A I. RECORD. 



indicating that lie is a thrifty, careful manager, 
and lias a clear understanding of the best methods 
of conducting his work. 

In the making of a home Mr. Davis lias had the 
cheerful assistance of a helpful wife, to whom he 
was married May 13, 1*77. Mrs. Davis bore the 
maiden name of Emma Day. She is a native of 
this county, and a daughter of England and Mary 
(Foot) Day. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have four chil- 
dren, whom they Lave named Dora. Fred. Millie 
and Fail. Our subject and his wife are sociable, 
hospitable people, who have many friends in the 
community, and in them the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has i wo active working members. Mr. 
Davis is a decided Republican in bis political views. 



»>-^-<i= 



-:— 



EORGE W. ELUCKEY is a resident on a 

farm located on section 1 7. of Tower Hill 
Township. Shelly County. His father was 
Adam Fluckey. who was probablya native of Penn- 
sylvania. His mother was Mary Sellers. After 
marriage they settled in Perry County. Ohio, and 
from there moved to what is now Morrow County, 

Ohio; there they died. They were the parents Of 

seven children, of whom our subject was the second 
in order of birth, lie first saw the light of day in 
Perry County, Ohio, August 12. 1830. His early 
life was spent on a farm in Morrow County, Ohio, 
and there be learned Ilii duties incident to farm 
life. 

Mr. l-'lucke\ was married October ■>. L856, to 
Miss Arvilla Brown, their nuptials being celebrated 
in Morrow County, Ohio. By her he became the 
father of three children, whose namesare: Sarah E., 
ha A., and Winlield S. The first named i- the 
wife of Charles Summers. Ira married Mel in da 
Eagg. Mrs. Arvilla Eluekey, died in their home 
in Morrow County, in April 1862. Two years later, 
be again took upon himself the duties and obliga- 
tions of marital life and was united to Edith A. 
Bennett She also was a native of Morrow 

County, Ohio. Six children cluster about the home 
board. Their names are Isaac \.. Lewis I;.. George 
B., William I-:.. .lames A. and Bertha A. 



The removal from Ohio to Shelby County, this 
"state, wasmadein April 1868, and at that time they 
settled in Tower Hill Township, of which place our 
subject has ever since been a resident, lie has al 
ways been engaged in agricultural pursuits and is 
the owner of three hundred and seventeen acres of 
fine land. Mr. Fluckey has erected a very attrac- 
tive residence on his place. It is tastefully built 
and conveniently arranged. This place is graci- 
ously presided over by his wife, who has been his 
aid and helpmate in gaining the position which he 
at present enjoys. He of whom we write is held 
high in the esteem of the people in the coinmimity 
where he resides. A thoughtful and earnest man 
he is genial and whole-souled. Several local offices 
in the gift of the township have been thrust upon 
him and his service as a School Director has been 
appreciated by the fact that he desires to keep 
abreast with the times in educational matters, 
seeking to make the standard of the schools in his 
district, irreproachable. In politics he is an adher- 
ent of the Republican party, the views as taken by 
that party of commercial affairs and general gov- 
ernment being such as harmonize best with our sub- 
ject's theories. Religiously both he and his wife are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in 
which they are ardent workers and generous sup- 
porters. 



O^ 



HOMAS SMITH, of Mowcacpia. shelly 
7 z§\ County, worthily represents the farmers of 
this county who have aided in its agricul- 
tural development in years past, and arc now Us- 
ing in honorable retirement in the enjoyment of 
well-earned competencies. Our subjeel is a native 
of Salem Township. Warren County, Ohio, bom 
January •">. 1833. Peter Smith, his father, is thought 

to have been a native of thai State. He was a son 
of Caleb Smith, who was a Virginian by birth and 
w as an early pioneer of ( Mlio. 

The father of our subject was a cooper 1 1\ trade. 
and carried on that calling in addition to farming. 



PORTRAIT AND ISKK : RA1'II'( AC RECORD. 



519 



lie died in Warren County while yet in life's 
prime. His wife wasElizabeth Varner,a daughter 
Of Jacob Vainer. 

He of whom we write was bu1 ten years old 
when his father died, and. though he was so young, 

as he was the eldest son. he had to help his mother 

supportthe family, she married again seven years 
later, and he then went to work on a farm by the 
month, remaining thus employed in his native 
state until 1853. Then, in the prime and vigorof 
a stalwart young manhood, he came to Illinois to 
seek fortune's favors on this productive soil, and 
by dint of hard pioneer labor has accumulated a 
comfortable property. In coming hither he traveled 
by what was then the most expeditious route, pro- 
ceeding by rail to Terre Haute. Ind.. thence by 
Stage to his destination in this county, arriving in 
Flat Branch Township after a journey of three 
days and two nights. 

The first four years that he lived here he made 
his home with William Snell, ami subsequently 
rented a farm one year. Afterthat he traded land 
in Flat Branch Township for a trait of wild land 
on section .'id. l'enn Township, and for a time lived 
ina log cabin that he bought and removed to the 
place, lie then erected a frame house, and during 
thi' time thai he resided there made many other 
improvements. In 1870 he exchanged that farm 
for eighty acres of wild land in Flat Branch Town- 
ship, the land being fenced, a half of it broken, 

and an Orchard was set out. 1 nit there were no 

buildings. 

Mr. Smith lived on that farm until 1890, devel- 
oping it into an attractive and valuable piece of 

property, and he then removed to Moweaqua. 
where he has since lived retired, lie i^ now build- 
ings neat and substantial residence on the south 
Side of the Park, where he and his family propose 
lo lit up a COZy and comfortable home. 

Mr. smith wa- married in 1858 to Miss Ruth F. 
Clark, and by her ready helpfulness and sagecoun- 
sel he has been greatly aided in what he has ac- 
complished. They have three children — Frank 1... 
Fdward and Nora. Mis. Smith is a native of Ohio, 
a daughter of one of its pioneer families. Her 
father. William B. (lark, was also a native of the 
Buckeye State, born in Warren County, February 



26,1803. His father, who was also named Will- 
iam, was horn in Virginia, and died a short time 
after the birth of his son. who was named in his 
honor. Ilis wife. Rachel Ross, was horn in Ken- 
tucky, and was a daughter of Jonathan Koss. who 
was a native of Maryland, was a soldier in tin' 
Revolutionary War. and afterward emigrated to 
Kentucky, of which he was a pioneer settler. He 
assisted in building the blockhouse on the Ohio 
River at Newport, opposite Cincinnati, lie was in 
the latter city when it was a small hamlet of but 
four houses. He afterward settled ill the wilds of 
Warren County, thirty miles east of Cincinnati, 
where he died in 1841, at the remarkably advanced 
age of one hundred and four years. 

William R. Clark was reared in Warren County 
on the hanks of the Miami River, four miles from 
Lebanon, the county scat. Ill the days of his hoy- 
hood hut little attention was paid to education, 
and he did not often attend school. As soon as he 
was old enough he was obliged to work, and his 
grandfather, with whom he lived, being crippled, 
lie was given full charge of the farm at an early 
age. December '-'!». 1824 he secured a helpmate in 
the person of Miss Nancy Burger, to whom he was 
then married. She was horn in Virginia Septem- 
ber 15, 1806. He was employed several years in 
teaming between the Miami River and Cincinnati. 
He afterward went to farming for himself on rented 
i land. The Miami Valley was surpassingly rich 
and productive, and land being held very high 
there. Mr. Clark decided to come to Illinois, where 
he could secure land of his own at a reasonable 
price. He journeyed thither with teams, bringing 
with him hi.s family, and camping and cooking h\ 
the wayside whenever necessary, lie came to Flat 
Branch Township iii 1854, first settled on the 
prairie north of the timber, and in the fall of the 
same year located on the homestead of eighty acres 
where his son now lives, which he had entered al 
the rate of $2.50 an acre. lie built the first house 
on the prairie in Flat Branch Township, between 
tin' timber and the railway. It was not customary 
then to locate on the open prairies, and he had no 
idea that they would become SO well settled as at 
present. He and his good wife lived to. a ripe age, 
and reared a family of nine children, a- follows: 



.-.I'll 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Rebecca, Rachel, Mary Ann. Matilda Eliza, James, 
William. John, Jasper and Emory. Mr. Clark was 
always a sturdy Democrat in politics, and from the 
time that he cast his first vote for Andrew Jackson 
in 1824 he supported every Democratic Presidential 
candidate until his death. 



*^*iBi!<s®si 



\&" 




RKSTOX HUNTER. We are apt to look 
upon the pioneer settlers in the .Middle 
States whose work is inevitably more 
apparent than can lie the work of a young 
man. as having more dynamic fence than the men 
of today. Such, however. i> not necessarily the 
ease. It is true that the constitutions of the men 
of the present day have been weakened by the 
severe .strains upon their parents, who were the 
pioneers of the country, hut this has. to a degree, 
has been offset by the present rational mental and 
physical training to which our young men are 
subjected. There is a- much, if not more, vitality 
in the representatives of agriculturalists now than 
ever before, and because some of our young men 
have inherited their homes instead of pre-empting 
them from the Government, is no proof that they 
have not as much go-ahead-ativeness andabilityas 

their fathers. 

One of the young and successful farmers and 
Stock-raisers who lives on a line farm of two hun- 
dred acres, is he whose name is at the head of this 
sketch. Our subject settled here in the spring of 
1890. The- laud was owned for some years prior 
to tliis by his father, Anderson Hunter, an old set- 
tler and large landowner, having twelve hundred 
acres of highly improved land in the county, be- 
sides a valuable timber lot. 

The original of our sketch was horn in Ridge 
Township, Shelby County, August 21. 1869. lie 
is one of a large family and was carefully reared. 
and well educated, lie lived with his father until 
his marriage. when he made a home upon the present 
location, lie has always been an industrious, ener- 
getic young man. never sparing himself when there 
was hard work that required a cool headandquick 
I" rception, His marriage took place in Ridge Town- 



ship, February 2.">. L891. The young- lady whom he 
made his wife was a Miss Mattie Eversole. She was 
bom in Ohio, April 13, 1870, being only a small child 
when her parents removed to this State, settling in 
Ridge Township, this county. She was there reared 
and carefully educated, and our subject may well 
be proud of his handsome, refined and intelligent 
wife. She is the daughter of Jacob and Catherine 
Eversole, who are prominently engaged in church 
work in Ridge Township. There they have lived 
for a good many years. 

Mr. and Mis. Hunter are already prosperous 
young people and the future promises much for 
their ambition and energy. Mrs. Hunter is a 
member of the Evangelical Association. Politic- 
ally, Mr. Hunter shows the tendency of the new 
blood by voting with the reform party. Socially 
he is a sustainer and member of the Farmers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. 










■I 1.1.1 AM POTTER. The name at the head 
of this sketch is that of a successful farmer 



* V whose residence in this state extends over 
more than forty years, during which time he has 
seen as great changes in commercial life and the 
manner of living in all classes of society, as when 
we were children, we read in Arabian Nights, were 
accomplished by Aladdin's lamp. In his boyhood 
days, electricity was a divine agent to be handled 
gingerly by the Scientist. Today it is the servant 
that drags our ears, lights our houses, supplies our 
heat, washes our clothes, and does a thousand and 
one other things, that, had they been so accom- 
plished a half century ago. would have been con- 
sidered the work of the Angel of Darkness. 

Our subject who was born in Preble County. 
Ohio, November 20. 1825. lie is a son of Samuel 
and Mary (Leathers) Potter, natives of Virginia 
and Ohio, respectively. Our subject's residence in 
Shelby County dates from 1850. His home is 
located on section 9, of Rural Township. The 
father of our subject was born in Virginia 
and when a small boy he removed to Ohio with 
hi- parent-, that was in the year 1808 and they 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAfrilCAL RECORD. 



52] 



then settled in Preble County At thai time set- 
tlers were very few. and they experienced all the 
hai'dships <>f pioneer life. They cleared a farm in 
the forests, and gradually put upon it many 
improvements. The grandparents of our subject 
there died, and his father was there married, he 
also, clearing a farm in the timber region upon 
which he resided until his death. 

William Potter is one of eight children who 
were born to his parent'-. Six only, however, lived 
io he grown, William, our subject being the eldest. 
lie was reared on the home farm and attended 
such school as the country afforded, lie resided 
there until L85T), when he came to Illinois and 
purchased one hundred and forty-seven acres of 
land which was then in a raw state, being unturned 
prairie. This he improved and sold and then pur- 
chased his present farm, which was at that time 
also new and uncultivated. He owns two hundred 
and ten acres of land, all of which is under culti- 
vation. I lis 1 1 lace boasts a good class of buildings, 
his residence being such as to add to the comfort 
and content of domestic life. 

Mr. Potter has been twice married. In IMS he 
was united lo Sarah Kimmel. who was horn in 
Preble County. Ohio. She was a daughter of 

Jacob Kimmel, hut died in Shelby County s i 

after coming to this state, leaving to her husband 
one son. Emanuel, who lives in Rural Township. 
In 1859, our subject married Mrs. Sarah Lanham, 

nee Barrett. She was a daughter of Marcus 1.. 

Barrett and was born in West Virginia. By her 
marriage with Mr. Lanham. she became the mother 

of one child. Augustus F. who resides in Rural 
Township. 

six little ones have gathered about the table 

and Idled the house with their men y prattle. 
These are growing up and promise to he men and 
women of whom their parents will he proud. 
Their names are Marcus L., Elsie, May, Adalia, 
Emma and Elmer. Politically our subject is a 
Republican. In their church relations they are 
connected with the Presbyterian denomination, of 
which body Mr. Potter is a Deacon of the church 
that he attends. It is not out of place here to 
give a short sketch of our subject's parents and 
grandparents, additional to the mere mention 



made above. Jasper Totter, his grandfather, was 

one of a large family anil was left an orphan at 
an early age. They were bound over to different 
families and in this way became scattered. Jasper 
was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and wit- 
nessed the surrender of Cornwallis and the troops 
at Yorktown. He attained seventy-two years of 
age. and died in Preble County. Ohio. His native 
State was Maryland. Twice married, by his first 
marriage he was the father of thirteen children, 
all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood 
and reared families of their own. By his second 
marriage, three children were born. 

Our subject's parents had nil hildien.of whom 

seven lived to be grown: William. Minerva, Bar- 
bara. Elizabeth. Emanuel. Jane and Zion. Mi- 
nerva is now Mrs. Simpson. Barbara was the wife 
of Dr. Robert Toby, and is now deceased. Eliza- 
beth, is the wife of Thaddeus Sibbitt. Jane, who 
is also deceased, was the wife of Thomas Bunch. 
Zion married Peter Kimmell. 



V 



t\ AVID M. YOST, a well-known citizen resid- 
1 tng on section 21, Ridge Township. Shelby 
County, is a -on of George Yost, who was 
born in Cumberland County. Pa., and Catherine 
Harbaugh, a native of York County. Pa. The lady 
survives her husband, who died ill Nauvoo. III. 
They have a family of six children, of whom our 
subject was the fourth, being born in Cumberland 
County. Pa.. December 8, 1840, and being orphaned 

by tin' death of his father when about six years old. 
After the death of his father the mother removed 
to Franklin County. Ohio, wherethe boy passed his 
youth and early manhood with the exception of 
three years spent in the army, remaining there un- 
til he came to Shelby County. 111. 

David M. Yost enlisted in August, 1862, in Com- 
pany P. One Hundred ami Thirteenth Ohio In- 
fantry and served for about three years. He was 
married in Franklin County, Ohio, September 9 
1866, to Miss Mary Motts, who was born in Penn- 
sylvania December 17. 1842, Her parent- were 



522 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



natives of Pennsylvania. The father. Daniel, and 
the mother, Harriet (Warner) Motts, are both de- 
ceased. About four years after marriage lie came 
and made his home in Ridge Township, Shelby 
County, upon rented land. Here he lived for five 
years and then bought eightj acres, which he after- 
ward disposed of, purchasing one hundred and 
sixty acres, on section 21, where he has since been 
a resident. 

Eleven interesting children clustered about the 
hearthstone of Mr. and Mrs. Yost. Their first-horn- 
Ollie, died when only three years old and the sur- 
vivors are named: Harriet L., Charlotta M., Charles 
s.. Rhoda 1.. Mary A.. E. Amanda. David <>.. John 
W., Chauncy M. and Eunice M. Agricultural 
pursuits have absorbed the attention and strength 
of our subject to a great degree, .-till he has found 
sometime for serving his neighborhood and for 
three years he has been Highway Commissioner 
and School Director. He has taken an active part 
in local political movements and is considered a 
leader in the Republican ranks. He i- deeply in- 
terested in every movement looking toward theso- 
cial and industrial advance of the agricultural 
community and is identified with the Farmers' Mu- 
tual Benefit Association, lie is Secretary of the 
Reformed Church, with which both he and his 
worthy wife are identified. 






ROBERT M. PEADRO, attomey-at-law, has 
successfully engaged in the practice of his 
profession in Sullivan since 1882, and has 

\£") won for himself a prominent place at the 
Moultrie County bar. Although a native of Camp- 
bell County. Ky., he has been a resident of Illinois 
since his boyhood, his parents having located in 
Moultrie County at an early day. His father. I>. 
<;. Peadro, made a settlement in Whitley Township, 
where he engaged in fainting until his death, which 
occurred in April. 1KS7. .-it the age of about sixty- 
five years. He was one of the prominent citizens 
of the community ami his ability well enabled him 

to be a leader of the people. lie W8S well edu- 
cated, was one of the best authorities on history in 



Illinois and owned a very line library, containing 
the works of the best authors, with whom he was 
very familiar. In politics he was a Democrat and 
in religious belief was a Baptist. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Catherine Stillwell, still survives 
him and makes her home on the old farm. She has 
been a life-long member of the Baptist Church and 
is beloved by all who know her. In the family 
were the following children: ( ). I... a farmer of 
Whitley Township, this county: E. ('.. a breeder of 
fine blooded stock in Whitley Township; and John 
.1.. who is now studying law with our subject. 
With one exception all of these gentlemen have 
taught in the public schools of this county. 

Robert Peadro, whose name heads this sketch, 
was one of the successful educators of the county 
for several years and has ever been a friend to the 
interests of the school. At about the time he at- 
tained hi- majority he began the study of law with 
the prominent attorney. Horace S. Clarke, id' Mat- 
toon, and after two years was admitted to the bar 
in l«7."p. After a short time spent in Mattoon, he 
went to Texas and engaged in the practice of his 
profession at Round Rock, Williamson County, for 
five years. He was prospering in that locality, hav- 
ing an excellent practice, but as he did not wish to 
rear his family in that State, he returned to Illinois 
and established an office in Sullivan. 

In Moultrie County Mr. Peadro was united in 
marriage with Miss Lucretia B. Harbaugh, daugh- 
ter of David Harbaugh, who i- mentioned in the 
sketch of Frank M. Harbaugh, on another page of 
this work, she was reared near Sullivan and edu- 
cated in the city school-, after which she became a 
teacher, following that profession for some years. 
A lad\ of culture and refinement, she moves in the 
highest social circles and has many friend,- among 
the best citizen- of thi- community. In the house- 
hold are two children. Fail and liernice. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Peadro is a stanch 
Democrat and is now occupying the position of 
City Treasurer, the duties of which office he dis- 
charges faithfully and well. He possesses business 
ability of a high order and the I'oivmo.-t place 
which In- has won at the liar is well merited by his 
talent-. He ha- a wide icput at ion a- a councilor 

.■uid is rapid h acquiring a verj extensive practice, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



523 



which yields him a good income. He has one of 
the Gnesl and largest law Libraries in the city and 
lew men are better read in any profession than is 
Mr. Peadro in that which he has chosen for his life 
work. 



•>*— frloUt; I I I I I 



i \ t \ i i < ■ i • 



/p^EORGK \V. MONROE. Any agricultural 
I community which is favored by the resi- 

V A deuce within it of men of culture and edu- 

tion, having broad views and a wide outlook on 
life, is to be heartily congratulated. Sullivan 
Township, Moultrie County, is thus favored in the 
fact that Mr. .Monroe, who was for so long a time 
active in the educational held. Is now one of its 
enterprising and energetic farmers, making his 
home on section 34. 

This gentleman was horn in the township where 
he now lives, March Ki, 1855. 1 1 is parents were 
Henry J. and Sarah (Timmons) Monroe, the 
father being a native of Indiana, and the mother 
Of ROSS County. Ohio. They were among the 
pioneers of Shelby County in the earh days be- 
fore the separation of tin' two counties, and died 
in Moultrie County, the father in LS65, and the 
mother in 1889. This revered and beloved parent 
was the mother of eight sons and two daughters, 
and our subject was the sixth in order of age. 
All are still living, and now reside in Sullivan 
Township, with the exception of one sister, Mrs. 
Wright, who lives in Shelbyville. 

This happy family, who have the good fortune 
to be still united in this life, are named as follows: 
Christopher. William II.. Thomas. Isaac, Mary E., 
George W., M. T., John A.. Julia A. and E. G. 
All are married except Julia A., and are all de- 
voted to agriculture with the exception of John 
A., who i> a clerk. That so honorable and enter- 
prising a family should thus, almost without ex- 
ception, devote their lives to (he development of 
the agricultural interests of Sullivan Township, is 
n itself a guarantee that that section of our 
beautiful Prairie State will ever stand on a par 
with any portion of Illinois. 

SToung George attended the public schools and 



the graded school at Sullivan, completing his 

education at the Northern Indiana Normal School. 
lie was thus fitted for the profession of teaching 
at the age of twenty-two, and after presiding for 
six years over various country schools in Shelby 
and Moultrie Counties, he was elected Principal 
of the school at Neoga, Cumberland County, 
where he had three assistants. lie remained there 
three successive years and was then sought by the 
citizens of Mt. Pulaski to take charge as principal of 
their graded school, which was of high order 

and a much larger scl 1. having nine subordinate 

teachers. 

During the three years while he was principal 
of the Mt. Pulaski schools, he contracted a matri- 
monial alliance, choosing as his wife Miss Mary It. 
White, a native of Neoga Township. Cumberland 
County. 111., where she was horn October 18, 1867. 
Their happy wedding day was November 2ii, l<s,s."). 
During his connection with educational work he 
was frequently called upon to act as instructor in 
institute and normal work. 

In 1888 Mr. Monroe decided to retire from the 
educational field, and engage in farming. He 
owns a fine property of two hundred and fifty- 
three acres, all in a high state of cultivation, with 
good buildings and improvements, anil he has 
proved that a thorough and systematic teacher can 
make a thorough and systematic farmer. He is lib- 
eral in his political views, although he inclines 
more strongly to the principles of the Republican 
party than to those of any other organization. In 
(he fail of 1890 he was placed in the field as a 
candidate for the office of County Superintendent 
of Schools in Moultrie County, but his party, that 
of the farmers and laborers, being largely in the 
minority, he of course suffered defeat, although he 
made an honorable and gallant fight. During his 
professional career Mr. Monroe was a very popular 
and successful teacher, his services always in de- 
mand, commanding the highest wages. Although 

he was employed in several different SCl Is. he 

never made a change, except where he was called 
by an increase of responsibility and a correspond- 
ing increase of salary. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Monroe have been born three 
beautiful little daughters. Their first-born, Zelma, 



524 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



came to them November 21. 1886; Lorah, Decem- 
ber 8, 1888; and Vergie, .May 17. L891. The 
mother of these children is a woman of lovely 
Christian character, : i i n 1 :i devoted and earnest 
member of the Methodisl Episcopal Church. 



9.) 



f OIIX HINTON. The public-spirited and 
enterprising men who take an active part in 
everything calculated to enhance the inter- 
ests nt' their neighborhood, may easily be 
counted in any community of moderate si/.e. and 
among those who have thus advanced the interests 
of * teonee for many years, we are pleased to mention 
the gentleman whose name appears at the head of 
this brief life sketch. His business efforts in this 
community have been various and his experiences 
broad and fluctuating but his record lias been an 
honorable one and the fact that he paid one hun- 
dred cents on the dollar when so deeply embar- 
rassed as to be $60,000 in debt, shows the style of 
man which we here present. 

Our subject who is a member of the linn of 
Ilinton & Roberts, dealing in general merchandise. 
was born in Fayette County, this state. February 
8, 1832. His parents were Lewis and Tabitha 
( Prater) Ilinton. the father being a native of Ken- 
tucky and the mother of North Carolina, while the 
father's father was horn in South Carolina. 

Lewis Ilinton was twice married, hisflrsl marital 
union bringing him four sons and three daughters 
of whom our subjeel was the second. The brothers 
and sisters of John Ilinton were as follows: Henry, 
who resided in this township till his death; Holly, 
who lives in McDonald County, Mo., and is en- 
gaged in farming; Paschal, who works in his 

brother's store in Oconee; Elizabeth, who was the 
wife Of A. T. Smart of Shellr. County, and is now 
deceased; Priscilla, who married Milton Lowe, and 
makes her home in Oconee and Polly, wife of C. A. 

Doyle who resides in Oconee Township. 
This prosperous merchant of whom we write. 

came to Shelby County when he was four years old 

and lias made Oconee Township his home for fifty- 



five years. He engaged in farming until he was 
twenty-four years old and commenced mercantile 
life in this village in 1K.*>L m partnership with 
Thomas Freeman and S. S. Roberts, which connec- 
tion continued for a year, when Mr. Freeman 
withdrew. Mr. Ilinton remained with Mr. Roberts 
until his death when Mr. Freeman again bought an 
interest in the connection which he afterwards sold 
out to I). .1. Sloan, the firm thus becoming Hinton 
A- Sloan. This partnership existed for some thir- 
teen years and was prosperous, hut after that time 
Mr. Ilinton withdrew from mercantile life and the 
property was divided. 

After eight years which he devoted to the hand- 
ling of real estate, grain, etc., this enterprising 
business man again embarked in mercantile life, 
and has continued in that business to the present 
time in company with Mr. 15. F. Roberts, a son of 
Mr. llinton's first partner. 

Miss Mary F. WhitingtOn was the maiden name 
of the lady who became the first wife of John Ilin- 
ton. She was born in 1840, in Oconee Township, 
and to this union four sons and three daughters 
were born, of whom Addie. wife of Dr. R. YV. 
Johnston, of Assumption 111., is the eldest. The 
oldest son. S. A. 1). is married and is engaged in an 
abstracl office at Clay Center. Neb., where he is do- 
ing well. Hattie is the wife of K. G. Hall and 
resides at Orson, Col. George W. is married and 
was for some time a merchant but is now retired 
from active business and living at Assumption. III. 
William L. resides in Freeport, this State, where he 
is engaged in a carriage factory. Sadie and Johnnie 
are still under the parental roof and enjoying the 
advantages of education which Mr. Ilinton has 
afforded to all his children. 

The subject of our sketch is a large lauded 
proprietor owning about eight hundred acres in 
Oconee Township, mostly adjoining the village of 
Oconee. He has been thoroughly identified with 
the interests of his town and county and has satis- 
factorily and efficiently tilled a number of respon- 
sible olliccs. He has served educational interests as 
School Trustee of t his township, has been Super- 
visor for eighteen years. Magistrate for four Mar- 
aud Justice of the Peace for eight years. His 
thorough understanding of business principles and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



.">>:> 



the most fundamental points ol the law, together 
with his disposition to maintain the peace of the 
community has resulted in liis so advising and ad- 
justing cases as to prevent hundreds of his rellow- 
citizens from rushing into irritating and expensive 
law suits. 

Mr. Hinton became a member of Jackson Lodge 
No. 52 A. F. & A. M.. at Shelbyville, in 1854, 
but is now non-affiliated. He takes an active inter- 
est in political affairs and has always been regarded 
as a leader in (he ranks of Democracy of which lie 
has been a life long member, lie is nut a professor 
of religion, although his preferences are in tin 
direction of the Regular Baptist Church. 

This gentleman has been a speculator all his life 
and his experience has been up and down with a 
general tendency upward. He has winked for 
twenty-five cents a day in Oconee Township, and 
was at one time as we have stated deeply in debt, 
Imt came out of that trial as a man of honor 
should come. His first wife passed from earth 
August 21. 1881, and his marriage with .Miss Mary 
E. Morgan took place in .Match. is,s7. 'I'd this 
union, one child, Agnes Pauline, was born, who is 
now the pet and darling of the household, and the 
joy of her father in his advancing years. 



"S3 



[=" 



AMES W. VERMILLION is a worthy repre- 
sentative of a family, who. in different 
times of emergency, have come forward to 
their country's assistance, and have bravelj 
and loyally cast their lives in the balance with the 
chances of war. He is a native of old Virginia, 
the State which has produced so many men who 
have adorned the chairs of State that have ever 
been in our Congressional halls. Mr. Vermil- 
lion, who now reside- mi section "-'7. Rural Town- 
ship. Shelby County, was born in Bedfoi'd County, 
Va., September l. 1810. 

Our subject was a sun of Robert and Nancy 
Vermillion. His maternal grandfather was Mat- 
thew McClaftin, who was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary War. The parents of our subject removed 
"rom Virginia to Kentucky, and settled on a farm 



in what is now Russell County. The father there 
died, and the mother subsequently came to Illinois, 
where she passed away in Shelby County. He of 
whom we write is one of seven children, there 
being four sons anil three daughters in the fam- 
ily, our subject being the third in order of birth. 
lie was reared on a farm, and early learned Un- 
meaning of pioneer life. 

In Russell County, Ivy.. Mr. Vermillion was mar- 
ried to .lane Fletcher, a native of Kentucky. His 
residence in this State and county dates from 
1840, his advent hither being made with an ox- 
h am and wagon. His family at that time com- 
prised liimself. wife and four children. Their 
worldly possessions were very few. and they had 
no eiul.i;:" 'ssinenf of filthy lucre. He rented a 
piece of i ..id, and worked hard in order to gel a 
little money to start with. About LSI) he pur- 
chased fnrty acres of timber land at *."> per acre, 
and subsequently he purchased eighty acres of 
Government land at $1.25 per acre. This proved 
to be a fortunate investment, and he subsequently 
added more land to his tract at * 1 1 per acre. lie 
is now the owner of two hundred and twenty acres 
of tine land. 

Our subject's first residence in this State, which 
he could call his own, was a log cabin built in the 
midst nf his timber tract, but it served the pur- 
pose, and he and his brave little wife were as loyal 
tn each other as though they lived in a palace. As 
their circumstances permitted, they built a frame 
house, and on outgrowing this, Mr. Vermillion 

erected a brick residence, which at the time it was 
built was one of the finesl places in Shelby County. 
In 1863 the gentleman of whom we write made a 
trip to British Columbia by the overland route, 
and returned therefrom the following year. Mr. 
Vermillion was in early life afflicted with rheuma- 
tism, which became chronic, and he is now obliged 
to use a crutch. 

Mrs. Vermillion died about 1850, leaving nine 
children, whose names arc as follows: Eliza- 
beth, Birch, Fanny. Xanc\ . Mary. Sarah. Ra- 
chael, Martha and Isabella. Elizabeth married 
.lames Harper, and died in Shelby County; Birch 
resides in St. Louis; Fanny married and died in 
this State: Nancy married Levi P. Tolly, of Mo- 



526 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



weaqua; Mary married James Lawton, and lives in 
Minnesota; Sarah was the wife of John Albright, 
and passed away from this life in Nebraska; Ra- 
chael became the wife <>!' John Foltz, of Minne- 
sota; Martha married Joseph Cameron, of 
Minneapolis; and Isabella married Henson Wheeler, 
and died in this State. 

Mr. Vermillion married a second time, his bride 
being Mrs. Jane ('. Miller, nee Mason, who was 
born in Kentucky, where she married Adam Miller. 
He died in Kentucky, leaving his wife four children 
two of whom, George A. and Mary L., are dead. 
The eldest and youngest sons are David O. and 
Granville L. By this second marriage our subject 
is the father of three children, who are James \\\. 
Eliza E. and Angie Nomie. Eliza is the wife of 
Edward Garrison, and Angie is the wife of W. E. 
I Iardwick. Politically our subject is a Democrat. 
and takes as much passive interest at four-score 
years as he did when, years ago, he voted for 
Jackson. He is a member of the Christian 
Church. 



AMES FOSTER, a member of the County 
Hoard of Supervisors representing Todd's 
Point Township, is one of the leading farm- 
ers of this locality, and the well-appointed 
farm that he owns and occupies was developed by 
his father, John Foster, a pioneer settler of this 
part of Shelby County, from a tract of wild land 
thai he purchased from the Government when he 
first came to this state many years ago. 

Our subject is a native of Yorkshire, England. 
born October 21, 1838. His father was bora in the 
Same shire, where his parents spent their entire 
lives. John Foster was reared and married in the 
land of his birth, taking as his wife Ellen Atkin- 
son, also a Dative Of Yorkshire, and a daughter of 

Thomas Atkinson. In L843 Mr. Foster emigrated 
to this country with his wife and six children set- 
ting sail from Liverpool on the good ship "Glas- 
gow," and landing al New York after a voyage of 
six weeks and four days. He proceeded directly 
to Ohio by the way of tin' Hudson River and 



the Erie Canal to Buffalo, thence by Lake Erie to 
Cleveland, and from there into the interior of 
Ohio by canal to Massillon. He found employ- 
ment on a farm and resided there until 1 S4i>. 
Then, having heard favorable accounts of the fer- 
tility of the soil and other advantages possessed 
by this county, he made his way hither, bringing 
with him his family, and cast in his lot with the pio- 
neers of Todds' Point Township. At that time the 
prairies of Illinois were but sparsely settled, as the 
early settlers had considered the limber lands much 
more desirable in every way. not realizing the 
wonderful richness of the prairie soil. Accord- 
ingly much of the open land was still in the hands 
of the Government and Mr. Foster entered a tract. 
He erected one of the first frame houses ever built 
on the prairies of Todd's Point Township and 
otherwise improved his place into one of the most 
desirable farms in the locality, making it his home 
until his eyes were closed in death. His wife also 
died on the home farm. They reared a family of 
six children, named as follows: Joseph, Mary. John. 
Alice. Thomas and James. 

James Foster was a boy Of four years when he 
crossed the Atlantic Ocean with his parents, and 
he has a distinct recollection of the incidents of 
that ever memorable voyage and of the pioneer 
life that followed in Ohio and this State, lie has 
been an intelligent witness of the growth of this 
county, and has been no unimportant factor in 
helping to make it a great agricultural center. In 
his boyhood he attended the pioneer schools, as- 
sisted his father on the farm and continued to live 
with his parents until he made a home of his own 
at the time of his marriage, when he settled on a 
part of his father's land. He has since purchased 
the original homestead, and has greatly increased 
it.- value by the many line improvements that he 
has placed upon it. including a commodious and 
well-ordered set of frame buildings. He has one 
hundred and eighty acres of land under a high 
state of tillage, and derives a solid income from 
the cultivation of his fertile fields. 

In 1866 Mr. Foster married Miss Martha J. Len- 
over, and their pleasant wedded li f e has been 
blessed to them by the birth of three children — 
Cora Belle, Henry and James. Cora married S. 



PORTRAIT AMi BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



529 



Wheeler, since deceased, and she lives with her 
parents. Mrs. Foster is a native of this county, 
Shelby Township Ler birthplace. Her father, John 
Lenover, was born in Pennsylvania, went from 
there to (thin, thence to Indiana, and finally came 
to Illinois, and was a pioneer of this county, 
where he spent the remainder of his life. He was 
a skillful blacksmith and followed his trade here 
a iber of years. His wife died in 1849. Her 

maiden name was Elizabeth Boys and she was a 

sister of Alexander Boys. (For her parental his- 
tory see sketch of William Boys.) Mis. Foster i- a 
member of the .Methodist Episcopal (lunch, and 
as such is true t<> her religious obligations, as well 
as in all things pertaining to her duties as wife. 
mother and friend. 

Mr. Foster is a man of a pleasant, kindly nature, 
and he has withal in a full measure those practical 
traits of character that make him a useful citizen, 

Capable Of filling places of trust and honor. His 

fellow-citizens, recognizing this, have repeatedly 
called him to the responsible position of Super- 
visor, and he has now been a member of the 
County Board for some years, being first elected 
in I887,again in 1889, and re-elected in 1890 and 
1891. Hi' is a member of the Farmers' Mutual 
Benefit Association, and in his politics he i- an 
unswerving Republican. 



<>1IN C. BROWN. A traveler throughout 
Shelby County would be forcibly impressed 
by sonic features of the estate owned and 
occupied by the subject of this biographical 
-ketch. In approaching it his eyes would be at- 
tracted by the appearance ot order and thorough 
cultivation seen on every hand, as well ashy the 
extent of the acreage and the efforts that have 
heen made to add to its original beauty. Perhaps 
the most conspicuous object to the stranger would 

he the residence, a view of which is presented on 

another page of tins volume. It is a commodious 
dwelling with the appearance of great comfort 
and homelikeness. In connection with this notice 



we are pleased to present to our readers a portrait 
of Mr. Brown, who is well known as an enterpris- 
ing agriculturist and a reliable citizen. 

The tine tract of land which Mr. Brow n operates 
is on sections 21. 22, 27 and 28, Ridge Township, 
and is not only in an excellent slate of cultivation 
lint is adorned with a splendid set of buildings. 
Before relating the principal events in the life of 
Mr. Brown it may he well to mention briefly the 
main facts in the history of those from whom he 
i- descended. Hi- father was a native of Wurtem- 
burg, Germany, where he was born in 1805, and 
given the name of Christian 1-'. lie married Kliza- 
beth Schearer, a native of Bavaria, who was horn 
in 1M4. After marriage they made their home in 
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, where they resided until 
1864. At that time they removed to Clay County. 
Ind., where the father of our subject died in lKTli. 
The mother still survives. Their family comprised 
nine children, John being the second in order of 
age. 

The natal day of our subject was April 10, 1*37. 
and his birth occurred in Tuscarawas County. 
Ohio. There he grew to manhood and learned the 
trade of a blacksmith, taking his appenticeship at 
New Philadelphia, Ohio. After serving for fifteen 
months he engaged as a journeyman, following his 
trade near his native county until the fall of 
1864, when he removed to Clay County. Ind.. and 
undertook the same work there. In February, 
I865,"he removed to Wilton Junction, Iowa, and 
there carried on his trade until .June, 1865, when 
he returned to Clay County. Ind. [n the spring 
of 1866 he removed to Shelby County and pur- 
sued his trade at what is now llenlon. in Ridge 
Township. Here he worked until November, 1875, 
at which time he undertook agricultural pursuits. 
in which he is still engaged. lie has erected a 

handsome set of buildings and ha- cleared a valu- 
able farm of one hundred and eighty acres. He i- 
known as one of the best wheat raiser- in Shelbj 
County, having raised as much as -ixtv-foui 
bushels per acre, lie also has heen instrumental 

in introducing into the community the best varie- 
ties of wheat produced III the Initeil Stales. 

John C. Brown and Georgiana Vosl were mar- 
ried in Shelby County March 20. L869. Tin- lady 



530 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is u daughter of George and Catherine (Harbaugh) 

Yost. Her father died in Nauvoo, 111. Mrs. Brown 
was born in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, May 
2<>, 1845, and is the mother of live children: Ed- 
win ().; Serepta, the wife of W. E. Coffman; Eliza- 
beth, John ('., Jr., and Grover C. It is unnecessary 
to name the polities of Mr. Brown to one who 
knows the name of his youngest son. lie is a man 
who is active in all public matters, especially in 
political movements, and has tilled a number of 
offlees of responsibility. lie was elected Supervisor 
of Ridge Township in the spring of 1890 Cora 
term of two years. For ten years he has filled the 
office of Township Clerk and for twelve years has 
been School Director, serving as Clerk of the hoard 
during all that time, lie is prominently identified 
with the Farmers" .Mutual Benefit Association 
and has been Secretary for three terms of Pleas- 
ant Valley Lodge, No. 1735. lie has done ef- 
ficient service as Road Overseer for two terms. 
In all of these positions Air. Brown has reflected 
credit upon himself and been active in promoting 
the welfare of the community. 




>, ART. EDWARD B. CUTLER, who was a 
valiant officer in the Union Arm}' during 

<-S the late war. has since attained a Leading 

place among the most progressive and enlightened 
farmers and stock-raisers of this county and the 
land that he purchased in IVnn Township when 
he came here nearly twenty years ago has lieen 
developed by him into one of the choicest farms 
in this part of the State in point of cultivation 
and improvement. 

Captain Cutler was born in the town of .lav. 
Essex County. N. V.. July II. 1822. His father. 
Thomas Cutler, was also a native of that county, 
of which his father, John Cutler, was an early 
settler. The latter was lioru in New England and 

«.-i- a descendant of early English ancestry 

thai hail settled in that part of the county in Col- 
onial times. After his removal to Essex County, 
N. .1.. he bought a tract of t imlierlaiid in .lay anil 
at once commenced to clear it and prepare it for 



cultivation. He was drowned while attempting to 
cross the An Sable River in 1830. He was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. 

The father of our subject grew to man's estate 
in his native county and was there married to 
.lane Steele, a native of Moore's Hill, X. II. In 
\H2H the parents of our subject removed to the 
wilds of St. Lawrence County, X. Y., and settled 
in the town of Willney, two miles south of Hoovel- 
ton, where the father boughl timbered land, upon 

which he erected a log house for a dwelling. At 
that time that county was hut thinly inhabited 
and hears were frequently seen by the settlers, 
while deer and other game was plentiful and 
helped to vary the meager fare of the people, who 
had to live on their farm products. The women 
clothed their children in homespun that was the 
result of their own handiwork. 

Mi-. Cutler cleared quite a tract of his land and 
resided on it until the fall of 1839, when he became 
the pioneer of another State. Accompanied by 
his family he started with a team for Watertown. 
whence he went by boat to Rochester, from there 
by canal to Buffalo, thence on Lake Erie to Cleve- 
land, from there to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he 
embarked on a steamer on the Ohio River and was 
conveyed to his linal destination at Lawrenceburg. 
lie farmed there two years and then proceeded on 
a flat-boat down the Ohio to Louisville and from 
there to Troy. Ind., where he bought a tract of 
heavily wooded land eight miles from the ( )hio River. 
The surrounding country Was still in a wild con- 
dition, as there were not then many settlements 
there, and deer, wild turkeys and other kinds of 
game roamed at will where are now smiling farms 
and evidences of thrift and plenty on every hand. 
The father built a home, hut his life was not 
Spared long after he took possession of it. as his 
career was cut short by his untimely death in 
1842. His wife also died on that farm in Perry 

County. She Was the mother of these five chil- 
dren: .lames M., Catherine. Abigail, Thomas and 
Edward. Edward and Abigail arc the only sur- 
vivors of the family. 

Edward Cutler was seventeen years old when 
his parents removed to Indiana. He assisted his 
father in clearing his land until the hitter's death 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



53 1 



and then he and liis brother Thomas continued 
the improvements begun by their father and thej 
fanned in partnership until Edward's m'arriage, 
.■mil then his brother went into the mercantile bus- 
iness, while our subjeel engaged in agriculture 
and boating on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, be- 
ginning in the latter business in 1842. He would 
build a Bat-boat, load il with farm produce or coal, 
take it to New Orleans and then sell boal and 
cargo and return home by steamer. He thus made 
eighty-four trips to the Crescent City. 

The breaking ou1 of the Rebellion found our 
subject busy in the management of his interests 
and as soon as he could arrange his affairs he vol- 
unteered tn help light his country's battles, enlist- 
ing October 20, L861, in Company E, Forty-ninth 
Indiana Infantry. He was mustered in as Captain 
of his company al (amp Joe Holt November 21, 
and in the trying years that followed he showed 
himself to be possessed of good soldierly metal 
and his military record is one of which he and his 
may well he proud. He took part in the battle at 
Cumberland Gap ami when he and his brave men 
started with others in pursuit of (Jen. Bragg's 
forces their knapsacks were empty as they had run 
out of provisions, and they had to forage for a 
living. They used their bayonets to punch holes 
in their canteens that they might use them as 
graters to reduce the dry corn to meal and in var- 
ious other ways did they show their fertility of 
resource in any emergency. From Kentucky the 
Captain accompanied his regiment to West Vir- 
ginia, where it was stationed three months and 
then was dispatched on transports down the Ohio 
and Mississippi Rivers to .Memphis. From there 
the Forty-ninth Indiana was sent to Vicksburg to 
help carry on the siege of thai city and it also 
took an active part in the battles of Gibson, 
Thompson's Hill. Big Black River, Chickasaw 
Bayou and Arkansas Post. 

At Vicksburg our subjeel led a successful charge 
on the works on the 22i\ of May. After that he 
Weill to Grand Gulf with his command and did 
some hard fighting at Thompson's Hill, which re- 
sulted in the enemy being driven hack, lie next 
assisted in the reduction of Jackson, Miss., and 
went from there to Vicksburg, afterward facing 



the relielsin two hotly contested battles at Edward's 
Station and Champion Hill. We next hear of his 
services at the battle of Big Black River and 

after the surrender of Vicksburg he accompanied 
his regiment to New Orleans, going thence to 
Matagorda Bay. Tex., and returning to New 
Orleans, he then went on the Red River Expedi- 
tion and did some hard fighting at Shrevesport. 
After that the Captain and his men fought the 
rebels at Kane Creek, whence they returned to 
Shrevesport. where they laid a dam to let the 
gunboats pass the falls. From there ('apt. Cutler 
marched with his command to Morganza Bend and 
thence to Lexington, Ivy. He was appointed to 
provost duty in that city and was thus engaged 
until his resignation from the army July i, 1863. 

After his honorable career as an officer in the 
Union service Capt. Culler returned to his old 
home from the seat of war, bearing with him a 
high reputation for coolness anil courage in the 
heat of battle and for fidelity in the performance 
of his duty, lie quietly resumed farming on the 
old homestead in Indiana and dwelt there until he 
took up his residence in this county in 1X72. He 
then bought the farm in Penn Township, which 
he still occupies and which at the time of purchase 
was merely a tract of wild prairie, lie has trans- 
formed it into one of the most valuable farms in 
the township, ranking with the best in the county, 
as regards its many line improvements, its high 
state of tillage and its productiveness. He has 
erected upon it a line set of buildings, commodious 
and roomy and neat in their appointments. In 
the management of his farm the Captain has 
shown himself to be an expert farmer, of progres- 
sive views, with a good understanding of the best 
modern methods of carrying on agriculture, and 
on every hand are evidences of his successful pro- 
secution of that calling, which Horace Greely 
denominated "the noblest of professions." 

Capt. Cutler's marriage with Miss Mary Hyde 
was solemnized in I860. She was a native of 
Perry County, lnd.. and a daughter of William 
and Nancy Hyde. As daughter, wife, mother and 
friend she filled in a perfect measure those sacred 
relationships, and in her the Baptist Church had 
an exemplary Christian member. Her death in Feb- 



:>:v> 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ruary, 1891, was a sad bereavement not only to 
those of her own household, but to Others to 
whom she had endeared herself. Our subject has 
four children to solace his declining years. They 
are Grant, Florence, Heber and Verton. 

The Captain is an intelligent thinker and ob- 
server, is fond of reading, having an excellent 
literary taste, and keeps himself well informed on 
all topics of general and public interest, lie has 
decided opinions of his own; especially is this 
true in regard to politics, and we find him firmly 
aiiayed on the side of the Republican party, vot- 
ing as he fought for what he considers to In- the 
best interests of the country. Religiously he is of 
the Methodist Episcopal faith; socially he is a 
member of the Masonic fraternity and of John 
Clement Post, No. 363, G. A. R. The worth of 
his loyal citizenship is appreciated by his fellow- 
townsmen, who have entrusted responsible offices 
to his care, and at one time he represented Penn 
Township as a member of the County Hoard of 
Supervisors. 



^> 




passing away his residence in Richland Town- 
ship.when over seventy-one years of age. 

The name at the head of this sketch is that of 
one of a family of seven children, he being the 
fifth, his birthplace was in Westmoreland Countj . 
England, and his natal day was February 2(1. L828. 
lie came to America with his father in 1*42. ami 
in .June 1845, he located in Shelby County, lie 
spent most of his young manhood with his father 
until his marriage, which occurred in Shelbyville 
Township, November 26, 1851. His bride was a 
Miss Nancy M. Douthit. a native of Tennessee, 
who was there born November 2;"), 1829. She was 
only about one year old when her parents came to 
Shelby County. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stewardson are the parents of 
seven living children whose names are: Mary. 
Sarah. Jane. Elizabeth (deceased), William N., John 
I).. Anna M. and Ella. Mary is the wife of And- 
rew C. Ensminger. Sarah Isabelle is the wife of 
Thomas M. Robinson. Elizabeth died when aboul 
twenty-three years of age. The parents of Mrs. 
Stewardson were John and Margaret (Elliott) 
Douthit. They died in Shelbyville Township. 

For a few months after the marriage of our sub- 
ject, the young couple lived in Shelbyville Town- 



ELLIAM STEWARDSON, Sk. The owner ship and then settled on the farm where he has 



4«h 



of one of the best farms in Richland 
Township, located on section 19, is he 
whose name is at the head of this sketch. lie 
belongs to a good old English family, and inherits 
from them a stubborn obstinacy that will not 
acknowledge defeat but will build on the ruins of 
disappointment and loss the foundation of new 
hopes and new fortunes. Our subject's father was 
William Stewardson who was born in Westmore- 
land County. England. His mother was Mary 
(Nicholson) Stewardson, who was a native of the 
Same country as her husband. The good lady 

died in her native land aboul 1838, her husband 
afterward married and came to America aliout 
1X12. settling in Stark County, Ohio, where he 
lived for two years and from there removed to 
Indiana, locating in Pulaski County. Altera stay 
of one year there he removed to Shelby County, 
this state, settling in Shelby ville Township. There 



ever since lived. He has always been engaged in 
the agricultural business, and has line improve- 
ments upon his place. He was formerly the owner 
of a large tract of several thousand acres. lie laid 
out the town of Stewardson about 1876 and it was 
named in his honor. During bis days of larger 
prosperity he made a gift of twenty acres to the 
town, as the nucleus of the site upon which it is 
now located. 

Although Mr. Stewardson has been fairly active 
in politics and is an ardent supporter of his party 
which is that of Democracy, he has never been an 
Office-seeker. Home has ever been parairiountly 
dear to him. as is evident in the line condition in 
which every particular in which this place is kept. 
The house, which is comfortable and commodious, 
is pleasantly located so that it commands a charm- 
ing prospect of the Surrounding country. Nestled 
among line trees, it is shaded in summer, and pro- 



hi- spent his last days with his son, our subject, teeted from the blasts of winter. At onetime he 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



533 



of whom we write was the owner of thousands of 
head of sheep and was a very wealthy man. Re- 
verses, however, have come to him as to many, 

but he does not l< ise courage nor hi.-, hope in the 
future. The house of William Stewardson is 
known as Belle View owing to its beautiful sur- 
roundings. 



UDGE JOSEPH BAKER Many of the rep- 
resentative men of Moultrie County make 
their home in Sullivan and among them 
there is probably no one who is more thor- 
oughly known or has a more general acquaintance 
through the county than the gentleman whose 
name appears at the head of this sketch. He is one 
of the pioneers of this region' and for many years 
was a general farmer, stock-breeder and a buyer 
and seller of Live stock. During the war he served 
the county as Associate Judge and has always been 
prominent in public affairs. He owns more than 
seven hundred acres lying within the limits of the 
city and his handsome home is located in the 
Northeastern part of the corporation. His farm 
of four hundred and seven acres adjoins the city 
and it is all either under the plow or in use as 
pasture land, being well stocked with the best 
grades of animals and being considered one of the 
hot farms in the county. His other line farm of 
two hundred and ninety-one and one-half acre-, in 
another part of Sullivan Township i> entirely in 
pasture, and is well watered by the Okaw River. 
Mr. Baker has lived near the city of Sullivan 
since 1848 and began work here as a laborer for 
Dr. William Kellar in order to pay a bill which he 
owed the doctor for professional services, lie was 
then a poor man and has gained his bandsome 
property by his own efforts and enterprise. He 
was bom ( (ctober 29, 1828, at the old Bland Home- 
stead, on Sand Creek. Shelby County. His father. 
John A. Baker, a native of North Carolina, was a son 
of Joseph Baker who came to Kentucky while his son 
John A. was still a boy and settled in Allen Coun- 
ty near Paducah and after some years (about 1826) 
the family removed to Shelbj ( ountv. 111., coming 



overland with teams and camping out along the 
way, being accompanied by the families of Mr. 
Wigger and Mr. Ledbetter. 

The first location of this party was on Sand 
Creek, and the Baker family finally settled upon 
the Bland Homestead and began life as pioneers, 
and there where they first settled near Windsor, 
the wife of Joseph Baker died after she had spent 
a long and useful life. Her husband survived for 
a few years and died at the age of seventy-six. 
He had served in the Black Hawk War and enjoyed 
recounting his experience on the Held of battle. 
They were members of the Christian Church and 
friend? of Dr. Campbell ami Mr. Stone. Joseph 
Baker was a Democrat in his political views and at 
an early date he was made Justice of the Peace in 
Shelby County. 

John A. Baker, the father of our subject, was 
reared in Kentucky and there married Elizabeth 
Dillon who was born in the South and came of 
Irish stock. To them were born two children — 
Francis II. and Sarah F.. who had their nativity in 
the Southern part of Illinois, before John and his 
wife came to Shelby County, and after coming 
here other children were added to their number. 

John Baker began a> a i r man and turned the 

virgin prairie into a productive farm. He and his 
faithful wife were members of the Christian Church 
and. universally beloved for their Christian faith 
and devotion. They died in old age, at Four Mile 
Grove. Of their eleven children seven are still 
living. 

Our subject had not yet reached his majority 
when he came to this county, and here he was Brst 
married to Mary .1. Brown who was born in Ken- 
tucky but reared here. She died while they were 
sojourning in Texas, leaving two children. John 
II. whose biography appears on another page of 
the Rkcokd and William A. now deceased. Mr. 
Baker married for his second wife Mrs: Nancy 
Kearney nee Duncan, a native of Indiana and the 
widow of Dr. Kearney by whom she had three sons 
— William A., Thomas II. and Amos T. By Mr. 
Baker she had two daughters — Sarah F. and Eliza- 
beth A., the former being now Mrs. A. F. I). Scott 
of Fresno. Cal., and the latter. Mrs. David F. Dix, 
living in the same place. Mrs. Nancy Baker, the 



53 I 



PORTRAIT AND BIOOKAPIIH'AL RECORD. 



mother of these children died in Moultrie County 
in isi>l. being then in the prime of life. Thethird 
marriage of Judge Baker united him with Miss 
Mary ( '. .Miller who was born in Ohio and came to 
Illinois with her parents, Henry and Harriet Miller, 
who ure both now deceased. They had given to 
their daughter a superior education and her nat- 
ural abilities supplememented by the excellent 
training which she received have fitted her to 
shine in the social circles of Sullivan and have 
given her a broad influence with all who know her. 
She is the mother of four children, namely: Lucy 
May. a teacher in the public schools: Delia, a mil- 
liner: Rosa, a teacher and Zion P., all of whom arc 
at home with their parents. 



r 



r^\ OBERT N. STEWARDS! >N. However coin- 
Vs\ posite our nation may be, the fact that we 
I \ are an English speaking people, will ever 
\£) remind us that England is our mother 
country and that aside from the consanguinity 
that naturally binds us to England and English 
people, we as a nation, owe more than perhaps we 
arc willing to confess, to English laws and gov- 
ernment for the form of our own Government, free 
and independent as it is. The sterling qualities 
invariably found in the agricultural classes of Eng- 
lish people, meet a ready recognition in this 
country. Our subject is b\ parentage English, 
although lie is a native of this country. His father 
was tin' late Robert Stewardson. who was horn in 

Westmoreland County, England, and his mother 
was Mi>s Elizabeth I.. Douthit. The parents of 
Elizabeth Douthit Stewardson, were John and 
Margaret (Elliott) Douthit. who died in Shelby- 
ville Township. They were the parents of two 
sons and Ave daughters, and of these Mrs. Eliza- 
beth L. Stewardson was the sixth child in order of 
birth, and was born m Tennessee, July 20, 1825. 
she was married to Robert Stewardson in Shelby- 

ville Town-hip. December 5, 1848. 



Robert Stewardson, Sr., died in Richland Town- 
ship, this county, September 11. 1858. He was the 
father of three children, namely: William, Robert 
N. and Mary E. Two children died in infancy. 
The old gentleman took an active part in local 
affairs, lie served as Deputy Sheriff of Shelby 
County for two years. In his religious connec- 
tions he was a member of the Church of England. 
Our subject, Robert N. is the second son born to 
parents. He first saw the light of day in Richland 
Township, Shelby Counts. July 26, 1855. 

Young Robert was reared to manhood on his 
father's farm in Richland Township, and there lie 
early learned the work incident to a farmer's life. 
He was educated in the common schools of the 
district, and there his native quickness and per- 
ception enabled him to gain a good and practical 
knowledge of books and an insight into the 
sciences, that has been of great service to him in 
his career. He has always followed the calling of 
farming, although in July. 1885, he erected build- 
ings for tile work. These he lias built upon his 

farm and here lie manufactures quite extensively 
ill connection with his farm. lie also owns and 
operates a sawmill. 

The original of our sketch has in his farm, one 
hundred and fifteen acres of land and upon this 
tract, which is delightfully located, valuable im- 
provements have been placed, lie was married in 
Richland Township, April 8, 1 S 7 ."> . his bride being 
Miss Susan J. Hawk, and by her he has had t w o 
children whose names are respectively, Walter ( '. 
and Myrtie. Myrtle died when two years old. 
Mrs. Susan J. Stewardson bade a last anil long 
farewell to her husband ill Richland Township, 
Aprils. L882. The sense of pain iii thus being 
left by one to whom he was united by the nearest 
and dearest t ie.> was i n tin i to and keen. 

Alter some years he married a daughter of Fred 
and Man Kircher. She was born in Shelby County, 
January 3, 1858. One child, a daughter, whose 
name is Kay, is the fruit of this marriage. Politic- 
ally our subject has joined hi> influence with the 
progressive young party whose mosl intimate mis- 
sion is the purifying of society. He is a member 
of the Prohibition party. Mrs. Stewardson is united 
with the Lutheran Church, in which she is a good 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



535 



and efficient worker. Our subject is an energetic 
anil progressive business man to whose activity 
and ambition the people of Richland Township 
owe much. 



i+++-}v 



"•5-5-5-H 






.^IIAlil.ES Kl'I-IN. Shelby County is one 
I of the most productive sections of the Prai- 

/^^/ rie State, a State world-renowned for its 
rich soil and quick response to the efforts of the 
agriculturist. The old saying has been quoted 
often in regard to it that if you will -tickle it with 

a hoe it will laugh with a harvest." Those who 
came to this region from the stony and stumpy 
fields of the mountainous regions of the East, con- 
gratulated themselves upon finding how much 
greater reward thc\ secured for their toil than they 
did in the regions where SO much preparatory effort 
had to be made in clearing the land from obstruc- 
tions. When it became known that the state of 
Illinois wa> so prolific and >o easily cultivated. 
thousands flocked hen' who have since had abund- 
ant reason to rejoice at their choice of a new home. 
It soon became a favorite with emigrants from 
foreign land- and many thousands came here from 
the German 's Fatherland. Among such the trav- 
eler linds in Oconee Township the gentleman whose 
name appear- at the bead of this paragraph. 

( Mir subject was horn in Wurtemberg, Germany, 
July 28, 1850. His mother. Christina Kiihn. died 
in Germany, but his father, .Michael Kuhn. came to 
this country and after his emigration took to him- 
self another wife. His death occurred in Pana, 111. 
Charles came to America in 1854, with his elder 
lirothers and sisters, the family consisting of five 
sons and one daughter. Of these Matt was the eld- 
est and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is en- 
gaged as a private watchman in a manufacturing 
establishment and has also a tine war record as a 
member of the Twenty-ninth Ohio Infantry during 
the war. Jacob enlisted in the Fifteenth Missouri 
Infantry, and being captured by the Confederate 
forces, passed through the unspeakable horrors of 
captivity and died in Andersonville prison. The 
only sister. Rasa, married Joseph B.Hubbard and lives 



in Cincinnati. Ohio. The next three in age are: 
John, who resides at Pana. 111.; our subject, and 
Robert, who was killed by a sad accident at the 

coal shaft at Pana. leaving a widow with three 
children. There was one half-sister. Minnie, who 
married Mr. Fred Seipel and died in Pana. 

The congenial life companion of our subject was 

born in France in 1848 and came with her parents 
to America in childhood. She bore the maiden 
name of Dora Struphart, but was a widow when 
she married .Mr. Kuhn in 1879. The six children 
who bless this happy home are: Emma, eleven 

years old: Michael, aged ten; Henry, nine; Dora, 
seven: Joseph, four; and Louie, a lovely babe of 
one year. 

Mr. Kuhn located on the farm where he now re- 
sides in 1879, bul alter some time removed to 
Montgomery County, where he remained for four 
years, but did not find this new home satisfactory 
and returned to the farm on which he had first 
started, purchasing the land which he had previ- 
ously rented, lie has one hundred and twenty 
acres of prairie land adjoining the timber and has 
a nice orchard, plenty of water and a farm that is 
in every way desirable. He i> a member of the 
Oconee (amp. No. 1312, M. W. of A., and is iden- 
tified with the Farmers' Protective Association and 
the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Association. The Re- 
publican party is the political organization with 
which he linds himself heartily in sympathy and he 
has voted with it ever since he had the privilege of 
the ballot, lie is a member of the German Luth- 
eran Church, and his wife i> connected with the 
Roman Catholic Church, lie is a public-spirited 
and enterprising man, always helpful in forward- 
ing progressive movements, and liberal in his atti- 
tude toward church and benevolent enterprises. 



.^ >> |J I > T > - 



AMF.s A. DUNCAN. Whether our subject 

can trace a lineal descent from Duncan. 
King of Scotland, whom Ilolinshcd has 
chronicled and Shakespeare has made fam- 
ous in the wonderful tragedy; Macbeth, the writer 
knows not, but it is a good name, and one which 



536 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lie who bears it, may be proud of. Doubtless of 
(Scotch descent, our subject's father was born 
in Delaware County, l'a.. in 1788. His mother 
who in her maidenhood was Mary E. McKeever, 
was a native of Virginia. After marriage, they 
lir.-i settled in Belmont County, Ohio, and then 
eauie to Shelby County, this stale, locating in 
Richland Township in 1838, where both parents 
passed away. The mother died April 30, 1 H(52. 
The father survived her two years, his decease tak- 
ing place April 10, 1864. Mrs. Duncan, our subject's 
mother, was of Irish ancestry. 

• lames Duncan. Sr. was the father of six children 
which included four sous and two daughters. Our 
subject was the eldest of this little brood and was 
horn in Belmont County, Ohio. August 27. 1834. 
The original of this sketch was hut four years old 
when his parents removed to Shelby County, and 
here he grew to manhood in Richland Township, 
where he has always made his home, so that he has 
a pretty accurate idea of what pioneer life is. al- 
though the country was not such a wilderness in 
hi> boyhood as it was on the coining hither of 
some of the older settlers. When he became old 
enough to enjoy society, the district in which he 

lived was well settled, and boasted some of the 
best people in the State. 

In 1859 .Mr. Duncan was married in Ash Grove 
Township to Miss Nancy .1. Kvans. who was a nat- 
ive "I' Shelby County. She was the mother of 
three children whose names are John. Robert and 
Caledonia. John married Miss Lillie Wilhite and 
made a home of his own. Caledonia is the wife of 
( liarles Rllbel. Mrs. Nancy .1. Duncan died ill 
Richland Township. August 25, 1M<>7. Two years 
later. January 27. 1869, he was married to Mrs. 
Hannah Stevens, she was the widow of Lowrey 

Sle\ en- ami a daughter of Isaac and Rebecca Jones. 

and was burn in Butler County, Ohio, August 21. 
1836. By this marriage, oursubject is the father 

iif line child whn-c name is, lamest). 

The original of our sketch lias always followed 
the pursuil of agriculture, lie settled mi the farm 
where he uuu lives in the spring of 1857. Dur- 
ing the last yeai'S Of the war, he responded to the 

call for volunteers and enlisted in September 1864, 
in ( pany B, of the Twelfth Illinois Regiment, 



and served for somewhat over three months. lie 
of whom we write takes a fairly active part in 
political matters. He is a follower of the Reform 
party, his political theories being all that the name 
<>f his party implies. The esteem and confidence 
reposed in him by his fellow citizens is evidenced 
by the fact that he has been elected to many im- 
portant local offices. He has been Highway Com- 
missioner and School Director for a number of 
years and each of these positions has been filled In 

satisfaction of his constituents, lie shows his loy- 

alitv to his calling by allying himself to the Farm- 
ers' Mutual Benefit Association, lie with his wife, 
has ever taken an active part in religious affairs. 
Tiny are both members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in which they are ardent workers. lie has 
been Steward of hi> church for several years and 
alsu has held the position of Trustee. 

Mr. Duncan is the owner of an excellent farm 
comprising two hundred and eighty acres of land. 
upon which have been placed the best of improve- 
ments. The latest and most improved farm imple- 
ments are in use upon his farm, to further his 
efforts in making the place a model of agricultural 
neatness and productiveness, and this he hasfahU 
accomplished, the place being worthy of attention 
to all who lake a pleasure in advanced ideas regard- 
ing agriculture which is conducted in a scientific 
way. There are good buildings upon the place, 
his residence being a home in every sense of the 
word, architecturally attractive and practically 
comfortable. His barns and outhouses are neat 
and of good size. 



()IIN R. HENDRICKS. The well-known and 
prominent family, of which our subject is 
the representative, is sketched at length 
upon various pages of this volume, but we 

have more to say in regard to them and especially 
in regard to this branch. Our subject resides on 

section 21. Ridge Township. Shelby County, and 
he has belonged in the county since 1831. He was 
born near Indianapolis. Ind.. December 2.'i. 1 K2*. 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



537 



and is a son of George and Nancy (Brown) 1 1 «-i i - 
dricks, being the third child in a family of five 
wti<i :ui' as follows: Amanda, who married twice. 
first to Samuel .Mover, anil second to Samuel 
Truitt, and now resides in Texas; Samuel, deceased; 
John R.. our subject; Sadie, now the willow of 
Caleb Crawford, residing near Shelbyville; and 
Zimri, deceased. 

Our subject was reared upon the farm and at- 
tended such schools as the early settlers of the 
county were altle to provide for their children. 
These did not have so broad a curriculum as is pro- 
vided by the schools of the present day. hut there 
was a degree of earnestness which pervaded the 
work of those early schools which may well be em- 
ulated 1>\ teachers and pupils of this decade. Such 
earnestness gave to the minds of the young an 
impression of the value of an education and the 
effort necessary to attain it which proved a desir- 
able stimulant. 

The marriage of .Mr. Hendricks with Isabelle 
Johnson took place in L851, and opened up a life 
of mutual happiness and harmony, yet it was short 
in duration. This lady, who was born in Kentucky, 
was a daughter of John Johnson and came with 
her parents to this county, and died in 1862 leaving 
four children, one of whom died in early childhood ; 
the next. Olivia, married John Killam. and died 
leaving two children; George died in Shelby 
County and William resides in Okaw Township. 
In 1868, Mr. Hendricks was a second time united 
in marriage, tiiis time with Elizabeth Royce, a 
daughter of John and Nancy (Miller) Royce. who 
was born in Kentucky. Her parents were among 
the early pioneers of Shelby County and were rep- 
resentative farmers, whose memory is cherished by 
all who knew them, liy this union one child was 
horn who has passed to the other world. 

The pursuit of agriculture has ever been the fav- 
orite calling of our subject, lie has felt that in the 
life of a farmer there was a large compensation for 
whatever deprivations are incident to the seclusion 
of country existence. To lie out of the reach of 
tlie hustle and activities of the world and many of 
the opportunities for culture and education are to 
liim abundantly made up by the peaceful repose 
and freedom from temptation which he is able to 



afford his family, lie now owns two hundred and 
sixty acres of as tine land as is to be found in 
Ridge and Okaw Townships, and upon which he 
has placed substantial improvements, and where he 
has paid particular attention to raising cattle and 
mules. Both he and his good wife are earnest and 
active members of the Christian Church. 

The political views with which Mr. Hendricks 
finds himself in sympathy are those which are ex- 
pressed in the declarations and platform of the 
Democratic party and he longs to have the good 
old days of Democratic simplicity return again. 
He believes that the principles which were an- 
nounced by Jefferson and which were in vogue 
under the Jackson ian Administration are the ones 
which are best fitted for securing the prosperity of 
our country. 



— J- 



!M£-<; 



(Qy- 




. MEDEE DOM AS. A native of Fiance, our 
subject now resides on section 4. of Rural 
Township. Shelby County. His residence in 
the county dates from 1861. He was born in 
Burgundy, France. .March 24. 1815. He has one 
brother and one sister, each of whom has been to the 
United States to pay their brother a visit. Doubtless 
thev find the Americans too busy to attract them 
here permanently forsiirely the country itself is not 
more "triste" than theirown laughing France. The 
stoiy of our subject is one of effort, perseverance 
and ambition. Restricted in early advantages he 
was determined to receive an education, and 
attended such schools as tin' portion of the country 
in which he lived afforded, frequently walking from 
four to six miles in order to recite the lesson- that 
he had prepared to a master. Hut success attended 
his efforts, and he finally became cashier in a bank 
in France. 

In 1837, Mr. Domas set sail for the United States 
and after fifty-seven days -pent on the ocean and 
gulf, he landed at New Orleans, glad to find there 
many countrymen who could speak his native 
tongue. When he reached the United States he had 
nothing but a ten-cent piece and was compelled to 
sleep two nights among bales of cotton. Then- he was 



538 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



engaged in clerking in a stent- which position he 
continued to occupy for a year; but as the city air 
did not agree with him, he removed tothecountry 
and taught school; that is, he gave instruction 
in French, for two year-,. He was then engaged 
in Carey's Academy, near Cincinnati, where lie 
taught French. Among his students were two grand- 
sons of William Henry Harrison. While thus en- 
gaged, our subject was pursuing the stinh of the 
Eiiglisb language, and during his two years stay 
here, he acquired a fluent use of his adopted tongue. 
Mr. Domas then returned to Louisiana, and was 
engaged in teaching both the French and English 
languages, for a few years. He then dropped the 
business of a pedagogue, and engaged in commer- 
cial life, dealing in general merchandise. He was 

also a speculative dealer in real estate, etc. In 1861 
he came to Illinois, and purchased his present farm, 
or rather, bough.1 it on contract. The land was but 
little improved and had no buildings. He now has 
fair improvements ami is the owner of two hundred 
sixteen acres of land. He followed general Stock 
raisin" for some years, but now gives his attention 
wholly to the raising of sheep. 

Our subject was married in 1848 in Assumption 
Parish, Louisiana, to Virginia Ilaydel. The lad\ 
was a native of the State in which .she was married. 
as wen' also her parents. The Ilaydel family being 
one of the oldest and wealthiest families of that 
Male. Before the late war .Airs. Domas' grand- 
mother was reputed to lie worth more than a million 
dollars. Init like so many other Southerners, the 
fall of the Confederacy was the death Mow to her 
financial position. 

Our subject and his amiable wife have been the 
parents of eleven children, only live of whom are 
still surviving. Four of their children were victims 
of that dread disease, diphtheria, and were taken 
away in one month,the living children are. Em- 
ily, Damas, Alda, Dumas l>. and Dclmas. Emily 
is the wife of Ernest Cancini. Dainas resides in 

New Mexico, where he is a pr< neut man. Alda 

is the wife of Eugene Durand. Politically our 

Subject is a Democrat. While in Louisiana he was 
Postmaster and held the positions of Nbtarj and 
Justice of the Peace for over twenty years. .Mr. 

D as was reared a Catholic and -till adheres 



to that faith. While in Louisiana he was very 
successful in business, but when the Civil War 
broke out. he lost a sum amounting to $50,00.0. He 
ha- now. however, toa ureal degree, retrieved these 
losses and to-day is in a good financial position. 



T^IIOMAS N. ROBISON is the proprietor of a 
drug house which was established March 14, 
1*77. and since that lime he has carried 
nil a very successful business. He was born in 
Shelby County, November 30, 1846, and is a -mi 
of Edwin A. and Elizabeth (Dixon) Robison, who 

settled on Sand (reek near Windsor, in 1832, at 
which date there were only four families in the 
vicinity. 

The parent- of our subject were natives of North 
Carolina and in early life removed to Tennessee, 
where they married and soon after started for 
Illinois to seek a home in the then wild West. 
David Robison, grandfather of our subject, ac- 
companied his son hither and entered some Gov- 
ernment land in Shelby County, on which he re- 
sided until his death occurred. The father of our 
subject settled on a farm and there passed his life. 
becoming the owner of one hundred and sixty 
acres of well-improved land. He died in 1**1 at 
the advanced age of -evenly-live years. Our sub- 
ject's mother passed to the unknown land in 1870, 
at the age of sixty years, she was a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the 
parents of ni lie children, all of whom lived to be 
grown. Their names are David, Ellen, William A.. 
Samuel, James, Sarah, Thomas X.. Harriet, and Fred- 
onia. David died in Shelb\ County, unmarried. 
Ellen married .1. C. Stephenson and resides in Da- 
kota. William A. resides in Shelby County. Samuel 
ua- a member of Company K, One Hundred Twenty- 
six Illinois Infantry; he died at Memphis, Tenn., 
while in service. James resides in Clark County. 
Kan. Sarah, who is now .Mrs. Carter, lives in Bay 
City. Mich. Harriet is the wife of Mi . I lart-cl and 
lives in Shelby County. Fredonia married Jeff 
Bandy and resides in Edgar County, 111. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



539 



Our subject was reared on the homestead and 
received liis early education in the district schools 
in the vicinity, finishing .-it the state Normal Uni- 
versity at Normal. After graduation lie taught 
school for five years in Shelbj County, and in 
1S77 established his present business, having be- 
come well-known during that time as an efficient 
compounder of medicines. His marriage took 
place October 17. 1883. His wife's maiden name 
was Bella Stewai'dson, a daughter of William 
Stewardson. she was bora in Shelby County, 
March 7. 1855. Mr.Robison and his amiable and 
lovely wife have one daughter whose name isLora, 
who is at once the pride anil care of her fond par- 
ents. Mr.Robison affiliates with the Democratic 
element of the township, favoring the broad plat- 
form of that party and its free-trade principles: 
lie has held several local offices under his party, 
having been both Township Collector and Town- 
ship Clerk. He is one of the organizers of the 
Stewardson Homestead Loan Association, which 
was organized in 1883. Since l*i"C> he has been 
the Secretary of this Association and discharges 
his duties satisfactorily to all interested therein, 
lie. with his family, is a member of the .Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 



•^ 



H 



m 



AMES C. NOON, a resident of Pickaway 
Township, has won an honorable place 
among the intelligent agriculturists of this 
county during the quarter of a century 
or more that lie has been identified with them. 
He has filled offices of trust, and in various ways 
has shown himself to be a desirable citizen. 
lie was bora in Derbyshire, England, June 8, I840,a 
-mi of Jeremiah Noon, who was horn in the same 
place as himself. So also was the father of the lat- 
ter. George Noon, so far as known, and there it is 
thought spent his entire life as a farmer. 

The father of our subject was tin- only member 
of his father's family that ever came to America, 
lie passed his early life in his native shire, and was 
there married to Amy Burroughs, a native of that 
part of England, and a daughter ol Joseph Bur- 



roughs. She died in this county iii 1883, al a 
venerable age. She was the mother of seven chil- 
dren that grew to maturity. At the age of eigh- 
teen years Mr. Noon entered the English arui\ as 
a member of the Second Regiment of Life Guards, 
and was one of the famous body guards of Queen 

Victoria at the time of her coronation. Ileserved 

seven years, and was then honorably discharged, 
and in 1844 came with his family to the United 
states. They set sail from Liverpool on the ves- 
sel •■ Rockaway," and twenty-five days later landed 
at New York. They went direct to Wisconsin, and 
were among the pioneer settlers of Waukesha 
( ounty. 

After his arrival m that county the father of 
our subjeel bought eighty acres of land known as 
oak-openings, and he and his wife and children 

began life in their new home in a loghouse, which 
he afterwards replaced with a mole commodious 
frame residence. He was busily engaged in his 
farming interests when the Rebellion broke out. 

Some of the old spirit that had made him a g I 

soldier in her Majesty's service when he lived in 
old England awoke within him. and the patriotic 
love that he liore his adopted country caused him 
to enlist in 1862 in defense of the Union, and he 

became a member of the Twenty-eighth Wisconsin 
Infantry. His experience in the English army 
gave value to his services, and he was mustered in 
as first Lieutenant of Company F. and in 1863 won 
deserved promotion to the captaincy of his com- 
pany, which hecommanded until his death August 
20, of the same year, while at home on a furlough, 
and thus passed away a hero win. gave up hi- life 

for the Government under which he had i le 

to live nearly two decades before. 

lie of whom this brief life-record is written was 
but a boy of four years when hi- parents brought 
him to the United States, so he has lint little re- 
collection of any other home. He commenced 
when very young to assist hi- father on the farm. 

and whenever opportunity offered attended -el !. 

The first one that he went to was taught in a log 
hou-e. the furniture being of the most primitive 
kind, the benches being made of split logs. Me 
remained with his parent- until 1861, when he paid 
hi- first visit to Shell e, County. He worked on a 



540 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



farm here nin ; year, and then returning to Wis- 
consin, took charge of the home farm, which was 
under his management until I860. In that year 
he came back to Shelby County, having been 
favorably impressed with the opportunities it 
afforded in the richness of its soil, genial climate, 
etc., to young men of energy and capability to 
conduct farming profitably, and here he has given 
his time to agricultural pursuits ever since. 

In 1862 it was Mr. Noon'sg 1 fortune to secure 

a true helpmate by his marriage with Miss Hannah 
Fear, a native of Somersetshire, England, and a 
daughter of William and Hannah (Fowler) Fear. 
who were also of English birth, and were pioneers 
of Waukesha County, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Noon have 
six children living, namely: Edith. Ethel, Hulda, 
Lotta. Amy and Ruth. Jeremiah, their second 
child and only son. died when four year.- old. 

A man whose habits and character arc above 
reproach, who lias an evenly balanced mind and is 
well posted on current topics. Mr. Noon 's fellow- 
citizens have shown their appreciation of these 
traits by calling him to responsible public position-, 
and thus at one time he represented Pickaway 
Township on theCounty Board of Supervisor.-, and 
guarded its interests intelligently while an in- 
cumbent of that important office. 



4^ 



IIIMSTIAX FREDERICK RINCKER, A 
quarter of a century of honest, industrious. 
s upright living in any community is woi' 
thy of record from the -tan d point of the biographer 
who takes a broad view of his theme. It is also some- 
what remarkable in Illinois to find a record of this 
kind a- it i> SO young a Stale in comparison with 
the older part of our country, a- to have compar- 
itively few of such experiences. The effect upon 
a community of a residence of this length i- 

potent for g 1 or evil and has a cumulative lour. 

This force in the case of our subjed ha- been for 

g I. 

Mr. Rincker is a prosperous farmer residing on 
section 22, Prairie Township, and he has been in 
the county since 1865. He was born in Chicago, 



111.. November is. 1854, being a son of the Rev. 
Henry W. and Anna M. (Gans) Rincker, both of 
whom were natives of Germany, the father being 
born in Nassau, and the mother in Byron. They 
came to the United States about 1*4(5 and were 
mat tied in Cook County, this State and about the 
year 1859 the\ removed to Terre Haute, Ind.. 
whence they came to Illinois again and settled 
upon section 2.'i. Prairie Township, where the fa- 
ther purchased some six hundred acres of land 
which was at that time entirely unbroken - 

Henry W. Rincker was twice married, the lir-t 
time in Germany, and by this union there were 
two children born who grew to maturity, namely: 
Amelia, who married Fred Fathauer and died in 
Cook County, and Theopholis died in February, 
1891. The parents of our subject had eight chil- 
dren, four of whom grew to lie men and women. 
They were, our subject; Odelia. who married John 
Hemmann; Martin and Theodolinda, now the wife 
of Theodore Kircher. The father of this household 
died in November, I 889, and the mother i- still sur- 
viving. 

The father of our subject was a bell-maker by 
trade and followed this Calling both in the old 
country and in Chicago. He also carried it on af- 
ter coming to Shelby County. He was an expert 
in this line art. and was called to st. Louis, Mo., to 
make over bells, a work which required great care 
and to which he brought an unfailing enthusiasm, 
a practical knowledge of the trade and a quick ear 
to detect false tone- in the musical quality of the 
instrument. He made the bell at Strasburgh and 
the church hell at Sigel, both of which are -till 
musically speaking the praise of their maker. He 
also cast the famous bell which was upon the Chi- 
cago court-house al the time of the lire, and he will 
long be remembered as its maker. He loved his 
tiade devotedly and always regretted that none of 
his children joined him in its pursuit. Hi- hell 
foundry in this county was located at Sigel. 

The harmony of the life of this good man was 
akin to that between two bells pitched upon har- 
monious tone- as In carried on two line- of thought 
and work, one being in the making of musical bells 
and the other in developing the harmony of Christ- 
ian life among the people with whom he lived. 



PORTRAIT AND BIO 1RAPHICAL RECORD. 



541 



He was a minister in the Lutheran Church and 
preached at Terre Haute and also established the 
first congregation in Prairie Township. 

Tlif subject of this sketch was reared upon the 
farm and attended the districl school. He has been 
twice married, his first -union being in 1*77 with 
Miss Louise Luker who died in 1*7*. leaving one 
child who had been named Henry in honor of his 
grandfather. In 1*81 Mr. Rincker was married 
to Ida Dietrich who was born in Illinois August 6, 
1864. She became the mother of five children, 
namely: Matilda. Martin. Frederick, Ida and Paul. 
Mr. Rincker owns nearly four hundred acres of 
land upon which he has erected line buildings and 
has made many improvements, as when he became 
its owner it was nearly all virgin prairie. The po- 
litical preferences of our subject are for the Dem- 
ocratic party, and his intelligence and thorough 
understanding of educational matters have placed 
him upon the School Board. The Lutheran Church 
in which he was brought up leeches his warm en- 
dorsement and support ami he is one of its most 
earnest and active members. 



OOs^JS-r' 






■ : - 



ZSO~ 



J 



[(C% AMlKL p - LILLY. It is a grateful task to 
%i# tin' biographer to record the life of a man 
\Vbf-JP wnose efforts have not been entirely cen- 
tered upon self, lint who has willingly and 
gladly devoted much of hi- energies and time to the 

g 1 1 if the ci immunity and to the upbuilding of the 

institutions of religion and morality. which consti- 
tute the true basis for the healthful life of the 
community. Such a career has been that of Mr. 
Lilly who has made his temporal prosperity second- 
ary in importance to the happiness of his family 
and the responsibilities which his church and Sun- 
day-school work have devolved upon him. 

This gentleman's parents were Josephand Mary 
.). (Wright) Lilly, both of whom were Kentuck- 
ians by birth, the former being horn in Harri- 
son County in 1812, and the latter being a native 
of Oldham County, born in lsifi. Upon coming 
to Illinois they settled where our subject now lives 
iii Last Nelson Township. Moultrie County, ami 



there lived until the death of the father in 1857. 
Subsequent to this event the mother was united in 
marriage with John Rose and now make- her home 
in Sullivan. There were but two children in the 
family, of whom our subject was the eldest and 
his sister. Nancy J., died at the ago of twelve years. 
Samuel 1". Lilly was born on the old homestead in 
East Nelson Township. December 3, 1835, and as 
his father lived until after this son had reached his 
majority he received the full benefit of that par- 
ent's instruction and training. Thorough drill 
was given him in the duties of a fanner lad and he 
was educated in the common schools. He inherited 

tl Id homestead which he still continues to 

make his residence and he would feel indeed lost 
to call any other place his home. 

New Year's Day of 1*110 was an epoch in the life 
of the young man who had chosen for himself a 
wife and who was now united in the holy bonds 
of matrimony at the residence Of the bride in 
Whitley Township, with Miss Nancy V. A.Hen- 
dricks, who was horn in the latter place, Jan- 
uary 28, l*lo. This young wife had heen well 
educated and carefully trained in domestic duties 
and brought to her new home qualities which made 
her valuable not only as a wife and mother but 
also a- a neighbor and a member of society. 

Four children came to Mess this household, viz: 
Joseph E.; Sally II. who was the wife of Henry 
Christy and who died February 23, 1**7. in Last 
Nelson Township; Europe I., and Yica .1.. who is 
the wife of John T. Edwards. This happy home 
was rudely broken in upon by death May 20, 1*71. 
when the wife and mother wa- called from her 
cares and responsibilities and her husband and 
children were left to mourn their loss. She was a 
member of the Christian Church where the sound- 
ness of her Christian faith and the beauty Of her 
character made her not only esteemed hut beloved. 
The second marriage of Mr. Lilly took place in 
Sullivan, December 3, 1*72. IK' was then united 
with Mis- Addie Mallory who was horn in VigO 
County, Ind., September HI. 1*17. she became 
the happy mother of five beautiful children. Her 
eldest and youngest both died while young. The 
name- of her offspring are Leona I>.. Ida M., .Ie-se 
1'.. Bertha M. and John R. While these children 



542 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



were still young they were deprived by death of 
a mother's love and tenderness and now a double 
duty fell upon the father of this little flock. To 
bring up his children in the nurture and admoni- 
tion of the Kurd, and to give them as far as lay 
within hi- power the attention and training which 
motherless children so sorely need has been his 
aim and endeavor. 

Mr. Lilly has been a member of the Christian 
Church since about the year 1856 and for twenty- 
live years he Ailed the office of Deacon and has 
now become an Elder in the church. His keenest 
and broadest interest in church work centers about 
the Sunday-school in which he lias been active for 
a long term of years. He is one of the prominent 
men of Moultrie County, and his public-spirited 
course receives the warm endorsement of his neigh- 
bors. He has always been a law-abiding citizen 
and has never had a lawsuit in his life, having made 
it his aim to live at peace with his fellow-men. 

The Office of Supervisor of East Nelson Town- 
ship has been placed in the hands of .Mr. Lillvand 

he has also held scl 1 offices. He atone time took 

an active part in political affairsand was formerly a 
Republican but now feels that all other politieial 
issues since sink into nothingness compared with 
the necessity of freeing our land from the bondage 
of the saloon and the distiller, and he has allied 
himself with the Prohibition party. He has always 
been engaged in fanning pursuits and in stock- 
raising, and upon his line estate of four hundred 
and thirty acres hi' has erected a suitable and com- 
modious scl of buildings and his home is most de- 
lightfully situated. Mi-. Lilly has been correspond- 
ent of the two county papers for a number of 
years. 



V_ 



J 



\ 



1^ ENIJY A. PRATT. In the American way 
r 1 of carrying on farming, there is not a great 
ileal of room for sentiment. The practical 
(^y man i- he who succeeds. Our subjecl is ai 
the same time one of the most practical and suc- 
cessful fanners in Moweaqua Township, where lie 
own- eighty acre- located on section \Y>. lie i- 



the proprietor, also, of thirty acres in the adjoin- 
ing township. He purchased his present farm in 
1870, and has since that time added greatly both 
to the comforts and appearance of the place by 
new buildings, fences, and the neat and methodi- 
cal way in which every department of his farm 
work is conducted. 

Our subject came hither from Morgan County, 
where he lived for four years. He was for about 
Ave years a resident of Macon County. His ad- 
vent into the State was made when twenty-one 
years old. coining hither from Vermont, where he 
was bom in Addison County. March 22, 1838. He 
comes of good New England stock. His grand- 
father was Abraham Pratt, a native of Vermont. 
The father of our subject was also a farmer, 
lie was first married to Mary Pratt, a Vermont 
lady, who died after the birth of her first 
child. This child was a daughter who was given 
the name Mary, and who is now deceased. In his 
-econd marriage, Abel Pratt wedded Miss Sarah 
Wing, in Rochester. \'t. She was a native 
of the Green Mountain Slate, and came also of 
New England stock. Her parents were descend- 
ants of a family in excellent standing and were 
long-lived people, her father passing away at the 
age of ninety year-, and her mother being over 
eighty years of age at the time of her death. They 
were members also of the Congregational Church. 

Our subject's father. Abel Pratt, died when lifly- 
seven years of age. in Addison County. Vt. His 
widow is yet living, and is now eighty-four years 
of age. She and her husband were co-workers in 
the Congregational Church. Oui subject is one of 
eldest of live sons and two daughter-. He and a 
brother, .lames Pratt, are all who are now living of 
the family. The early training of him of whom 
we write was all with reference to the life of a 
farmer. When about of age lie came to Illinois, 
-oon -titling in Morgan County, where he met and 
married Miss Angelina Foster. She was born in 
Morgan County. October 6, 1840, and is a daugh- 
ter of Ol'SOn anil Eliza (Sherwood) poster, who 
were natives of New York Slate, and who came 
West to better their fortunes in a new country at 
an early day. locating here in the late '.'hi-. 
They lirst settled in Morgan County, there improv- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



543 



ing a small farm, upon which thej lived until the 
time of their death. 

Mi's. Pratt, the wife of < «nr subject, is one of a 
large family, having received her education in her 
native county, she is a kind neighbor and a gen- 
tle, Loving mother, wisely conducting the rearing 
of her children. Of these, four are deceased, two 
having passed a\\a\ in childhood, and two having 
attained womanhood. The Living children are Al- 
bert, Laura. Charles, Eva, Harry, Edson and Will- 
iam. Of these, Albert was married to CIo. Dean 
and is a farmer near Pana, where he is carrying on 
a farm on hi- own account; Laura at present re- 
sides in Colorado, a1 Wagon Wheel Gap; Charles 
is a farmer near Pana. The younger children have 
not vet left the home nest. They are well educated 
and intelligent, being respected members of the 
communities wherein thev live. Mr. and Mrs. 
Piatt are attendants of the Baptist Church. Mr. 
Pratt is a Republican of the strongest kind, ac- 
cepting the tenets of his party in an unqualified 
sense. 



II. MICHAEL, a wealthy and public- 
spirited farmer residing on section 2H. Sulli- 
van Township, Moultrie County, was horn 
RgjJ in Pickaway County. Ohio, February 2(1, 
L849. His father, Hamilton Michael, was horn in 
Ohio in 1813, and his mother. .Martha Bragg, was 
horn in Savannah County, Ya.. in L814. They 
had both removed to Ohio before their marriage, 
which occurred there in Ross County in 1833. 
After sixteen years' residence in that section thej 
removed to Pickaway County, which they made 
their home until 1868, when thev removed to 
Moultrie County. [11. 

Nine children were horn to Hamilton and 
Martha Michael namely: Anna E. horn in L834 
now Mrs. David liver, resides in Hall County, 
Neb.; Mary C. born in 1836, married Mr. .1. .1. 
Swank in Ohio and died in this county: Andrew 
L. married Cynthia A. Frantz and resides at Broken 
Bow, Neb.; Sarah who was born in 1840, dieel un- 
married in her young womanh 1; John F. has 



been married twice and resides in Indiana: Isaiah 
(lied at the age of four years; George W.. married 
Marv Nagles, and resides in Decatur, III.; our sub- 
ject: Martha .lane, horn in L852 died when four- 
teen years old. The father of thesechildi en passed 
away after his removal to Illinois in the year 1879, 
but his venerable and honored widow Mill remains 
and resides with her son. our subject, by whom she 
i- most tenderly cherished. 

.1. II. .Michael came to Illinois with his parents 
when he was a lad of sixteen years and his educa- 
tion which had begun in the public schools of Ohio 
was continued in this state. He was married 
February 7. 1875, to .Miss Laura A. Hudson, daugh- 
ter of .1. -I. Hudson. For further particulars in re- 
gard to the history of this interesting and prominent 

family, the leader is referred to the sketch of Isaac 
Hudson to be found upon another page. This 
lovely lady. Mrs. Michael, died of consumption, 
March 30, 1891, Leaving no children to mourn her 

loss. 

The line farm of two hundred and fifty-five acres, 
which is partly prairie and partly timber land, has 
received from the hand of Mr. Michael excellent im- 
provements, and he has taken a great deal of pains 
with it. The crowning beauty of this farm is a 
delightful park and carp pond which he has spared 
no expense in Stting up for the pleasure of his own 
family anil that of the general public. Oak Park 
as it is called, contains comfortable seats, swings, 
hammocks and other pleasant accommodations tor 
those who would enjov outdoor life. The pond is 
plentifully tilled with excellent fish and has boats 
for the accommodation of visitors. It is a beauti- 
ful place and a genera] pleasure resort for the peo- 
ple for miles around. The trees are mostly of 
hardwood varieties ami are of suitable size to 
afford excellent shade. The park is live miles 
northwest of Sullivan, the same distance southwest 
of Lovington and northeastof Bethany. a location 
which makes it very convenient of access. The 
farm is on sections 20 and 21. 

Mr. .Michael is now edvinu his entile attention 

to the breeding of Englishshire horses. His line 
animal "Nail Stone Honest Hoy" is an imported 
horse of ureal beauty and a universal favorite 
among horsemen and represents a little fortune in 



544 



PORTRAIT AND BIOORA1 HICAL RECORD. 



himself, having cost $2,000. This gentleman is a 
Democrat in politics but is not aggressive, and was 
a member of tin- Town Council of thecity of Lov- 
ington for six years. lie has declined other offices 
and even failed to qualify after being elected. His 
departed wife was a worthy and devoted member 
uf the Christian Church and her loss was deeply 
deplored by those who had been with her in Chris- 
tian communion. 



■ ■y>iw 



1 « q faH T < -r< 




VILLI AM CARNES. Prominent in church 
and political circles and well known as a 
successful and retired farmer of repute, 
both as to character and capabilities, is the gentle- 
man whose name appears at the head of this sketch 
and whose three-score years and ten, worthily lived, 
have given him the respect of all who know him. 
lie resides on section 35, Shelbyville Township, 
Shelby County, and is counted among the old pio- 
neers, as Ins residence in the county dates from 
1850. 

William Caraes was horn in Fairfield County. 
Ohio, February 9, 1821, his father, Robert, being a 
uative of Ireland, and his mother, Nancy Stewart. 
having been horn in the United States. The father 
was but three years old when he came to this coun- 
try from old Erin and his early home was in Guern- 
sey and Fairfield Counties, Ohio, lie died in the 
latter county at Lhe age of sixty-eight years, hav- 
ing been a thorough and respected farmer, and his 
wife also passed awaj at the-old home at the age of 
sixty-six. These worthy parents had nine chil- 
dren, all of whom grew to maturity. Their record 
is as follows: Jane, who was twice married and 
died at Shelbyville at the age of seventy-one; 
Thomas and .Mary, who both died in Shelby County; 
Eliza, who died in California: John and Arthur, 
who died in Fairfield County; William, our sub- 
ject; Robert, who died in Shelby County; and 
James, who was a member of Company II. Seventh 
Illinois Cavalry and was killed in Alabama. 

Having been reared on the farm, young (allies 
chose agriculture as his life work and on Septem- 
ber 12, 1850, he look to himself a partner in 



life's joys and sorrows in the person of .Mary 
C. [ngman, daughter of Henry and Henrietta 
(Rigby) [ngman. This lady was born in Fairfield 
County, Ohio. October 13, 1827. and her parents 
were Virginians who became early pioneers in 
Ohio and remained there until their death, the 
father at the age of seventy-two years and the 
mother when sixty-live. These venerable parents 
reared eleven children to years of maturity, namely: 
William, Elizabeth, Amelia. Otho and Ann. who all 
died in Ohio; and Sophia. Lancelot and Maria, who 
died in Indiana; Edmund, who died in Missouri: 
and Mary C, who became Mrs. Carnes, and is the 
only survivor. 

Less than a month after their marriage Mr. and 
Mrs. Carnes set out with a team to emigrate from 
Ohio to Illinois, accomplishing the journey in six- 
teen! days. An elder brother of our subject. 
Thomas by name, accompanied them with his fam- 
ily. Our subject had been in Illinois hi the win- 
ter of 1849-50 and purchased some hogs, which he 
drove to St. Louis and disposed of. and in the 
spring of 1850 he purchased in connection with a 
younger brother, .lames, a tract of one hundred and 
fifty acres and entered one hundred and sixty 
more. About thirty acres only had been cleared 
and a log house had been built, and here the young 
couple started to make their fortunes and remained 
there till 1856, when they removed to their present 
home. 

Air. Carnes has given his attention principally 
to farming and in time acquired possession of two 
hundred and forty acres, which he has now divided 
among his children, who are by name: Josephine, 
who married B. F. Fraker; Nancy, who married .1. 
L. Thomas; Maria E., who became Mrs. William 
Crockett and died in Shelby County; Henrietta, 
now Mrs. Lewis ('. Thomas; Mary C, wife of A. 1). 
Amlin; John W.; .lames M.. who is a minister of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church in Missouri: and 
one whodied in infancy. A grand-daughter makes 
her home with Mr. and Mrs. Carnes and is their 
main stay and comfort in their old age. For 
nearly half a century both of these honored and 
beloved old people have been members of the 

Methodist Episcopal Church and for thirty years 
Mr. Carnes has been Steward and Class-Leader, lb- 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



547 



\s an earnest advocate of the enactmenl of prohib- 
itory measures against the sale of intoxicating 
liquors and his influence is always given on the 
Mile of Christianity and morality. 



~S 



^H^ 



r=> 



c=" 



^p*HOMA8 FLEMING. The portrait on the 
if~\ opposite page represents a gentleman who 

Vi_y tigures among the citizens oi Shelby ( .ounty 
as one of its must wide-awake, versatile and sa- 
gacious business men. He is at the head of various 
important enterprises centering in Todd's Point 
Township, his place of residence, where he has a 
large store for the sale of general merchandise, a 
factory for the manufacture of tile, and an exten- 
sive farm, all of which are under his supervision, 
and are ably managed. 

Todd's Point Township is the birthplace of our 
subject, and August ■">. 1858, the date of his birth. 
His parents. Isaac and Anna .lane (King) Fleming, 
were among its earliesl settlers. They were natives 

of Westi vlandshhe. England. The paternal 

grandfather of our subject was an extensive farmer 
and stockraiser of that shire, where he spent his 
entire life. The father of our subject grew up 
amid the pleasant surroundings of his English 
home, and received a good education in the local 
school-. In 1889 he started oul to seek his fortune 
and making his way to the island of Santa Cruz, 
was employed there on a sugar plantation until 
1850, when he again started ou1 into the world, 
and coming to this county, located in Todd',-. Point 
Township, he having previously sent money to buy 

land at this place. At that time this section of the 
country was sparsely settled, the best land being 
owned by the Government, and since sold at $1.25 
an acre. Mr. Fleming built on his land, and de- 
voted his energies to general farming and stock- 
raising until 1861, when he returned to England to 
spend his remaining days amid the scenes of his 
youth, and in due time was gathered to his fa- 
thers. I lis widow . the mother of our subject, Still 
resides there. Three children were horn of her 
marriage — lames, a resident of Missouri: Mary 
who lives with her mother, and Thomas. 



The subject of this life-record was hut a child of 
three years when his parents returned to England, 
and he was reared in the home of his ancestors, 
and was educated in English schools, lie did not. 
however, in all these years forget the land of his 
birth, and in 1887 he came back to begin life anew 
in his native township, and has since been closely 
connected with its leading interests, lie estab- 
lished himself in the mercantile business, and has 
here a commodious, two-story brick building for 
store purposes, in which he carries a large and 
Varied Stock Of general merchandise suited to the 
wants of his customers. Besides conducting a good 
trade as a merchant, he opened a tile factory near 
his store in 1KHX. which has been in successful 
operation since, turning out a superior article that 
commands a ready sale among the farmers and all 
who are interested in drainage. Mr. Fleming also 
superintends the cultivation of his large farm, of 
four hundred and forty acres of excellent tillage 
land, lying in Todd's Point Township. Although 
his interests are so diversified he manages each with 
surpassing skill, employing systematic and busi- 
ness-like methods, attending carefully to details. 
and in all that he does making every stroke count. 

Mr. Fleming was married in 1886 to Miss Mar- 
garet Charlton, a native of Newcastle. England. 
They have a very pleasant home, replete with 
every comfort, and Mrs. Fleming's sister. Mis> 
Alice Charlton, is a welcome inmate of their house- 
hold. 



v_ 



♦SE*=+ 



r AMES T. TURNER. We are pleased to 

record among other prominent and pros- 
perous fanners of Shelby County, a brief 
GSJ sketch of tin' gentleman whose name ap- 
pears at the head of this paragraph, whose pleasant 
home anil attractive farm are an ornament to sec- 
tion 7. Oconee Township, lie was bom in Robin- 
son County. Tenn.. August 28, 1840. His parents, 
Charles and Susan (Price) Turner, natives of Vir- 
ginia, early became residents of North Carolina, 
and finally settled in Tennessee, where the\ were 
married and long made their home. All of their 



548 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



family of nine children were born in Tennessee or 
across the line in Kentucky. The family of Charles 
Turner and Susan, his wife, are as follows: John 
II.. who married and engaged in tanning in Pay- 
ette County, 111.: Nancy E., who married Thomas 
Thomas Hill and died in 1854, in Montgomery 
County. III.; Susan ( '.. who became Mrs. R. li. 
Evans, and died in 1869; Av\ J. was twice mar- 
ried. Her tii- — t husband being George W. Ishmael, 
who enlisted in the Seventy-third Illinois Infantry 
and died of small-pox at Memphis. Her-second 
husband, James Slater, is a merchant in Oconee. 
The sketch of his life will be found elsewhere in 
this volume. Warren enlisted in Company G, 
Fifth Illinois Cavalry in 1863. He married Anna Ro- 
land. WilliamK. and James T. were also members of 
the same company; they having enlisted in the 
year of 1861, the former married Emma Lamar. 
They were quartered at Camp Butler, Springfield, 
from September, 1861, until February, 1862. This 
regiment was known as an independent cavalry 
organization and was not assigned to any depart- 
ment but took part in almost every campaign. 
The regiment did patrol duly along- the Missis- 
sippi River, guarding trains, chasing and fighting 
guerrillas and bushwhackers and also doing garri- 
son duty. It participated in thesiegeand capture 
of Vicksburg and accompanied the victorious army 
in pursuit of the rebel Gen. Johnston. 
Soon after this our subject was discharged on 

account of disabilities as lie contracted the measles 
and not having proper care and being exposed to 

the inclemency of the weather, the disease settled 

in his eyes, so that he finally lost one and the 
other is much injured. The other two brothers 
passed through the war without serums detriment. 
The Fifth Cavalry went to Memphis and finally to 
Texas under command of Gen. Custer. Charles 
S. Turner enlisted in the spring of 1864 in the 
One Hundred and Forty- third Illinois Infantry, 
and served one hundred days. After returning 
home he learned the carpenter's trade and re- 
mained at home with his parents until their death. 
the father pa— ed away February I, 1885, at the 
age of eightj one years and the mother dying 
January 12, 1888, being seventy-eighl years old. 
I harles then felt relieved from further responsi- 



bility and starting in life for himself, went to St. 
Louis, where he carries on the carpenter trade. 
Amanda W. married F. P. Vest. Her home is in 
St. Louis and she has one daughter. 

After James T. Turner returned from the war he 
engaged in farming. His marriage with Miss Kate 
McLaury took place September 9, lsiiij. This lady 
was one of a family of four son- anil three daugh- 
ters, children of John F. and Margaret M. (Hum- 
phrey) McLaury, and was born in Mercer County. 
Pa., August 24, is!.'). Mr. McLaury was a native 
of Pennsylvania and bis wife of the Empire State. 
.Mrs. Turner's brothers and sisters are Thomas F. 
Jr.. Calvin 15.. James A.. William A.. Margarel and 
Alice, all of whom are living except James A., and 
all the survivors are married. Thomas I-'.. William 
A., and Alice (Mrs. Wylie), are residents of the 
Lone Star Stale, while Calvin 1>. resides in Mis- 
souri and Margaret (Mrs. Wilie). in Tennessee. 
Mrs. Turner's family removed to Illinois in the 
fall of 1845, and located in Montgomery County. 
They removed to Texas before the death of the 
mother and when last heard from the father was in 
Arkansas. 

The Turner family removed from Tennessee to 
Payette County, III., in 1848, and soon after 
removed to Montgomery County and finally made 
their home in Oconee Township, Shelby County, 
where the parents died as ha- been previously 
stated. Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of Illinois and has been a farmer all his 
life time. For six or seven years he was engaged 
in the hay business, buying, bailing and shipping 
hay. to Eastern and Southern cities. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Turner have been born tive 

children, all of wl i are living, namely: Lena E., 

born June 8, 1867, married George W. Hinton a 
merchant at Assumption. 111. Charles Franklin, 
who was bora .May 11. 1869, now resides with his 
wife. Flora March, on his father's farm in Oconee 
Township. Gladys was born June 19, 1875, and 
is still attending school and qualifying herself for 
tin profession of a teacher. James V... born April 

:!(). 1878, and Maggie 1'... December 17. 1881, are 

attending SCl 1 and studying music as well as 

well as making themselves generally useful in the 
home and upon the farm. Mr. Turner hasalways 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOCRAPHICAL RECORD. 



519 



been a stanch Republican and ever take- an inter- 
est in political and public affairs. Mrs. Turner, 
her sim Frank and daughter Gladys are members 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Frank, 
< rladys and .lames are members of the [ndependenl 
Order of Good Templars. Mr. Turner is a worthy 
member of Coplin Post, No. 268, <•. A. li. of Oco- 
nee and is the present Junior Vice Commander. 
Besides giving attention to general farming he 
raises a good grade of stock. 



«pjf XDRKAV L. (IiAKi. Beginning life as 
(fig/i-ll a pioneer in the stale of Indiana, our 

/// Hi subject removed to this state at an early 
QJ day. where the country was as undeveloped 

as his native place was at the time of his birth, lie 
settled in Shelliy County, in June, 1839, and lias 
since made this State his home. As before said 
Mr. Craig is a native of the state of Indiana, hav- 
ing been bom in Fayette County, January 6, 1 .s 2 7 . 
He is a .-on of .lames and Mary ( Barrickman ) ( 'raig. 
both natives of Pennsylvania. They met, however, 
and married in Kentucky, whence they removed to 
Indiana, being among the earliesl settler- of thai 
State. 

( )n first coming into this State our subject's 
parents settled on Robinson (reek. Ridge Town- 
ship, Shelhy County, where James Craig purchased 
four hundred acres.of laud, and entered si\ hun- 
dred acres of Government land. For the former 
he paid $8 per acre but was permitted to enjoy 
llis new home only a -hurt lime, lor in 1 .s I I he 
died. Hi- wife survived him by a number of years, 
finally passing away in L 864, at the age of seventy- 
six years. 

• lames and Mary Craig were tin- parents of 
eleven children, eight of whom lived to reach 
years of maturity. Their names are as follow-: 
• lane .lame-. Robert, Jacob 1-'.. John R., Mary, 
William and Andrew. Of these theeldesl daughter 

died in 1864; James makes his home in 1! e 

County. Iowa; Robert died in shelliy County: Jacob 
1'. rc.-ide-in Boone County, [owa;John li. lives in 
Sheibvville; Marx married Madison llu-hx and 



died in Christian, leaving oiu- -on to her bereaved 

husband; Williamdied in shelliy County, in 1864. 

Andrew 1,.. oursubject, i- Hie youngest member 

"I the family. lie was reared on the farm and 
received an early training in the way in which 
to conduct a farmer'- work. lie attended sucll 
school- as the COUntj afforded at that time. The 

first school that he attended was a log cabin with 

a great fireplace al one end that SCOrched the chil- 
dren'- faces while their backs were freezing. The 
-cat- were of slabs with pei:- -ct iii the ends for 
legs. There were no desks and the hooks were a 
promiscuous and heterogenous inixt lire. He resided 
w ith his mother until her death. 

In 1870 Mr. Craig was united in marriage with 
Sarah Fakner, a daughter of Thomas and Jane 
(Rodman) Fakner. The lady was horn in Ohio, 
March 12. 1K2!>. hut came to Illinois when very 
young. She is the eighth of a family of nine chil- 
dren. Our subject settled on section 14, of Rural 
Township, in 1885, and here he is the owner of two 
hundred and twenty acres of good, arable land that 
has been well improved. It ha- a tine residence 
well located, commodious and comfortable, and the 
appliances for carrying on it- owner's calling in 
a thorough and scientific manner are many and per- 
fect. Polititically he of whom we write inclines 
toward Democracy, finding the breadth of plat- 
form claimed by that party to accord with his views 
of equity and freedom, lie ha- held several offices 
in the township, having been Collector, Assessor, 
and Supervisor. His attention ha- teen mainly 
directed to the raising of stock, of which he ha- a 

great deal that will compare well with any in the 

country. 



(.. STKWART ha- ever been a living 
exponent of what energy, judgmenl and 
_ j amliilion can accomplish ill the agricul- 
(jg// tural line in the l'rairie State where t he con- 
dition- are -o favorable to the farmer as to take 
a\\a\ from their work half the drudgery that it 
elsewhere find-. Mr. Stewart now lives in Mowea- 

qua, having retired from agricultural pursuits in 



550 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the fall of 1889, and is now living- on a fine prop- 
erly in this place. Mr. Stewart's farm, whereon 
lie spent a number of years, is located on section 
25, Moweaqua Township, Shelby Comity. He came 
to it iii 1866, beginning life with but little else 
than grit and perseverance, which served him far 
better than do large pecuniary resources many 
other men. 

Although our subject lias retired from the act- 
ive business of farming lie still owns his home- 
stead of two hundred and eighty acres. There is 
no better land in the county, and Mr. Stewart has 
laid out large sums in improvements that have 
greatly added to its value. There is upon the 
place a good dwelling made cozy and beautiful by 
the care, interest and taste of womanly Viands. The 
large fortune which he has accumulated has been 
amassed by hard work and his capable wife has 
been no small factor in his success. The domestic 
realm over which she has held sway has been gov- 
erned in such a way as to not only spare our sub- 
ject's means, hut to add to his resources. Gain 
has not beet) her only object in life, however, for 
she has been a lender mother and a good and kind 
neighbor ever ready to lend a helpful hand in 
time of need. 

Mr. Stewart's birthplace is what is now Blair 
County, Pa., near Alton. He was born September 
27, 1840, and is the son of Alexander Stewart, a 
native of Pennsylvania, where our subject was 
reared, lie is of Scotch-Irish ancestry. His pater- 
nal grandfather was Alexander Stewart, like his 
father a native of Pennsylvania, where he ended 
his days. When in middle life he was married in 
Blair County to Mary Gray, whose parents were 
natives of Ireland who had settled in Pennsyl- 
vania. .Mary Stewart lived and died in Pennsyl- 
vania, being about seventy years of age when her 
dei case occurred, having survived her husband by 
a good many years. Our subject's grandparents 
were members of the Presbyterian Church. 

Our subject's father was only nine years of age 
when his father died, lie was reared by his mother 
in his native county, and there remained until he 
had attained manhood. lie died in the city of 

Alton in L889, having attained the age of nearly 
eighty-one years, and was much mourned by 



friends and acquaintances. He married Miss Ka- 
ziah Green, of Blair County, Pa., where she was 
born and reared, and where her death occurred in 
is.").'!, being then forty-eight years of age. She was 
of good family, her parents being old settlers in 
her native place. Both she and her husband were 
members of the Methodist Church. 

The original of our sketch grew up in his native 
county, and in the fall of 1861, on the first call 
for three-year volunteers, he enlisted in the army, 
joining Company F, Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania 
Infantry, of which Capt. A. Wayne and Col. Powers 
were in command. The regiment proceeded South 
and assumed duty in the Tenth Army Corps. Much 
of the time they were engaged in hard fighting, and 
our subject was engaged at the battles at Ft. Pu- 
laski. James Island, Ft. Wagner and Morris Island. 
He was afterward with his regiment at Drury's 
Bluff and Cold Harbor, and passed through many 
engagements. Mr. Stewart wag fortunate enough 
to escape death and wounds and capture, and was 
never in the hospital. He was on duty in every 
engagement that his regiment partook in with 
the exception of one. Our subject enlisted in the 
service as a musician, but was mustered in as a 
private, and served in both capacities. He is 
justly proud of his military record, which is with- 
out a stain. But, although he had the opportunity, 
he never sought promotion. 

After his return from the war, our subject per- 
suaded Miss Lizzie Freidley to share the duties of 
life with him. They were married in Moweaqua in 
the fall of 1868. The lady was born, reared and 
died in this city, her demise taking place in the 
summer of 1877. She was then only twenty-seven 
years of age, aud a bright and beautiful woman. 
She left to her husband three children, all of whom 
are now deceased. One died in infancy. John 
A. and Jessie M. did not reach the age of ma- 
turity. 

Mr. Stewart was a second time married to Miss 
Frena M. Brooks. She was born in Flat Branch 
Township and was quite young when her parents 
came to Moweaqua. Here she received her educa- 
tion and attained womanhood. Her father. Josiah 
Brooks, has been for many years deceased. He 
was one of the earlv settlers in this county. His 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ool 



wife is yet living and makes her home in Mowaequa. 
She is now in the afternoon of life and is peace- 
fully enjoying the sunset. By his present mar- 
riage Mr. Stewart and wife have had four chil- 
dren, one of whom isdeeeased. The living children 
are: James F., Malcolm W. and Charles L., who 
are yet at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stewart are members of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church, and are generous supporters 
of the same. Mr. Stewart has held the local oilier 
of Highway Commissioner and he is at present Com- 
mander of .1. V. Clemings Post, No. .'ill:?, O. A. P., 
of which he is a charter member. He is also a 
member of Lodge No. 1013, K. of II., and of 
Shelby Lodge. No. 274, I. O. O. F. 



ffiL ARVEY LOWAPY. The gentleman whose 
Jl) name is at the head of this sketch, is the 
owner of asmall farm which, however, is a 
model in point of neatness, productiveness 
and improvements. It is located on section 20, of 
Richland Township, Shelby County, and its advan- 
tages as to situation are apparent. Mr. Lowary is 
a native of the Buckeye State which has sent out 
so many ingenious and wide-awake sons to aid the 
progress of development in the newer and more 
western States. He was born in Fairfield County, 
Ohio. June 25, 1831. There he was reared to man- 
hood and there he continued to live until 1860. 
lie had early learned the carpenter's trade which he 
followed until he came to Shelby County, this 
State and even after ideating here he pursued his 
calling to some extent in connection with farming. 
The advent of the original of our sketch, into 
Shelby County, this State was made in I860, lie 
first lived in Shelby ville Township, where he con- 
tinued for four years and then removed to Rich- 
land Township of which place he has ever since 
been a resident. Before leaving Ohio, he was mar- 
ried in Fairfield County, to a lady whose maiden 
name was Emeline Collins. She was a native of 
the county and State in which her marriage oc- 
curred. 

Out of a family of seven children which have 



been born to our subject and wife, Only Ave are 
living. Their names are Nelson, Daniel. James, 
Byron and Joseph. Two of their children died in 
infancy. Our subject, who is an adherenl of the 
Democratic party, brought up under it> tenets and 
having a firm faith in its platform, has filled sev- 
eral positions in the gift of his constituents. For 
six years, he filled the office of Highway Commis- 
sioner and was School Director for several years. 
1 1 is farm bears evidence of mam and valuable im- 
provements and although it comprises only eighty- 
three acres, is conspicuous for the perfection of its 
management and its proportionally Large produc- 
tiveness. 

It will not be out of place to speak of the family 
of which our subjecf was one. His father was 
Jeremiah Lowary. His mother Catherine (Siple) 
Lowary. They were fanners by occupation, hav- 
ing passed their lives in tilling the soil. The fa- 
ther died in Sandusky, Ohio. The mother who 
Survived her husband. came to Shelby County and 
spent her last days, passing away in Holland Town- 
ship, August 6, 1871. The subjeel of thi> sketch 
was the only child of his parents. 



ffiOIIX F. LINVILLE. This respected gentle- 
man and thorough-going farmer who resides 

on section is, Whitley Township, Moultrie 
County, is a son of John Linville and Eliz- 
abeth (Donnelsen) Linville. both of whom were 
natives of Kentucky, where thej grewto maturity, 
married and settled in Hath County. Ky.. coming 
from there to Indiana, where they settled near 

Greensburg. After living there several years they 

removed to Fayette County, same State, and there 

remained until called hence by death. 

These worthy and venerated parents had ten 
children of whom our subject was the fourth in 
Order of age, being born in Decatur County. Ind.. 
April 7. 1824. He was aboul ten years old when 
his father removed to Fayette County, Ind.. where 
he grew to manhood and continued to reside until 
I he was about twenty-six years old, In his boy- 



.">."> 2 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



hood he received thorough and systematic drill 
and instruction 1 •< >l 1 1 in the theory and practice of 
fanning and agriculture has been his sole business in 
life. 

John F. Linville continued to live in Indiana 
until the fall of 1849, when he came to Clark 
County, 111., and purchased a farm, upon which he 
continued to live until December, 1864, at which 
time he removed to .Mi ml trie County and settled 
upon the section where he has ever since resided. 
The most important event in his life as a young 
man was his marriage, August '■'>. 1848, in Fayette 
County. Ind.. to .lane McDowell, who was born in 
Bates County, Ohio, January 17. 1829. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Linville, had two children viz. : Wil- 
liam I), who married Margaret E. Kennedy and 
was a farmer in Whitlev Township, luit died Feb- 
ruary Ml. 1891; Rebecca E. who is the wife of 
Henry Wright, of Whitley Township. The death 
of the only son was a severe blow to the parents 
a- well as to the young wife. 

Our subject now owns one hundred ami twenty 
acre- upon which he has placed many excellent 
improvements and where he exercises a kind anil 
neighborly hospitality to all who enter his door, 
lli- political views have led him to affiliate with 
the Democratic party and he believes that the 
principles of that party are the ones which are 
destined to promote the prosperity of the state. 
In his religious views he is liberal and he is an 
active promoter of every movement toward the 
moral upbuilding of the community. 



=IM^<§ 



(Qv~ 



WILLIAM HARDY. One of the pioneer 
settler.- in Central Illinois who has lived to 
see the country change from an aspect of 
«ild. uncultivated beauty to thai of one of the 
mo-i productive agricultural regions of the Union, 
resides on a line farm on section 36, of Ridge Town- 
ship, Shelby County. Mr. I In ill \ was bom in Fair- 
field County, Ohio, Januarj I. 1820, and is a son 
of Thomas and Nellie (Dutton) Hardy, natives of 
Maryland and Delaware, Facta had emigrated to 
Fairfield County, Ohio, in early life when the 



country was new and laborers few. There they 
met and married. 

In 1836 our subject's parents removed to Illi- 
nois, locating in Tazewell County, where they 
rented land which they operated for two years. 
They then came to Shelby County, in the spring of 
1839 and settled in Ridge Township mi section 25, 
where the father entered eighty acres of land. He 
also pre-empted eight} acres of timber land in ( >kaw 
Township, where he resided for the remainder of 
his life. 

Our subject's mother died in 1855, a victim of 
the cholera, which was at that time epidemic. Her 
husband followed her in 1M5!S. They reared a 
family of nine children, two of whom died in in- 
fancy: .lesse S. died in Shelby County; he married 
Priscilla Ward and left a wife and three children. 
one of whom i> now living in Kansas. Polly mar- 
ried John Ilowlct and resides at Charleston. 111.; 
Sarah is the wife of .lames Boys, and resides in 
Ridge Township, as does also Thomas. George W. 
makes his home in I lutchinson. Kan. Abigail lir-t 
married Jacob Leech and on becoming a widow she 
again married John Cook and at present resides in 
Iowa. Elizabeth is the wife of George W. Boys, 
and lives in Ridge Township. Henry II. resides in 
Medicine Lodge, Kan. 

The original of our sketch is a fanner Lorn and 
bred. He remained under the parental roof until 
he reached manhood when he was married to 
Amanda II. Davis, a daughter of Joshua Davis. 
She was a native of Shelby County, where she was 
horn in June, 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy are the 
parents Of six children, whose names are Leah. 
Mary, Thomas, William. Maud and Florence. Be- 
fore hi> marriage our subjeel had purchased the 

land upon which he afterward sett led and has since 
resided on it. He is now the owner of two hun- 
dred and five acre- of finely cultivated land, upon 

which a choice variety of grains, fruits and vege- 
tables are raised. The place hears good buildings 
and man) of the improvements both in science 
and agriculture arc applied to make the farmer's 
life less one of drudgery than formerly. 

In earlj life Mr. Hardy learned the trade of a 
carpenter, which business he pursued for some lime, 
never, however. uiviiiL; up his agricultural work 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



553 




entirely. Politically our subject is m follower of the 
Republican party, and he has been for a long time 
School Director >>f hi- district. Mrs. Hardy is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal Churcn and 
both she and her husband are looked upon as being 
representative people in the township. Affable, 
kind hearted and hospitable, they are examples 
and types of thebesl agricultural class in the State. 

BRAM MIDDLESWORTH, President of 
the First National Bank, Shelbyville, 

/ * shelly County, is n representative of the 
men of energy, ability and enterprise who 
have had the making of Nliell>\ County. Not only 
is he prominent as the head of its leading financial 
institutions, hut his name is indissolubly associated 
with the rise and progress of its agriculture as one 
of its most extensive farmers and stockmen for 
many years. He still retains his farming interests, 
and has one of the largest and best managed farms 
in this section of the state. 

Our subject was born, November 10, 1*21. on a 
farm ten miles southwest of Lancaster. Fairfield 
County, Ohio. His father was Abraham Middles- 
worth, a pioneer of this county, who was horn in 
New Jersey, and was a son of .lohn and Martha 
Middlesworth. The former died May 14. 1815, 
aged seventy years, and the latter departed this 
life October 5, 1824, at the age of seventy-four 
year.-, and both were buried near Beavertown, Pa. 
Ner. an uncle of our subject, became a prominent 
citizen in the public life of the Commonwealth, 
and for eighteen years was a member of tin- 
State Legislature of Pennsylvania and served as 
Speaker of the House. He was born December 12. 
1 7 s : 5 and died January '2. 1865. The grandfather, 
according to the best information at hand, was a 
native of England, who on coming to America at 
some time during the last century located first 
in New Jersey. Later he removed to Pennsyl- 
vania, and settled in that part of Union now in- 
cluded in Snyder County, where lie engaged in 
farming until death closed hi.- mortal career. 

The father of our subject resided with his par- 



ent- until he attained his majority . when he started 
westward to seek his fortunes, taking with him all 
hi- worldly possessions, which comprised his cloth- 
ing and rifle, lie walked to Fairfield County, 
Ohio, and locating there in the earlj day- of its 
settlement, established himself at the trade of a 
cooper. He applied himself closelj to his calling, 
and in due time, with close economy, had enough 
money to purchase a tract Of timber land south- 
west of Lancaster. During the early years of his 
married life he lived in the log cabin which lie- 

came the birthplace of his son of whom we write, 
lie was a man of more than ordinaiy enterprise, 
and was withal a successful speculator, buying wild 
land or partly developed farms, taking up his 
residence thereon, and after making improvements 
Selling at an advanced price. He continued to 
live in Fairfield County until 1840, when he 
ambitiously sought "greener fields and pastures 
new" in this county, bringing with him his family 
on that ever memorable journey, he and his wife 
traveling in a carriage and Abram with a five horse 
team, riding one and driving the others with a 
single line. 

Abraham Middlesworth had previously visited 
Illinois before coming here to settle permanently, 
and he had bought a large tract of land in this 
county, including the farm then owned by Benj- 
amin Waldron. Sr. Two hewed log houses and 
twenty acres of cleared land constituted the im- 
provements, the twenty acres referred to being 
known at that time as "Waldron's Big Field". Mr. 
Middlesworth continued to he a residenl of the 
county, devoting himself to the improvement of 
his realty until hi- death deprived this part of the 
stale of a valuable citizen, who while he lived was 
actively identified with its agriculture. The 
maiden name of his wife, the mother of our Subject, 

was Barbara Leathers, she was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania or Maryland, ami of German antecedents. 

She died at the I - of her daughter, Mrs. Sally 

Galligher. These are the name- of the -even chil- 
dren of the parent- of our subject; Mary. Sally, 
.lohn. Abram, William, Ner and Isabella. 

Abram Middlesworth was nineteen years of age 
when the famih removed to this county, which 
was then bul -pai-eh settled, and the greater part 



554 



PORTRAIT AND BI A.b AP1IIC AL RECORD. 



of the land was owned by the Government. Deer 
and other wild game were quite plentiful, and 
often furnished an agreeable addition to the fare 
of the settlers, who were mostly home-livers, sub- 
sisting as far -as possible on what they raised on 
their farms. There were no railways for some 
years after the family settled here, and St. Louis 
was the principal market and depot for supplies. 
Our subject embraced every opportunity to obtain 
an education in the schools of his early home in 
Ohio, which were taught in log school-house-. 
which he attended a few months each winter, devot- 
ing the remainder of the year to working on his 
father's farm. After coming to this county he and 
liis brother managed their father's farm in 1841, 
and sold then 1 whole crop of wheat at the rate of 
thirty-seven and a half cents a bushel. For a time 
they went to Springfield to get their grain ground. 
Mr. Middles worth's father gave him a tract of 
land, which was located in Tower Hill Township, 
and after his marriage he settled on it, and actively 
entered upon the pioneer task of reclaiming it 
from the wilderness. After the Mexican War he 
purchased land warrants of the soldiers to whom 
ihe\ had been given by the Government, and he 
entered land in Ridge Township, at a cost of eighty 
cents an acre. In addition to farming he engaged 
extensively in buying hogs and cattle, shipping 
the former to St. Louis and the latter to the New 
York markets. I le continued to live on his farm 
until IK71. when he took up his residence in Shel- 
byville. lie did not abandon his extensive agri- 
cultural operation-, however, hut superintended 
the cultivation of his farm and his large stock 
business as heretofore, lie had acquired a hand- 
some property by his operations, and twenty-five 
hundred acre- of choice land are numbered among 
his possessions. in 1K77 he was elected President 
of the First National Lank of Shelbyville, 111.. 
which position he -till holds, and it is through his 
ellicient and able administration of its finances 
that it has risen to be one of the safest as well as 
one of the most important monetan institutions 
in t lie county. 

Forty-four years ag< i the 28th of January, 

l.siT. Mr. Middlesworth took an important step in 
life that has contributed greatly to hi- happiness 



and well-being, as on that date he u.-i- united in 
marriage with Miss Elizabeth .1. T. Goodwin. Mrs. 
Middlesworth is a native of this counts' and a 
daughter of James and Sarah (Donnel) Goodwin, 
pioneers of this part of the State. Mr. and Mrs. 
Middlesworth have three sons and two daughters 
living, namely; Sarah 15.. widow of John W. Ward, 
her residence being on a farm live miles northeast 
of Shelbyville; Isabella, wife of Hiram Scarborough; 
James; John and William S. 

In early life our subject was a A\'hi<i'. but he 
subsequently joined the Republican party, and has 
ever since been a stanch advocate of it.- policy. He 
is a man of strong character and firm principles, 
who lias always exerted a good influence over the 
community, and he is in no respect behind his fel- 
low-citizens in public- spirit and an earnest desire 
to help forward all enterprises that will in any 
way advance the best interests of the city and 
county, giving the benefit of his experience, busi- 
ness talent and money to all feasible plans to pro- 
mate the public weal, lie and his estimable wife 
are members of the Presbyterian Church, and their 
liberality and helpfulness have contributed largely 
to its usefulness as an active religious organiza- 
tion. 






•I— I— 5--I-F 



=^EV. BARNETT SMOCK. The name at the 
head of this sketch is that of a well-known 
minister of the Baptist Church of this 

county, having had the pastorate of five 

churches in this, Fayette, and Montgomery 
County. lie has been an active church worker for 
about twenty year-, during this time having been 
engaged in helping to organize new churches as 
well a- in preaching the Gospel in the older ones. 
As an Evangelist, he has a great power for good 
and many are the addition- to the various churches 
in which he has preached, attracted thither by his 
work. Each year he has performed the sacred 
ordinance of baptism receiving many into the 
churches. 

Our subject began his career as a preacher in 
this county and was ordained in l*7.">. Elders 

Kelle\ and Coffee officiating at hi- ordination. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



555 



Recently he has spent some time in the field of 

mission work and is an earnest laborer in this 
direction. Aside from his church work, he of 
whom we write is a successful general farmer 
located on the pleasant tract of land in Pickaway 
Township, and having a well improved farm of 
two hundred and eight acres, besides forty acres in 
Rural Township, and eighty acres in Flat Branch 
Township. lie has lived on his present farm for 
seven years, having moved hither from Rural 
Township. lie came to Illinois from Indiana in 
1856. 

The original of our sketch was born in Vigo 
County, six miles south of Tcrre Haute. March 17. 
1 s:»7. He was but a youth when his father 
moved across the line to Sullivan County, where 
he was lea red and educated. lie COmeS of good 
stock. His father was Abraham Smock, a native 
of Kentucky, and a son of Henry Smock, who was 
a native of Germany. After our subject's grand- 
father was grown, he was married in his native 
land to a German lady and soon after marriage he 
and his wife emigrated to the United States in the 
days when sailing vessels were used for transport 
atiou. They settled in Kentucky, near Lexington, 
in the early part of the present century. The 
children were most of them horn in Kentucky. 
Henry Smock and wife with their family re- 
moved to Indiana making their home in Sullivan 
County. This change was made in the early part 
of the '80s. There the two secured a tract of 
land in the wilds of the State. The farm which 
they pre-empted was new and of course had no 
improvements. They were known in their da\ as 
large farmers, owning several hundred acres. Here 
the parents lived and died, being regarded by 
neighbors and acquaintances, as good people and 
successful pioneers. As before said, the country 
was wholly undeveloped and there was an abund- 
ance of wild game. They first beheld the land 
just after the Indians began to seek broader hunt- 
ing fields and before their deaths they beheld it a 
beautiful agricultural region, with wide spreading 
fields of waxing grain and dotted with buildings 
that arc the picture of comfort and serene content. 
The grandparents died when old people. Henry 
Smock at the age of seventy, his wife being 



seventy-six at tin' time of her decease. They were 
both members of the New- Light Church. Ten 
children encircled their hearthstone and made 
merry the days, and light the work about the old 
homestead. Abraham, the father of our subject, 
was one of the eldest of these. He grew from hoy- 
hood into manhood in Sullivan County, and was 
all his life a farmer. While a young man he was 
married in Vigo County. Ind.. to Miss Mary 
Weeks. The lady was horn in Kentucky and was 
a daughter of . I. Lewi- and Susan E. (Hampton) 
Weeks, both natives of Virginia and come of 
Scotch-Irish stock. They were married in Virg- 
inia, and later went to Kentucky when' they lived 
near Louisville. After a time they removed to 
Vigo County, Ind.. where they were very caii\ 
settlers. There Lewis Weeks died in the old home 
which he had improved. At the time of his de- 
cease, he was about sixty-five years old. His wife. 
who survived him many years, later came to her 
son. Alfred Weeks', home, in Vermilion County, 
111., where she died in June, 1890. She was horn 
in 1790, and at the time of her death was within 
six months of being a centenarian. Her mother 
before her had died at the au r e of ninety-four 
years. Lewis Week- and wife were all their lives 
members of the Baptist Church, as were all the 
generations before them for year-. 

After a few years of married life. Abraham 
Smock with his family located on a farm in Sulli- 
van County, where they both finished their lives, 
the former passing away in is Ml. He was then in 
the prime of life, having been born in 1817. His 
wife lived for a good many years and died at the 
old home-tead in Sullivan County, in December. 
lXT.i. She was born in 1816. During the latter 
part of her life she was a member of the Christian 
Church, but for many years she and her husband 
were members of the New Light Church. Our 
subject was carefully reared by his mother and 
Step-father. lie received a practical education ill 

the district schools, but feels that his greatest ad- 
vantage was gained by the light of the hickory tire, 
while bending over his books in the chimney cor- 
ner. Naturally of an ardent, thoughtful nature, he 
was a lover of book- and read carefully and 
thoughtfully. 



556 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



When he of whom we write came to this State, 
he was yet a single man but could not long resist 
the charms of the maidens in the Prairie state and 
«as married to Miss Delilah Casey in the township 
near where he now lives; she is a second daughter 
of Judge John Casey who was for many years a 
prominent man in the county, of whom a fuller 
history may lie found tinder the biographical 
sketch of Joseph Smock. .Mrs. Smock was born 
mi her father's homestead in this county and 
township June 29, 1838. Here she has spent her 
entire life and is known in the vicinity as a model 
mother, a kind, helpful and generous neighbor and 
a noble woman. As a pioneer of the State she lias 
a large circle of acquaintances and stands high in 
their estimation and affection. She. like her luis- 
liand. is a Baptist in her religious belief. 

Mi-. Smock casts his vote and influence in favor 
of the Prohibition party. Our subject and his 
estimable wife are the parents of five children, two 
of whom are deceased. One passed away in in- 
fancy. The other was named William A. The 
living children are: Albert B.; Lydia A. and John C. 
Albert B. took to wife .Minnie F. Smith, and now 
resides on a farm in this township. Lydia A., who 
is the light and life of the home, is a bright and 
intelligent young lady. John C. helps his brother 
run the farm. Mr. Smock's family is one notable 
for its intelligence and culture and the influence 
therefrom, is of the best. 




AMUEL ANDERSON, a dealer in slock, 
who resides on section 9, Oconee Town- 
))} ship. Shelby County, was born in Simpson 
County. Ky.. May 1. 1856. He is a son of 
Peyton anil Anna (Logan) Anderson. His lather, 
who is the proprietor of the Anderson House at 
Oconee. \\a^ born in Allen County. Ky., September 
17. 1*22. His parents were Samuel and Ann 
(Clarke) Anderson, the father being born in 
Virginia, and going to Kentucky when a young 
man. 

The mother, who was lioi n in Nashville, Tenn.. 



married Samuel Anderson in Allen County. Ky.. 
which remained the permanent home until the 
death of this couple. Peyton was the fourth in a 
family of six children, the others being Sallie Ann. 
who married .lames Jones, of Allen County. Ky.; 
Robert, who resides in Fayette County, 111 ; Rachel, 
who married and resides in Kentucky on the old 
homestead; Mary, the wife of Harrison Dobbs. who 
lives in Kentucky. 

Peyton Anderson was reared to farm life and 
resided in Kentucky until he reached the age of 
eleven. During the Civil War he occupied neu- 
tral ground and did not take part on either side, 
although his sympathies were with the Union 
cause. lie was married in Allen County. Ky., 
January I. 1844, to Miss Anna 11. Logan, daughter 
of Roberl and Rebecca Logan,.who removed from 
North Carolina to Kentucky previous to their 
marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Logan had ten children. 
namely: 10. W., Minerva. Eliza. Joshua. Lavina. 
Ann 11.. Robert, Zachariah, Amelia K. and Amanda 
M. Eliza, Mis. Garrison, died in Kansas; Amelia. 
Mrs. Harris, died in Kentucky; and Joshua died in 
Perry ( ounl\ . this State. 

To Mr. and Mis. Anderson two sons and three 
daughters have been born, namely: Mary, the 
wife of James Allen, who resides in Montgomery 
County, 111.; Samuel, our subject, who is unmar- 
ried and engaged in stock-raising in Shelby County; 
Robert I... who is buying and shipping horses in 
Montgomery County: Amelia. Mrs. Ed. Smith: and 
Sarah. Mrs. John Williamson. 

The father of our subject is a stanch Republican. 
whose Union sentiments are a credit to any man. 
more to a man like himself, who was born and edu- 
cated in the South. He takes an active interest in 
political affairs, and is liberal in religious mat- 
ters, though a (inn believer in the Christian relig- 
gion. 

Samuel Anderson grew to manhood in his native 
Slate, receiving his education in the schools of that 
region, and engaged in farming ami stock-raising 
with his father until his removal in 1889, when he 
located in Oconee Township. Shelby County, this 
Stale, and worked on a farm for some ten years. 

He then engaged in buying, feeding and selling 
Stock, handling cattle and hoys principally. He 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



55 5 



i- associated in business with Mr. E. Bass,and buys 
and ships stock from Oconee. He votes with the 
Republican party, and believes thai in it- principles 
are to be found the true guide to progress in this 
country. He is industrious, honesl and intelligent, 
and has tin- confidence of all with whom he is asso- 
ciated. 



~s 



^+£ 



&=_ 



s 



\. 



>ILLIAM F. TILL, oiu- of the oldest resi- 
dents, and one of those mosl worthv of 



\A/ 

vV honor in Windsor Township, Shelby 

County, resides on section 20, and was born in 
Bedford County, Tenn., January 9, L819. His 
parents were Daniel :m<l Sallie (Baw) Tull, both 
natives of North Carolina, who married there and 
soon' after returned to Tennessee, where they re- 
mained until l s2:». At this time they emigrated 
to Illinois, and settled in Shelby County. Our 
subject was the eighth in a family of nine, 
and all are deceased except this son and his 
brother, Nathan F., who resides in the village of 
Windsor. 

Mr. Tull was but a lad of eleven years when 
his parents located in Shelby County, yet be 
has a vivid recollection of the trip across the coun- 
try, with a six-horse team, and often recalls the 

wild and unimproved condition of the country 
and the sparsely peopled sections through which 
they traveled. Shelliy ville. now a promising 
city of live thousand inhabitants, was then a 
little trading post, composed of a few log shanties. 
In the fall of 1838 this young man (then only 
nineteen year- old) took to himself a wife in the 
person of Miss Hannah Davis, who was also a na- 
tive of East Tennessee, where she was born Decem- 
ber "-'7. 1821. Her parents, like his. came to Shelbj 
County in the early days, and located in Windsor 

Township in 1*2*. and there spent the re- 
mainder of their lives. That young couple 
in due time became the parents of a truly 
patriarchal Hock, fifteen children being horn to 
them. 

The seven children who are still living are as 
follows: Sallie. Mrs. Cane, now fifty-one yeai^ 



old, and lives in this township; Josiah has been a 
cripple since he was eighteen month- old. and has 
always been cared for by his parent-: Harriet is 
unmarried and lives at home: Catherine, now Mrs. 
Moobery, lives in this township, as doe- also 
Jonathan, who is married; .lame- and Nathan !■'. 
are at home and unmarried, and working on the 
old homestead, although they have both reached 
mature year-. 

This beautiful old couple have enjoyed each 
other's society in wedded life for over fifty-two 
years - , and both give promise of many more years 
of health and cheer. They -peak in tin- highest 
terms of the filial affection and obedience of their 
children, with whom they have never had an un- 
pleasant or discordant word. Mr. Tull has been a 
life-long Democrat, and ha- r\rv beena recognized 
leader in his township. Hi- middle name is For- 
rest a- he was named for the father of the noted 
Confederate General, that general being a play- 
mate of Mr. 'Lull's. For many years this couple 
were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
hut at the timeof the division of that body during 
the war. they withdrew and joined the Christian 
Union Church. 



•8 , ^=*= - 5* 



AMES II. Willi']-:. We are pleased to ine- 
sent among the highly esteemed residents 
of Shelby County the name of .lame- II. 
White, who resides on section 13, Rose 
Township. His father. William While, was horn 
in Perry County, Pa., and his mother, Hannah 
Milligan, was a native of the same county. Their 
first home after marriage was in thai state, from 
which they afterward removed to Montgomery 
County. End., and later to Christian County, III.. 

where they located in l'aiia.and there they spenl 

the remainder of their days. They were the happy 
parents of ten children, of whom our subject is 
the second. 

.lames II. White was horn in Perry County, Pa., 
.Inly 16, 1829. There he received his early edu- 
cation and his practical training upon a farm and 



558 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



grew u^toa vigorous young manhood. In 1851 
he removed to Montgomery County, Ind., and en- 
gaged in the mercantile business in Waveland for 
about fifteen years. He sold out his business in 
1865, and coming to Shelby County, located on 
section 1:3, Hose Township. Since his removal to 
this place he has devoted himself entirely to farm- 
ing and dealing in stock. His rich farm comprises 
one hundred and twenty acres upon which he has 
placed good improvements. 

The marriage of this gentleman took place in 
Crawfordsville, Ind.. October 3, 1854, his bride 
being Miss Mildred Canine, a daughter of Richard 
and Eliza (Gwynn) Canine, both natives of Ken- 
tucky. The mother died in Crawfordsville. Ind.. 
and the father still survives. Eight children com- 
pleted this family circle and Mrs. White was next 
to the eldest of them. Her birth took place in 
Crawfordsville, Ind., April 2. 1835, and there she 
\\ :i- reared to womanhood. 

The children who came to bless the home of Mr. 
and Mrs. White are seven in number, namely: Albert 
T.. who married Miss Fannie 1 hirkee; ( lara S.; Will- 
iam R., who married Miss Fannie Smith, of Frank- 
fort, Clinton County, Ind.; .lames: Walter; Min- 
nie, who died when ten years old; and Alta P. 
Mr. White has the profound respect and esteem of 
of his fellow-citizens and they have placed him in 
several offices of responsibility, all of which he has 
tilled with real benefit to the community. He has 
for four terms been Supervisor of Hose Township 
and for several years has acted as Justice of the 
Peace and Township Clerk, lie is Secretary for 
Rose Township of the Farmers' Mutual Insurance 
Company. He is independent in his political 
views and does not ally himself with any of the 
existing parties, as he prefers to he free to follow 
his own judgmenl and convictions rather than to 
he guided by the party leaders. 

Mrs. White is a woman of more than ordinary 
capability and influence and is the efficienl and 
judicious President of the Woman's Christian 
Temperance Union of Moulton. They have 
brought up their children in the faith and practice 
of the Christian religion and the whole family are 
united in the membership of the Presbyterian 
Church, The pleasant home of our subject has 



attractive surroundings and the farm buildings 
are excellent. Such a family as this is one of the 
greatest advantages which any township can have, 
as their industry and enterprise tend to its mater- 
ial prosperity and their character and intelligence 
make an influence for good in every way. 



LBERT WYMAX, a large and successful 
(r/ I dealer in boots and shoes, who is doing 
' business in a fine establishment at the 
QJ southwest corner of the public square, 

came to Sullivan, Moultrie County, in 1870 and 
entered upon work as a journeyman shoemaker. 
Later he began business on his own account and 
finally added a stock of goods and opened a store. 
He has been a hard-working man and is the archi- 
tect of his own fortune, and out of his profits he 
has built the commodious business house which he 
now occupies. It is twenty-two feet wide by 
eighty-two feet deep, two stories high and was 
built in lss."]. since which time he has kept it 
stocked with an excellent and extensive line of 
boots and shoes. 

Mr. Wvman came here from St. Louis, to which 
point he had traveled over a great many States 
since coming to this country in 1858 from Ger- 
many. He was born in Prussia not far from Ber- 
lin. .Inly lo. 1835. His parents. Daniel and Doro- 
thea (Heiser) Wvman, natives of Prussia, were of 
excellent German stock and reared him through 
his boyhood, giving to him the best advantages of 
a German education. The father passed from life 
in his native country in 18(12 at the age of seven- 
ty-six, anil his good wife, who was born in 1804, 
died in 1866. Daniel Wytnan had fought with 
the German forces in the war with France which 
took place between the years of 1812 and 1815, 
being an active soldier for four years and bearing 
throughout life wounds received in conflict He 
and his faithful wife were devout members of the 
Lutheran ( hurcli. 

Our subject is the youngest of his parents' chil- 
dren, six sons and one daughter, and two of these 
sons are now deceased, Albert having grown to 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



559 



manhood in his native Province, set out while still 
young for this country, breaking away from Lome 
and friends and coming all alone from Hamburg 
to New York City, landing there in 1858, and lie- 
ginning as a workman at his trade which he bad 
learned in his native country. 

.Mr. Wyinan served for four months as a soldier 
in the War of the Rebellion, enlisting at the firsl 
call in the Second Missouri Infantry, and fighting 
at the battle of Wilson's (reek. Mo. He often 
says that this short experience gave him a sufficient 
taste of war and of rebellion and lie was satisfied 
after that to settle down to his trade in St. Louis. 

He adheres to the church of his forefathers, the 
Lutheran, and is active and helpful in its good 
works. In political matters he is independent, not 
being trammeled by party ties. 



A.MUEL HARPER resides on sent ion 16, of 
*^? Rural Township. Shelby County. His res- 
) Ldence in this county dates from 1864. He 
was bom in Leaver County. Pa., December 
28, 1834, and is a son of James and Margaret ( Me- 
Farland) Harper, both natives of County Antrim, 
Ireland. 

The father of our subject. James Harper, came 
to the United States about 1825. At that time In- 
had one brother in this country, John Harper, who 
had come here from the Emerald Isle in 1800. Our 
subject's maternal ancestors were also natives of 
County Antrim, Ireland, and of the three children 
in the family, two sons, John and Robert Mc- 
Farland came to the United States, where they 
prepared a home, a id their parents and one sister 
followed them hither two years after their advent 
into this country. Their sister. Miss Margaret Mc- 
Farland, was a highly educated lady, ami on com- 
ing to this country, she occupied herself in the 
sacred work of teaching the young to grow into 
noble men and women. She met and married 
James Harper, merchant of Fairview. Beaver 
County, Pa., the father of our subject, about 1832. 
Roth parents died in Leaver County, La. The 
mother passed out into the unknown in 1838, and 



the father in 1849, at the age of sixty-nine years. 
They had three children, only one of whom, our 
subject, lived to attain manhood. 

The original of our sketch was reared in the 
mercantile business, receiving a practical business 
education which fitted him for commercial life. 
He is a graduate from a commercial college of 
high standing. Coming to Illinois, he stopped for 
a short time in Shelby County and then went to 
Texas, after which he returned to his native State. 
Pennsylvania, bu1 finally accepted the advice of 
Horace Greeley, and came West, settling here in 
Illinois in 1860. Soon after his settling in this 
State he was attracted by the charms of one of the 
sweet girls of the Lrairie State, and on December 
•27. I860, was married to Mary J. Armstrong, who 
is a daughter of Edward and Margaret (Graham) 
Armstrong, settlers in Shelby County, from an 
early day. having come here as pioneers about 
ls-27. They were natives respectively of Knox 
County, Ind.. and of Kentucky. Mr. Armstrong 
was born in 1811. His wife was two years younger. 
They were married in Washington County. Ind.. 
but their home was soon after established in Shelby 
County, this State, where the\ located on a farm 
in Ridge Township. There the mother died in 
June. 1853. The father followed her a number of 
years later, his decease taking place March 7. 
L870. 

Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong were the parents of 
seven children, six of whom lived to be grown. 
Their names are Mary Jane. Helen. Richard. Emma, 
William and lona. Mis. Harper's father was twice 
married after the death of Mrs. Harper's mother. 
By his third wife he became the father of one 
child whose name is James C. Mrs. Harper's 
maiden name was Mary Jane. She was born in 
Ridge Township, January 25, 1841, and was mar- 
ried to our subject, Samuel Harper, December 27, 
1860. 

After marriage our subject engaged in active 
service in the War of the Rebellion, enlisting in 
Company G, of the Thirty-second Illinois Infantry. 
October 18, 1864. lie served until the close of 
the war. participating in the battles of Ben ton ville, 
the siege of Savannah, and was one of the army 
who was with Sherman in his noted march from 



560 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Atlanta to the sea. He was a First Sergeant in 
his regiment :ui<l also received :i commission as 
First Lieutenant. At the close of the war he re- 
turned to Shelby County and resumed farming. 
Here he owns eighty acres of land, which is tinder 
a good state of cultivation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harper have had six little ones 
who have come to their hearts and homes as prom- 
ises of comforl and support to their declining 
years. .Most of these children are now grown and 
have families of their own and are respected and 
honored members of society. Maggie is the wife 
Of Thomas AY. Cortmell; Lincoln G. resides in 
Cheyenne, Wyo.; -lames Edward and Carrie are 
engaged in the work of teaching, and have made 
themselves line reputations in their chosen calling. 
Richard ('•. and Samuel McFarland make their 
homes with their parents. Two children died in 
childhood. 

Politically, our subjed is a Republican and the 
issues that are vital with his party are those that 
are likewise most important to him. He has been 
elected to several positions in township offices, 
having been Assessor and Township Clerk. Mr. 
Harper is one of the charter members of the Rural 
Township Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company, 
ami has been the Secretary of the same since its or- 
ganization. It is extremely gratifying to him. as 
to other officers and promoters of the organization, 
that success and financial standing is assured. 



—7 RAM Is X. GRESS, who is the proprietor 



if the furniture and undertaking establish- 

1 incut ill Stewai dson. i> one of the most 

substantia] business men of the town, having rep- 
resented the business there ill the alio\ ■eiiaiued 

l>n h since 1876, and as the town was founded in 

1875, he is one of it- pioneers. Mr. ( ire— was born 

Bavaria, Germany, February 5, 1836. His father 
lived and died in Germany. His mother came to 
the United States about 1874, and passed from this 

life to the better world, while making her home in 

Prairie Township. Our subject's mother had one 

brother, after whom our subject i- named, lie also. 



was a settler in the State and died in Shelby 
County, leaving a wife and three children. She 
also had a sister who was unmarried, and died at 
St. Louis. Mo. 

At the age of fifteen years, our .subject was ap- 
prenticed to learn the trade of a cabinet maker. He 
served his apprenticeship for three years and then 
went to woi,k at his trade near the place of his 
birth where he remained until 1!-C>7. when he 
left the Fatherland, taking a vessel at Bremen and 
after a voyage of fifty-two days, he landed in Bal- 
timore and at once went to Chicago, the journey 
at that time between the two cities, occupying eight 
days. For a time after coming hither he was en- 
gaged as a cooper in a brewery near Chicago; there 
being no opportunity to work at his trade he gave 
his time in this way in order to pay his board. 

In January, \H')H. Mr. Gress came to Shelbyville, 
having previously been promised work at that 
place. He remained there for about two weeks, 
but as his funds grew scarce, and work seemed re- 
mote, he went to Sullivan where he found an op- 
portunity to employ himself at his trade. In the 
spring of 1st;:; he went to Chicago, where he was 
engaged as a cabinet maker, lb- staid there for 
some months and in August, 1864, he went to 
Nashville, Tenn.. and worked as a carpenter in 
Govemmenl employ. In February. 1865, he re- 
turned to Sullivan, but only remained a few months, 
when he again went to Chicago, and in July. 1865, 
he married Mrs. Josephine Weisbrick, nee Altaian. 
Her lirst husband was a soldier in the Civil War 
and was killed. In 1868, our subject removed to 
Shelby County, and settled on a farm in Prairie 
Township, occupying himself with tilling the soil, 
until he removed to Stewardson. 

()ui subjeel and his wife, who have always been 
prndent, energetic people, are now the owners of 
four good building lots in the place where they 
reside. One child has been given them to grace 
their home and be the comforl of their declining 
years, a daughter whose name is Mary. The fam- 
ily are in their religious views devout Catholics. 

and are generous supporters of thai body. Polit- 
ically Mr. Gress is a Democrat. He has held sev- 
eral local offices. 

Formerly Mr. Gress was associated with Joseph 



PORTRAIT AND l;io< RAPffil AL RECORD. 



56] 



Steidle, under the linn name of Steidle & Gress. 
They were owners and proprietors of a packing 
house at Stewardson, which was built by t lie gen- 
tleman of whom we are writing. 



~<oi 



I 



:>•*-<© 



ACOB F. PFEIFFER. Among the enter- 
prising young farmers of Rose Township, 
Shelby County, none perhaps deserve high- 
er praise than this gentleman whose ances- 
try is to be traced aci'OSS the seas. His father, the 
late John Pfeiffer was born in Fairfield County. 
t)hio. April 2. is:',;,, ami was the sod of John Phil- 
lip Pfeiffer who was horn in (iermany and emi- 
grated to Fairfield County. Ohio. He came to this 
county aboul the year 1*77 and settled in Rose 
Township. 

The mother of our subject bore the maiden name 
of Anna M. Finka. her parents being John C. and 
Louisa Finka. Datives of Germany. It was about 

the year l.Sl.'i when thc\ left the old country and 

came to America, where they settled in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, and spent the remainder of their 
days. Mrs. Pfeiffer is the youngesl of their four 
children, and she was horn in Germany August 13, 

is;;;;. 

After their marriage in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
the parents of our subject settled there lor some 
before coming to Shelby County, 111., where they 
made their home in Ridge Township, in March. 
1864. For four years they resided there and then 
settled on section .">. Rose Township, where Mr. 
Pfeiffer died December 4. 1K7!». Their seven chil- 
dren are: John C, Louisa M.. now the wife of Les- 
lie B. Barrett; Minnie C, the wife of Isaac Bales; 
Benjamin J., Jacob 1'.. Edward \V. and Emma M. 

At the time of his death the father of these 
children owned a fine tract of one hundred and 
forty acres upon which he had erected good, suita- 
ble buildings. Since his demise his widow has car- 
ried on the farm most efficiently and successfully, 
lb- was prominent during his life in educational 
affairs and held some school offices. lie wasan ac- 
tive worker in the Lutheran Church to which he 
and his good wife had hotli been long united. 



The subject of this sketch was horn in Ridge 
Township. November II. 1864, and was reared to 
man] d in Rose Township, where he was edu- 
cated in the common schools. Here his marriage 
occurred November "27. 1888, Miss Minnie L.Frin- 
ger becoming his bride. The parents of this lady, 
Jacob and Mary (Stoner) Fringer are residents of 
Rose Township, and Mrs. Pfeiffer is the fifth in 
their family of seven children. She was horn in 
Preston County, Va., May Hi. 1871. One child. 
Lula May. has conn 1 to bless this home. Mr. Peif- 
fer is a prominent and active member of the Luth- 
eran Church and is a young man who gives prom- 
ise of achieving true success in life. Ilis good 
management as a farmer is abundantly attested by 
the excellent condition of his farm and the neat 
appearanc' of his buildings. Mrs. Pfeiffer has 
c\ inced capabilities which will, no doubt, aid her 
husband greatly in carrying on his life work and 
bring to her the enduring reputation which evcr\ 
woman should seek as a true neighbor, a faithful 
wife and a judicious mother. 



EV. HENRY WEAKLY, a man of ability and 
usefulness who pursues the double avoca- 
V tion of tiller of the soil and spiritual la- 
borer in the vineyard of the Lord, has his 
pleasant home on section 2, -Rose Township, Shelby 
County. His father was Benedict Weakly and his 
mother Martha Mathews, both born in Maryland. 
thence they migrated to Fairfield County. Ohio, and 
from there removed to Shelby County. III. Their 
marriage took place December 21. 1815, and they 
were successful and laborious fanners. It was in 
1843 when they came to Shelby County. 111., and 
they settled in Ridge Township which became their 
final earthly home. 

Our subject was one of the oldest members of 
his father's family, his native place being in Fair- 
field County. Ohio, where he was born September 
7, ll">2t>. lie passed his early days in Ohio where 
he attended tin' common schools and after coming 
to Illinois he devoted himself to farm work, assist- 



562 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ing his father upon the farm until he was twenty- 
live years old, when lie was united in marriage 
with Miss Amanda Wagoner, a native of Indiana. 

The young wedded couple made their lirst home 
in Ridge Township and there set up their house- 
hold and industriously devoted themselves to farm 
labors. This was their farm home until they removed 
to Rose Township. .Mr. Weakly first united with 
the Evangelical Brethren Church in Ridge Town- 
ship, which church afterward became a part of the 
Southern Methodist, lie has officiated in the pul- 
pit since 1866. lie was ordained as a Deacon in 
1X77 and four years later received the ordination 
of Elder. 

A large tract of land located in Shelby County 
is the property owned and managed by our sub- 
ject, lie lias it in an excellent state of cultivation 
and has erected upon it. comfortable and neat farm 
buildings. This worthy couple are practically doers 
of good in the world, for as they have no children 
of their own they have acted as father and mother 
to four little orphans and have brought them up 
to attain lives and character of usefulness in the 
world. This truly good, industrious and benev- 
olent life strongly re-inforces the pulpit utterances 
of Mr. Weakly, and his eloquent exhortation to a 
Christian life are not without their effect upon the 
people to whom he administers. At a meeting 
which he conducted nine miles east of Nokomis, 
thirty-seven professed conversion to the Saviour. 
Aside from his domestic life and pulpit work. Mr. 
Weakly has been useful in the community as High- 
way Commissioner in Ridge Township. 

— % - -^ 



m>^<m 



M.SPITLER. for more than twenty years 
Mr. Spitler has been closely connected with 
I — \ the development of Moultrie County and 
since 1880 he has been prominent in the business 
and political circles of Sullivan, lie is a general 
merchant and dealer in staple and fancy groceries, 
glass and i|iiceu>\vare. and ranks among the most 

enterprising business men of the village. Prior to 
embarking in business as a merchant he operated a 
farm, upon which be located in 1871. Not only 



has he been influential in business circles, but in 
all matters of public moment he is interested. He 
has served efficiently as City Councilman and in 
other ways aided in the prosperity of the place. 
Politically he is a stanch Republican and never 
fails to deposit a ballot in the interest of that party. 

Mr. Spitler is descended from German forefathers. 
His great-grandfather crossed the broad Atlantic 
from Germany prior to the Revolutionary War and 
settled in Virginia, where he and his wife both 
died. Among their large family was a son named 
Jacob, who was reared to fanning pursuits and 
grew to manhood in his native State. There lie 
was married to a Virginia lady and there several 
children were born to them, including the father of 
our subject, whose given name was Henry. The 
latter was a youth of fourteen years when, in 1809, 
he accompanied his parents to Fairfield County. 
Ohio. 

At that time Ohio was a wilderness and the Spit- 
ler family began life there as pioneers, improving 
the farm from the heavy timber lands and endur- 
ing all the hardships which fell to those brave men 
who opened a pathway for modern civilization. 
Jacob Spitler and his wife became prominent in the 
sparsely settled community and were active mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church. They died in Fairfield 
County at a good old age. After Henry Spitler 
had reached manhood he married Miss Mary S. 
Seitz, a native of Virginia and of German descent. 
She was only eleven years old when her parents re- 
moved to Fairfield County. Ohio, and there she 
grew to womanhood. 

After their marriage Henry Spitler and his wife 
Settled on a farm in Fairfield County, where they 
both died at the age of seventy-four years, the 
mother surviving the father three years. They 
also belonged to the Baptist Church and the father 
Voted the Democratic ticket. Our subject, who was 
a twin, was one of a family of sixteen children, 
eight of whom are yet living, all married and with 
families of their own. In his native county OUT 
subject grew to a vigorous manhood, receiving an 
academic education at the Fairfield Union Acad- 
emy and after waid following the profession of a 

teacher for several years. He taught one term 
after coming to Illinois. 










k. a M n '"" * '" i «i>3 &| 









' 











portrait and biographical record. 



5 C>.") 



Mr. Spitler owes much of the comfort with which 
ho is surrounded to the untiring efforts of his wife, 
with whom he was united in marriage in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, in 1854. She was known in maid- 
enhood as Margaret I). Friend, and was horn in 
Fairfield County in L826. Her .parents, Jonas and 
Mary A. (Daily) Friend, were natives of Maryland 
and were married in Pennsylvania and settled at an 
caH\ dayin Fairfield County, Ohio. Therethe^ im- 
proved and cultivated a farm until their death, full 
of vcar-- and honor. They were good religious peo- 
ple and consisicni members of the Baptist Church. 
They had a family of eight children, sis of whom 
survive, all past middle age and with families. 
.Mrs. Spitler was carefully reared at home and is a 
woman whose nobility of character and kindness of 

heart win for her friends wherever she is known. 

The otherwise happy union of our subject and 
his good wife has heen saddened by the death of 

their only son. .Jefferson 1).. who died at the aye of 
thirty-two years. His death occurred in California, 
whither he had gone for his health. 1 Ie left a wife, 
whose maiden name was M. K. Harvey, and who i- 
now living in Sullivan, engaged in the millinen 
business. The surviving child, Mary .1.. is -till un- 
der the parental roof and is an intelligent and re- 
fined young lady. Mr. and Mrs. Spitler are 
prominent in social circles and although not com- 
municants of any church, are held in high esteem 
for their recognized worth of character. 



»*»fc»J - mM, 



f I ' , I I I I i 



yn.l.IAM THUNEMANN is a dealer in 
and manufacturer of harness and saddlery 
in Sullivan. Moultrie County, and is lo- 
cated on the north side of the public square where 
he has heen in business for maii\ years, having 
opened his establishment here in 1861. He first 
began in a small way and has since built up a large 
business and a good trade, having been located in 
three different places in the city since coming here, 
lie has an enviable reputation as a skilled work- 
man and turns out some very line pieces of work. 
Our subject came to Sullivan from Chicago in 
1858, but worked on a farm until 1861. lie had 



come to Chicago from Philadelphia, where he had 

heen for two years, as he lirst located then- on 
coming to this country from Germany in 1856. 
Hi- native home was in one of the Rhenish Prov- 
inces, and he was horn September 8, 1820, Upon 
the hanks of the beautiful and picturesque river 
Rhine. His parents William and Anna M. (Putz) 
Thunemann were of pure German stock, the 
former being born in Saxony and the latter upon 
the river Rhine. They were married and began 
life near near her native home during the period 
of the Napoleonic wars. The father worked in the 
Government service, superintending a large har- 
ness shop which furnished equipments for the 

Russian Army, and he was thus engaged through- 
out the war. Later in life he started in business 
on his own account and died near his native home 
in 1852, being then sixty-two years old. His wife 
passed away six years later at the aye of seventy- 
nine. She was a devoted member of the Woman 
Catholic Church but her husband brought up the 
children in his own faith, that of the Evangelical 
( hureli. 

Our subject is the youngest of the parental 
household, of whom but two are now living, his 
brother Jacob being a harness-maker in the Rhen- 
ish Province of Odenkiecken, and being now sev- 
enty-four years old, a well preserved and active 
business man. One of his sons. Paul, a line young 
business man. is with his uncle in business. Mr. 
Thunemann learned his trade when about fourteen 
Veais of aye and has continued in its exercise ever 
since. lie was married in his native province to 
Anna M. (■ilbert. who was born February, 22. 
1828, of good German stock, her father being a 
weaver of fine cloth and a farmer. Both he and 
his faithful wife, who like himself, spent her entire 
days in her native land, found in the Evangelical 
( 'hureh a religious home. 

Mrs. Thunemann was reared in her native prov- 
ince and after her marriage she became the mother 
of two children before emigrating to this country. 
The little family left Antwerp on a sailing vessel 
which bore the name of "Matilda." and after five 
weeks upon the ocean they landed in New York 
City and traveled from there to Philadelphia. 
Somewhat later they came West, Stopping tirst at 



56<J 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Chicago in lln- fall of 1857, before coining to Sul- 
livan which they readied in 1858. 

In .May. 1S7.">. our subject and Ins wife returned 
to their Fatherland and visited the old Lome. 
They had the pleasure of seeing the Emperor Will- 
iam and in October of the same year they returned 
to their home in Sullivan. They are the parents 
of four children, namely: Johanna, the wife of 
Edward J. Gilham, who is traveling for a St. Louis 
House iii Southern Illinois; .Mary, the wife of 
Charles Barnhart, the manager of the new Litch- 
field House at Litchfield; Margaret, who is a 
teacher in the public schools of Spokane Fails. 
Wash., and Emma, who is at home and a teacher 
of music. The members of the family belong to 
the Presbyterian Church and are active in the ex- 
ercise of their religious duties. Mr. Thunemann 
is an intelligent student of our American institu- 
tions and a Republican in politics. He has been 
for thirteen years one of tin- City Aldermen. 

In connection with this biographical notice a 
portrait of Mr. Thunemann is presented to our 
readers. 



—j>-5*-;-5' mails' •>"5"5-'frF 




rACIIARIAH B. WHITFIELD. As the 
city of Sullivan is the center of a rich, 
highly cultivated and prosperous county, 
it is not surprising that within its bounds may be 
found a large number of retired fanners who have 
gained sufficient wealth by the labors of their 
early years to give themselves the luxury of rest 
and ease in their declining days. These retired 
farmers are not so old and decrepit ::s to have 
lost their interest in matters outside their homes, 
but are active and useful citizens, employing their 
energies more fully in tho line of public improve- 
ments than they were able to do in the days when 
tbey were more heavily burdened. 

Among such citizens of Sullivan we lind the 
prosperous man whose name appeal's at the head 
of this present writing. His line farm in Whitley 
Township consists of two hundred and eighty- 
eight acres, which has upon it a complete set of 
farm buildings, and the acres are well improved 



and finely stocked. He came to Whitley Town- 
ship in 1858 with his parents, having been born 
January 15. 1847. in Shelby County. His father, 
Willis Whitfield, was a native of Tennessee, whose 
parents were of Scotch-Irish descent. He became 
a farmer in his native State, and was there first 
married to Alemenlra Khoads, a Tennessee lady. 
This worth}' pioneer couple soon came to Shelby 
County. HI.- settling near Shelbyville when there 
was but one house in that place, and taking up 
Government land. This was about the year 1832. 
and one year later Mrs. Whitfield died of the 
Asiatic cholera, in 1833, being then in the prime 
of life. Her three children, Etneline, Louisa and 
Silas have all now passed to the other world, 
although they lived to mature years and estab- 
lished families of their own. 

The Rev. Willis Whitfield was a second time 
married in Shelby County to Miss Martha Pugh, 
who was born in Kentucky and came when a child 
with her parents to Shelby County. Mr. Pugh 
was killed when in middle life by a bolt of light- 
ning when planting corn. In 1858 W 7 illis Whit- 
Meld and wife came to Whitley Township and 
there took a farm, and making good improvements 
upon it, remained in this home through life. The 
father passed away in 1869, having reached the 
age of sixty-four years. The mother tarried five 
years longer, and then died at the age of sixty-four. 
They were active members of the Separate Baptist 
Church, and for many years Mr. Whitfield tilled 
the pulpit in that church. He was a prominent 
church worker in both this and Shelby Counties. 
His political views were Democratic, and he was 
an earnest worker for that cause. 

Our subject has one sister living — Elizabeth, the 
wife of M. L. Wagoner, of Whitley Township. 
He remained with his parents until their death, his 
mother passing awa\ under his roof. He received 
a fairly good education in his youth, and is a 
genial man. and possesses the esteem of his neigh- 
bors on account of his intelligence and integrity. 
lie has been a leader in the local politics of Whit- 
Icy Township, ami has been placed by turn in all 
of the offices of the township, having been super- 
visor for live years. He is a favorite not only in 
the Democratic party, but in all political circles. 



PORTRAIT AND UK m . R A l'l 1 1( A I. RECORD. 



567 



The marriage of our subject in Whitley Town 
ship to Miss Hannah D. M. Baker gave him a com- 
panion who has proved of inestimable value in his 
battle with life. She was horn in Whitley Town- 
ship, and is the daughter of William K. Baker, a 
prominent farmer and stock-raiser here, whose wife 
bore the maiden name of Lueinda Carter. Mrs. 
Whitfield was one of a numerous family, and her- 
self lias become the mother of six children, viz.: 
William K.. Zachariah 15., Martha L., Willis 11.. 
Lydia F. and ('. Fred. 



GEORGE W. VORIS is the name of the 
pioneer business man of Stewardson who 
operates upon so broad a plane as to have 
made his place of residence more known in com- 
mercial circles than an}- other man in the com- 
munity. He is the leading citizen of the place, 
and his home is the center of the social life of the 
community, his talented and charming wife pre- 
sides over the domestic realm with a pleasing 
hospitality and great grace and dignity. While 
our subject's commercial obligations arc so large 
as to consume much of his time and attention. 
home with its charming mistress and bright family 
of children holds the first place in his heart. 

The original of our sketch devotes himself to 
dealing in grain, hay and farm machinery. In 
February of 1874 he built his office for the pur- 
chase of grain. This was the first building the 
present town boasted. The railroad had been 
completed a short time previous to the location of 
our subject. At that time he was a member of the 
firm of Gould & Yoris, and continued in this busi- 
ness relation until 188'.'. when Mr. Gould withdrew 
and the firm became G. W. Voris & Co. 

When he of whom we write first began business 
in stewardson. it was for the purchase of grain. 
Our subject was station agent for the railroad at 
that time, in which capacity he continued for about 
three years. At the end of that time he gave his 
whole attention to h's private business, and in con- 
nection with the grain business dealt in live stock. 



He next added agricultural implements, and later, 
in 1881, began dealing in hay. He now owns a 
hay barn that is over one hundred feet square. 

(tin- subject was born in Hath. Summit County, 
Ohio, November 11. 18,50, and is the son of Peter 
and Julia (Coe) Yoris, natives of Reading, Pa., 
and Connecticut. The family removed, in 1857, 
to Illinois, and settled in Mattoon, where the 
father engaged in gardening. While a resident of 
Ohio our subject's father held a prominent posi- 
tion in the county, being a surveyor, and for a 
term was Associate Judge with Hon. Benjamin 
Wade. He was an honorable, upright man in 
business dealings, but not a successful financier. 
He passed away from this life in 1881. his wife 
having preceded him by a number of years. They 
were the parents of thirteen children, of whom on ■ 
subject was the youngest. 

Mr. Yoris' mother having died when he was but 
a small boy, at the age of seven years he went to 
Taylor Count}', Iowa, and lived with a sister, after 
which he spent three years in Nodaway County, 
Mo. He then returned to Illinois and worked as a 
farm hand in Knox County, his advent into the 
State being in I860. Up to this time he had 
enjoyed but few educational advantages, but as he 
came in contact with the world he felt the need of 
an education, and being studiously inclined by 
nature, he made up the deficiency in his early edu- 
cation as much as possible by outside study and 
reading. After returning lo Illinois he went to 
Fulton, N. Y., where for two years he attended 
Falley Seminary. At the end of the second 
year he was obliged to give up his school because 
of ill health. On his return to Illinois he entered 
a store at Windsor as a clerk, in which capacity 
lie served until coming to Stewardson. 

In 1875 Mr. Yoris was married to Margaret 
M. Ptluger, a daughter of William and Sophia M. 
Ptluger. The lady was horn near Elgin, III., in 
June, 1855. Their married life has been very hap] . 
and six children have come to gladden their 
hearts and home. One of these was taken away 
in infancy. The five who are still living are 
Mabel, Ralph, Frank, Maud and Helen. 

Politically, Mr. Yoris affiliates with the Repub- 
lican party, using his vote and influence for the 



5G8 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



advantage of that party. In local matters, how- 
ever, he does not adhere to party lines, believing 
that the best man and he who is best fitted for the 
position involved is the one who should he 
awarded local favors. He has served as President 
df the Village Board, and has also been a Justice 
of the Pence for some time. Our subject has made 
his combat with the world single-handed, but this 
fact has not, as is very frequently the case, 
hardened his heart to the need* and weaknesses of 
others. Many there are not only in his own town, 
but wherever he has chanced to be, who will ever 
have reasou to be grateful for his generosity, 53 m- 
pathy and good will. 

G. W. Voris A- Co. do business at the following- 
named places: Lerna, Trilla, Kingman, Fancher, 
Derrick, Herborn and Stewardson. At these sta- 
tions the firm buy grain or hay, or both. Our sub- 
ject also owns about eleven hundred acres of land, 
partly under a high degree of cultivation. The 
success which the original of our sketch has 
attained cannot but be encouraging to the young 
men of limited means and education, but whose 
ambition knows no bounds. He has demonstrated 
that by persistent effort and determination a man 
can make of himself what he will. 



»+£P~ 



OHN W. COWLE, who is part proprietor of 
the Moweaqua Mill, Shelby County, is a cap- 
able and enterprising business man, and is 
/ contributing his meed toward ssustaining and 
extending the material prosperity of this, his na- 
tive State. He was burn in Macoupin County. 
September 6, 1843, and is a sun of Daniel Cowle, 
who was for many years before his death identified 
with the agricultural interests of Illinois, the latter 
part of his life carrying on his farming operations 
in this count} . 

Daniel Cowle was born on the Isle of Man, 
where liis father, whose given name was Charles, 
had inherited a large farm, which was his home 
throughout his life. He reared three suns and one 
daughter, Daniel being the only member of the 
family that ever came to this country. He was 



reared and educated in the home of bis birth, re- 
ceiving a thorough drilling in all things that per- 
tain to farming, and at the age of twenty-five he 
went out into the world to see what life held for 
him elsewhere. He made his way to the United 
States, and for awhile lived in the State of New 
York, and was also a resident of New Jersey fur 
some years. We next hear of him in Connecticut. 
whence he went to Virginia, and from that State he 
came to Illinois in 1841, coming by the way of the 
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He located among 
the pioneers of Macoupin County, and for a time 
lived near Bunker Hill. He then went to Madison 
County and bought land ten miles north of Ed- 
watdsville. and devoted himself sedulously to tann- 
ing in that locality for several years. In 1865 he 
came to Shelby County, and settled in that part of 
Pickaway now included in Penn Township, where 
he bought a tract of wild prairie, which in time he 
developed into a productive farm, and there death 
claimed him in 1878, and his township was de- 
prived of a most worthy citizen. He was a sincere 
Christian, and led a life of unswerving integrity. 
He was reared in the Episcopal Church, but later 
in life he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
and ever remained true to that faith. 

Mr. Cowle was married in New Haven, Conn., in 
1835, to Miss Rosanna Fanning, who survives him, 
and still occupies the old home in Penn Township. 
She is a good woman, and a faithful member of 
the Christian Church. She was burn in Patterson 
County, X. J., to John and Catherine Fanning, 
who dying when she was young, left her an orphan, 
and she was cared for by her older sisters until her 
marriage. She has reared nine children, of whom 
these six have been spared to comfort her old age: 
Charles: Harriet, the wife of < Jeorge Goodwin: John 
W.; George; Louisa J., the widow of Lewis 
Cooper, and Fanny, the wife of James Vangundy. 

Our subject passed his boyhood in Madison 
County, and received his education in the public 
schools, lie came to this county with his parents. 
continued to make his home with them, and after 
his father's death he superintended the farm until 
L881. In that year he went to Nebraska and spent 
a few months in that State. Returning to this 
county, he resumed tanning on the old homestead, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



569 



and was thus employed until 1890. when lie bought 
an interest in the Moweaqua Mill, and has since 
devoted himself to its management. This mill is 
well equipped with first-class machinery and under 
our subject's supervision a flue grade of flour is 
manufactured, that finds a ready market and com- 
mands a good price. 

Mr. Cowle and Miss Mary K. Hanna united their 
lives and fortunes hi 1879 in a marriage that has 
been a union of mutual felicity, and their pleasant 
home circle is completed by the Ave children horn 
to them, named as follows: Willie, George. Maud. 
Florence and Fred. Mrs. Cowle wtis born in County 
Derry, Ireland, and is a daughter of David and 
Isabella (Thompson) Hanna, also natives of thai 
county. They were industrious, virtuous, upright 
people, and faithful members of the Presbyterian 
Church. In 1851 they left their old home, and 
crossing the water to this country, settled in Phila- 
delphia, where they died a few years later, the 
mother in November. 1859, and the father in Jan- 
uary, 18(30, leaving two children. Mrs. Cowle and 
her brother William, the latter of whom is now 
dead. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cowle are members in high stand- 
ing of the Presbyterian Church. Their social po- 
sition is among our best people, and Mr. Cowle is 
known in business circles as an honorable, straight- 
forward, square-dealing man. 



1 OSEPH M. BALES. -The true ruler and 
conqueror he. the true king of his race, 
who nerveth his arm for life's combat, and 
looks the strong world in the face." 
We have many men who live simple and un- 
pretentious lives, who are made of the same fiber 
as that of which heroes and conquerors are. It is 
not the action that dignifies the man. but the man 
should dignify the action. He of whom we write. 
who well knows what, pioneer life is. having had 
experience in more than one place, although he 
has not commanded armies nor wielded a pen to 
touch the hearts of men: — like Muses of old, who 



struck the rock that the water might gush forth, 
he put his hand to the plow, thai the earth might 
yield a richness of harvest that should provide 
nourishment for prince or peasant. 

Joseph M. Bales is the owner of and resident on 
the fine farm located on section 18, of Okaw 
Township. Shelby County. He has resided in 
Illinois since 1854, ami in Shelby County since the 
spring of 1877. He was born in Fast Tennessee, 
February 20. 1829. and is a son of Daniel and 
Mary (Trobough) Bales, both natives of Tennes- 
see. At an early day Mr. Bales' parents came to 
Illinois and settled in Macon County, later mov- 
ing to Coles County, and three years later the 
parents came to live with our subject at his pres- 
ent home. There his mother died March 3, 1888. 
His father is still living. 

Mr. Bales was one of eight children, there being 
five sons and three daughters, whose names are re- 
spectively ,James,Joseph M. our subject, William M., 
Cephas A., John. Catherine. Margaret and Jane. The 
eldest son was killed in a railroad wreck at Bunker 
Hill while engaged in shipping cattle to St. Louis. 
William M. is a resident in Missouri, being there 
engaged as a speculator. Cephas lives in Colorado, 
John is in Kansas, Catherine, now Mrs. Smith, re- 
sides in Iowa, Margaret is now .Airs. Kingsolver, 
and Jane is Mrs. Stumbaugh. 

Our subject was reared and educated in Ten- 
nessee, where he was married to Margaret Bible. 
She, also, was a native of Tennessee, being of 
Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry. After the birth of 
their first child, they started to Illinois with a two 
horse wagon, and arriving in the State settled near 
Macon, Macon County, where they purchased 
eighty acres of land in the raw state, paying for it 
*1 ! per acre. Upon the place Mr. Bales erected a 
shanty, and here they set up their household gods 
and goods. They remained upon this land for 
eighteen years and then sold it for £50 per atve. 
They then purchased one hundred and sixty acres 
in Penn Township. The land was improved and 
they paid $35 per acre, soon selling it for 138 per 
acre. He then settle'! upon the place where he 
now resides, owning at the present time two hun- 
dred and sixty-seven acres of fine land upon 
which there is no incumbrance. He also owns 



570 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



property in Shelbyville, which has advanced 
greatly in value since his purchase and promises 
still better to be a good investment. Thus can be 
seen what energy, industry and economy can ac- 
complish for a man. Mr. Bales commenced with 
hardly more than a pair of strong hands and a 
willingness to work, one Claybank horse with 
black mane and tail being his stock in trade, but 
during the years that have passed, in hard labor it 
is true, he has amassed more than a comfortable 
competency. 

Our subject and his estimable lady are the 
parents of six children whose names are James, 
Daniel. Cephas, Mary .lane, who is the wife of 
.lames Wilson; Ellen, who is the wife of Charles 
Davis, and Fannie, who is still at home. Mr. 
Bales formerly cast his vole and influence with the 
Democratic party, but of late he has given his 
allegiance occasionally to the Farmers' Alliance 
and favors any measures that benefit the class to 
which he belongs. In his religious preferences, 
he. with his family, is Presbyterian. Socially he 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity. 




LEXANDEK H. McTAGGART, a farmer 

and stock-raiser who resides on section 
10, Oconee Township. Shelby County, 
was born in Washington County, Ohio, 
January 15, 1811. His parents, Neil and Cath- 
erine (Loynacham) McTaggart, were born in 
Scotland, the former in L811. They both came 
to America in their youth, and settled with their 
parents in Washington County. Ohio, where 
they were married in 1836. Six sons and two 
daughters were born to them, of whom David 



was the eldest. This son died 



his Jnative 



State at the age of eighteen, and all of the 
children were born in Ohio. The second child 
was our subject, and after him came Neil, who 
married in Canada, ami now resides in Colorado, 
where he fills the office of Postmaster. Daniel A. 
married Miss Ilarson, and is engaged in farming 
in Marion County, Iowa. Belle married James 
Amsbury, a farmer in Warren County, Iowa. 



Hugh E. married in Iowa, and located in Kansas, 
where he is engaged as a passenger conductor on 
the Santa Fe Railroad. He has been with this 
road for nine years, and makes his home at New- 
ton, Kan. Mary J. married William Stumph, and 
resided in Knoxville, Iowa, during her married 
life, dying there in July, 1887. Douglas D. mar- 
ried in Colorado, and is now carrying on farming 
in Nebraska. 

The subject of this sketch became a soldier in 
the Union Army during the Civil War, enlisting in 
Company K, Thirty-ninth Ohio Infantry, June 20, 
1861. At the expiration of his term of service in 
1863, he re-enlisted for the remainder of the war. 
and was finally discharged in June, 1865. He was 
assigned to duty in St. Louis, and served in 
Northern Missouri until February, 1862, when he 
was ordered to New Madrid under Gen. Pope. He 
participated in the engagements at New Madrid 
and Island No. 10, and was afterward sent to 
Helena. Ark . after which he returned to reinforce 
Gen. Grant at Pittsburgh Lauding. He was in 
the siege of Corinth, and remained in that vicinity 
for several months. He took part in the battles of 
Iuka, Miss., and Corinth, remaining at tiie latter 
place through the winter of 1862-63. Dur- 
ing the summer of 1863 he did garrison duty at 
Memphis, and the following winter was spent at 
Prospect, Tenn . where he was guarding the rail- 
road, scouting, and watching the rebel Gen. Forrest. 
While here the Thirty-ninth Regiment re-enlisted 
as veterans. 

Mr. McTaggart was promoted to the position of 
Orderly-Sergeant of his company at the time of re- 
enlistment. In the spiing of 1864 his regiment 
joined Gen. Sherman's army at Chattanooga, and 
participated in the Atlanta campaign, taking part 
in the battles of Snake Creek Gap, Resaca, King- 
gold, Big Shanty. Kcnesaw Mountain and Huff's 
Mills. In the latter battle Col. E. F. Noyes, of 
the Thirty-ninth, who was afterwards the Governor 
of Ohio, lost a leg. 

Sergeant McTaggart received a severe wound in 
his left shoulder July 22, 1864, at Atlanta, Ga. 
This has permanently disabled him. lie was in 
the hospital for some time at Marietta, Ga., and 
afterwards spent two months at home on a furlough. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



571 



lie rejoined his regiment at Atlanta, and marched 
with Sherman to the sea. Here our subject re 

eeived the commission of a Second Lieutenant, 
and was transferred to Company I!, of the same 
regiment. He was placed on detached duty, hav- 
ing charge of the forages of the First, Division. 
.Seventeenth Army Corps, and he superintended 
the gathering of supplies during the march north- 
ward through the Carolinas, which finally ter- 
minated at the city of Washington. While on 
this duty Lieut. McTaggart was again honored 
with promotion, being commissioned First Lieu- 
tenant, and assigned 1<> the command ol Company 
I), in his regiment. He was mustered out of 
service at Goldsboro, N. C. March 29, 1865. He 
then inarched from Raleigh, N. (.'.. to Washington, 
1). C, a most fatiguing and exhausting march in 
the heat of that tropical region. He participated 
in the Grand Review at Washington, and was sent 
to Louisville, Ky., for his final discharge. 

Lieut. McTaggart returned to Ohio, although his 
parents had removed to Iowa the previous year, 
but there was an attraction in Washington Count} 
for the young man. and he was wedded .Inly IS. 
1865, to Miss Margaret Brown, daughter of .lames 
and Elizabeth Brown. She was one of three sons 
and three daughters, and was born in Washington 
County November 10. 1840. Those of her 
father's family who are still living are Betsey, tin' 
widow of John Irwin; John C, who married, and 
resides on a farm in Oconee Township, and Robert, 
of whom more may be learned by the perusal of 
the sketch of John C. Brown. One sister. Nancy, 
married in Ohio, but died soon afterward. 

Four children were born to Mi', and .Mrs. Mc- 
Taggart, one of who i died in infancy. Edwin, 
born August 18, 1870, lives at home. William 
F., born August 3, 1872, and Arthur C. January 
17. 1874. Mr. McTaggart takes an active interest 
in political affairs, and votes with the Republican 
parts. In 1888 the Seventeenth Congressional 
District of Illinois honored itself and this gentle- 
man by making him its Presidential elector. Nexl 
to his army record. Mr. McTaggart recognizes this 
as the highest distinction of his life. 

our subject has never united with any church 
organization, although he gives liberally of his 



means to the support of the Gospel and to Sunday- 
schools. He owns a farm of one hundred and 
forty acres of land, with fine buildings and im- 
provements. It is situated within sight of school 
and church, and is in every way a desirable loca- 
tion. 




LMFR M. COLLINS, A. M., M. D. A 
bright mind coupled with a desire to do 
' good in the world, has wonderful oppor- 
tunities for accomplishing a great work 
for God and humanity. To bend one's energies 
to the betterment physically and spiritually of his 
fellow-men and to devote one's talents in this di- 
rection is an aim worthy of the brightest intellect. 
The work which has been done by Dr. Collins, pas- 
tor of the Christian Church at Shelby vi lie. is of 
great value to the world. His brilliant convincing 
lectures on temperance, his exhaustive treatise en- 
titled "Prohibition versus Personal Liberty," his 
critical examination of the subject of Bible Tem- 
perance ami his valuable work entitled the '"Great 
Living Issue." have had and will continue to have 
a vital effect upon the temperance movement while 
his new Interest Calculator is of real merit and ex- 
tremely helpful to financiers. 

This gentleman, who was born in Buchanan. 
Mich., May 18, 184 1, located in Shelbwille in 
1888, His parents, Nathaniel and Caroline C. 
(Cone) Collins, natives of New York, reared a 
family of seven children. Two sons grew to 
manhood, our subject and Frank N.. who was for 
ninny years a druggist, first in Chicago. 111., and 
afterward in Detroit. Mich. He was living in De- 
troit at the nine of his death, which occurred Jan- 
uary 29, 18*7. The two daughters of this 
family were Mary A., now the wife of James 
M. Crane, general agent of the Pacific Insurance 
Company, having headquarters at Cleveland, Ohio; 
and Emma A., unmarried. The parents of this 
family were married at Plymouth, Ind., and settled 
at Buchanan, Mich., where the father followed 
general merchandising for several years, subse- 
quently engaging in the hardware trade, being 



.72 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



also for several years a Justice of the Peace and 
esteemed a fair lawyer. lie was an earnest mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church and for 
fourteen years was Superintendent of the Sunday- 
school. 

Nathaniel Collins was a stanch Republican in his 
political opinions and a party leader, his advice 
being sought on all occasions and his judgment 
being highly esteemed. He began as a poor man, 
but was successful in business and amassed quite a 
fortune. The finest business block in Buchanan. 
Mich., was built by him and he was president of a 
large manufacturing establishment, besides being 
prominent in all public enterprises and in every 
matters pertaining to the welfare of the city. He 
was a good public speaker, and on occasions when 
the pastor of the church was absent, the pulpit was 
well tilled by Mr. Collins. He was born February 
26, 1815, and died October 31, 1875. His widow 
who survives him, resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She 
was born October 26, 1822, and is a sister of the 
late Hon. Gustavus Cone, of Wisconsin. 

The boyhood of^our subject did not last long as 
his active mind did not allow him to be satisfied with 
childish pursuits. His earnest Christian parents 
stimulated his desire to do good work and upon 
January 23, 1859, when a boy of less than fifteen 
years, he preached his Brst sermon at Troy, Mich.. 
being then a student. After this he gave his atten- 
tion largely to preaching and was known far and 
wide as the boy preacher of Michigan. Twenty- 
live years from that day he again preached in Troy 
and six people were present who had heard his 
first sermon. While preaching he continued his 
education at Hillsdale College. 

Just before graduation the young preacher left 
college to accept a call to the pulpit at South Bend, 
hid. His ministry since that time has carried him 
to various places, among which are Auburn, N. Y., 
Corry, Pa., Buchanan. Mich.. Laporte, Ind., Cov- 
ington, Ky., Carthage, Ohio. < ; rand Rapids, Mich., 
Marion, Iowa, and Cameron, Mo. While in the 
East he attended a course of medical lectures at 
Buffalo, N. Y.. and completed his course at Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, still preaching while he attended 
these studies. While at Cincinnati he graduated 
from both the Eclectic Medical Institute and Hie 



Medical College of Ohio. In 1877 while living in 
Grand Rapids, he had the misfortune to lose his 
hearing, in consequence of which he entered the 
editorial field at Davenport, Iowa, taking charge 
of a paper advocating the cause of Prohi- 
bition and at the same time lecturing on this theme. 
This paper, the Northwestern News, had sought 
him on account of the fame of his editorials in the 
/.< ver which was then published at Grand Rap- 
ids and now at Chicago. He partially recovered 
ii is hearing and resumed the active ministry, and 
ten years later came to Shelbvville, where he has 
charge of the leading church in the place. 

While at Cameron, Mo., Dr. Collins held meet- 
ings in Shaw's Opera House and built a baptistry 
on the stage where he baptized a number of peo- 
ple. This remarkable measure attracted the at ten 
tion of the press throughout the country. Dr. 
Collins is a writer of no small calibre, and the 
books of which he is author are widely circulated. 
He is very methodical and keeps a full record of 
his work. His Calculator which was published in 
1882 is widely used by banks throughout the 
country, and exhibits his mathematical mind by 
his numerous new methods of calculation. 

The marriage of Dr. Collins and Miss Joanna, 
daughter of Russell P. and Almira Hibbard, took 
place May 31, 18(54. This lady was born in South 
Butler. Wayne County, N. Y.. and is now the 
mother of one child, Leslie N. The Doctor is a 
strong temperance man and a Republican in poli- 
tics. In 1880 the College of Hillsdale. Mich., 
honored both itself and our subject by conferring 
upon him the degree of Master of Arts. 



' ► >- hW * i I > 1 1 , i > 



i ' \ ' 



■llOMAS J. SATTERTHWAITE, a note- 
worthy farmer and stock-raiser residing on 
section 8. Oconee Township, Shelby County, 
was born in Brown County. Ind. . February I, 1851. 
His parents were Richard and Ursula (Brock) 
Satterthwaite, who were born in Hamilton Coun- 
ty, Ohio, the father in 1820 and the mother in 
1822. In their native county they grew up side 
by side and were there married in 1840. The 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



573 



father died in Brown County, [nd. about thirty- 
eight years ago. He anil his good wife were the 
parents of four sons and one daughter, namely: 
Oddy who enlisted in the Eighty-second Indiana 
Regiment and died in the Andersonvillc prison: 
John who married and lives in the village of Oco- 
nee; Wilmie, now Mrs. Bailey. living in Montgomery 
County, 111.; Daniel who was married and lives 
in Oconee Township, where lie is engaged in farm- 
ing and our subject, who was the youngest, and as 
we have said had his nativity in Indiana while his 
brothers and sister were all of Ohio birth. 

After her widowhood the mother of our subject 
married Joseph Rice in Indiana, in L853, and now 
resides near the village of Oconee where her husband 
carries on his double avocation of fanner anil Bap- 
tist preacher. Six children were born to this 
marriage. Thomas Satterthwaite came to Monl 
gomery County with his parents in 1868, and 
after his marriage he located on the farm where he 
now resides. 

His splendid tract of eighty acres of land is 
situated near the timber and has upon it not only 
a good bouse and barn but an exellent orchard. 
Mr. Satterthwaite was married to Miss Lucy b'. Hob- 
son September 3, 1878. She was born November 
•JO. 18.V") and is a daughter of John ami Mary Hob- 
son of Oconee Township. For further particulars 
in regard to the history of this prominent and in- 
teresting family the reader is kindly referred to a 
-ketch of Mr. Hobson upon another page of this 
Record. Our subject takes an interest in public 
affairs generally, and is worthy of commendations 
on account of both his public spirit and private en- 
terprise. He has been a School Director in his 
district and (allied out faithfully and well the du- 
ties of that office. As a member of the Farmers 
Mutual Benefit Association, he is active in pro- 
moting the inteiests of the farming community 
for which he is willing to pledge his besl efforts. 
He was formerly allied with the Democratic party 
but his interest in the cause of temperance which 
lie considers the main ally of good citizenship, ha- 
led him to vote tor the last four years the Prohi- 
bition ticket. With his lovely and capable wife 
he is connected with the Hopewell Baptist 
Church where they are efficient laborers in the 



Master's vineyard. They have had the happiness 
of rearing four children, and the sorrow of laying 
two in tee grave. They are named as follows; 
Lithuamy. horn February 23, 1880; Charley C. 
August is, 1882; John Benny, July 20, 1884; 
Florence, November 28, L 8 86 and Willie January 
_Ti. 1888. The last two passed away in childhood. 
Since their death the youngest, Gracie May has come 
to cheer the home. She was born April 13. 1890. 



1 oIIN SWARTZ. Love has here dictated a 
few facts thai are most salient, in the life of 
him who was at one time the comfort and 
support, as well as the dear object of loving 

affection, to the companion with wl i he lived 

for many years, and who. when he was taken 
away, was left bereaved. Although simple in his 
relations both in the family and in his business 
life. Mr. Swartz w.is a manly man and a gentleman 
in all his dealings. His death occurred at his home 
in Pickaway Township, September 28, 1883. He 
had lived here since 1871, and during his residence 
had secured a farm of eighty-two acres on section 
thirty-one, which he had improved and put in the 
best cultivation before his death. 

Mr. Swartz was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
January 1- 1837. His parents were also natives of 
Ohio, who came West, settled and died in this 
county. Our subject lived in his native county 
until he arrived at manhood, and there early 
learned the duties incident to farmers' life, as the 
calling of his father was also that of an agricul- 
turist. When the war broke out. he of whom we 
write enlisted in Company F. of the Forty-sixth 
Ohio Regiment. II was made up at Columbus, 
Ohio, and our subject's enlistment was made Feb- 
ruary ti. 1861. The regiment to which he be- 
longed was assigned to Gen. Sherman's com- 
mand, and under that veteran military genius saw 
full and active service. Tic history of Gen. 
Sherman'; career ts so familiar to our readers that 
we do not neud to recount the desperate battles 
fought and won. nor the chances of war run by 
our subject, whos< fate was the same as that of his 



574 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



commander. The original of our sketch served 
his full three years, and after being honorably dis- 
charged and receiving particular commendation for 
bravery, he re-enlisted as a veteran in his old regi- 
ment and served six months longer, receiving his 
final discharge July 8, 1865. He was engaged 
during his military career in twenty-one hard- 
fought battles, and many more skirmishes. He 
served for some time as Sergeant of his company. 
After the war he received a medal from the State 
of Ohio, which honor was conferred for noble 
veteran service. He was never wounded nor 
taken prisoner, but was poisoned by drinking im- 
pure water ; this was in the last days of his service, 
but he never really recovered from the sickness 
brought on. 

After Mr. Swartz's return from the army lie 
joined his wife and three children, having been 
married previous to his entering into service in 
Fairfield County, Ohio, his nuptials taking place 
February 18, 1856. His wife's maiden name was 
Rachael Friesncr. She was born in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, February 20, 1838. Ld<e her hus- 
band, she came of German ancestry, although her 
parents. Henry and Rebecca (Scitz) Friesner, were 
natives of Ohio and of Virginia, respectively. 
After marriage they made their home in Fairfield 
Count\ r , Ohio, and there Mr. Friesner died in 
1854. being at the time forty-nine years of age. 
His wife came to Shelby County, and here died 
September 28, 1887, being at the time eighty 
years of age. She had been for many years previ- 
ous to her death a member of the Baptist Church. 

Since the death of her husband Mrs. Swartz 
manages the estate which he left, and carries on 
more efficiently the work of the farm, assisted by 
her children, of whom she has six living. They 
are. William, Emma, Luella, Ida. Rebecca and 
Carrie. Tin; son is at home and carries on the 
active; work of the farm. Emma is the wife of 
L. Thomas, and resides on a farm in Missouri. 
Luella married Edgar Thomas, and takes charge of 
the domestic portion of his household in Eustace, 
Neb. Ida is the wife of Wilson Friesner, and she 
and her husband live on the old homestead with 
her mother. Mr. Friesner is a painter by trade, 
and divides his attention by the exercise of his 



trade and farming. Rebecca is the wife of John 
Tolly, and resides in Pickaway Township. Carrie 
lives at home, and is the loving assistant and 
adviser of her mother in the domestic work of the 
farm. Mr. and Mrs. Swartz have ever been asso- 
ciated with the best people of their Township. 
Mr. Swartz was a Republican, and a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic. 



-£€** 



--" ••' }* 




RS. PEACE H. (TRUITT) SCONCE, 

widow of the late Henry Wilson Sconce, is 
1 a daughter of one of the early settlers of 

this county, and was reared under the pio- 
neer influences that obtained in the early days of 
the settlement of this section, and is now quietly 
passing her declining years amid the comforts of 
the pleasant home in Pickaway Township in whose 
upbuilding she aided her husband. 

Mrs. Sconce was bom in Bourbon County, Ivy.. 
February 12. 1826. Her father, Littleton 
Truitt. was a native of Maryland, his birthplace on 
the shores of Chesapeake Bay. He was a son of 
Samuel Truitt, who was -also born in that State. 
and was in turn a son of John Truitt. The latter 
was born in England, and left his ancestral home 
when a young man to make for himself a home in 
the English Colonies beyond the sea. He thus 
became a citizen of Maryland, and so far as known 
spent his last years there. Mrs. Sconce's grand- 
father was reared and married in his native State, 
and subsequently went from there to Kentucky in 
the early days of its settlement. He resided in 
Bourbon County for a time, and then removed to 
Missouri, where his earthly pilgrimage was 
brought to a close by his death in Calloway 
County, and iii.s mortal remains were laid to rest 
in its soil at Columbia. His wife. Elizabeth Par- 
ker, was also a native of Maryland. She died 
while the family was on the way to Missouri, and 
was buried on the banks of the Ohio River. She 
was the mother of ten children who grew to ma- 
turity. 

The father of our Subject was a resident of his 
native State until after the death of his first wife. 



PORTRAIT AND BIO .RAPIIICAL KI-X'ORD. 



575 



and be then removed to Kentucky, and for some 
years farmed on rented land in Bourbon County. 
In 1830 he again set forth in search of a new locn 
tion, and bringing with him li is wife and six elul- 
dren, came to Illinois, journeying with three 
horses attached to a wagon, in which all the house- 
hold goods were contained, and camping and 
cooking by the wayside at noon and night. After 
about three weeks travel, he arrived in* Shelby 
County, which at that time was still in a wild, 
sparsely settled condition, and the few houses at 
Shelby ville were mostly log cabins. In the sur- 
rounding wilderness wolves, deer and wild turkeys 
roamed at will, and the few pioneers in this region 
found a welcome addition to their meager fare 
in the game which they could shoot whenever they 
took time from their arduous work to go hunting. 
Mr. Truitt entered Government land in what is 
now Okaw Township, [and built upon il a small 
log cabin for a dwelling, splitting shakes for the 
roof and puncheon for the floor. In the absence 
of a stove the family cooking was done before a 
fire, in a rude open fireplace, and the women spun 
and wove the cloth wherewith the various mem- 
bers of the household were clad. 

Mr. Truitt worked industriously to develop 
his land, and at the time of his death in 1864 had 
a well-improved farm. His life-record as a pio- 
neer, as a man and a citizen was honorable to him- 
self and to his community. His second wife, 
mother of our subject, died in 1865. Her maiden 
name was Jane Hamilton, and she was bom in 
Pennsylvania, a daughter of Daniel aud Elizabeth 
(Lason) Hamilton, who were also natives of the 
Keystone State. Mr. Truitt was the father of one 
child by his first marriage, and of eight children 
by his second union. 

Mrs. Sconce was four years old when her parents 
brought her to Illinois. She was educated in the 
primitive pioneer schools of the olden days, the 
one that she attended being built of logs and heated 
by means of an open fireplace, while a row of 
glass inserted in an aperture made by the re- 
moval of a log from the side of the building served 
as a window, and the seats were made by split- 
ting logs and using wooden pins for legs. Our 
subject was early taught all the useful household 



accomplishments that were in vogue at that time. 
and without a knowledge of which a woman was 
not thought fit to keep house, among other things 
learning to spin and weave, and after marriage 
made cloth for her own and husband's garments. 
She was well prepared to care for a home of her 
own when she united her fortunes with those of 
Henry Wilson Sconce, March 14, 1843. 

Mr. Sconce was a native of Nicholas County, 
Ky., born March 23, 1823. in the pioneer 
home of David L. and Rebecca (Keith) Sconce, 
who were natives respectively of Pennsylvania and 
Kentucky. He was seven years old when his pa- 
rents brought him to Illinois and located among 
the early settlers of Vermillion. They resided 
there until 1835, and then became pioneers of this 
county, the father entering a tract of Government 
land in Okaw Township, which he improved into 
a farm, which was his home the rest of his life. 

The husband of Mrs. Sconce was educated in 
pioneer schools of Okaw Township, and there 
grew to a stalwart manhood. When he started in 
in life on his own account after marrying he was 
the proud owner of a small mare and one cow. 
His father allowed him to build a small cabin on 
his land, and he and his bride began life together 
in a humble way. His capital lay in his strength, 
willingness to work, and capacity to do well what- 
ever he undertook, and in the years of toil that 
followed he met with more than ordinary success 
in his efforts to acquire a competence. He farmed 
on rented laud three years, and then settled on a 
tract of Government land. He built a log house 
for a dwelling, broke and fenced twenty acres of 
land, and a year later sold his improvements for 
$50 He invested that money by entering 
forty acres of land in Okaw Township, and also 
bought fifty acres adjoining, on which stood a 
house. The next3earhe sold that place at an ad- 
vance on the cost price, and bought one hundred 
and twenty acres of land in the same township. 
He lived on it two years, and at the end of that 
time sold it at $5 an acre. lie then pur- 
chased tlie farm upon which his widow resides, 
and it was his home until he closed his eyes in 
death April 1, 1890. He bought other land at 
different Limes, and once owned five hundred and 



57(5 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ninety-five acres of fine farming land. He made 
many valuable improvements, including' three sets 
of frame buildings, and made his farm one of the 
most desirable in many respects in the township. 
By diligence, thrift and careful management he 
arose to be one of the most substantial farmers of 
Pickaway, and in dying he left behind a good 
nam", that is held in respect by all who knew him, 
and the memory of a useful citizenship as one of 
the men who had been active in the development 
of the agricultural resources of the county. 

Mrs. Sconce is a member in high standing of the 
Christian Church, and is known as one who does 
her duty in all the relations which she bears toward 
others. She has four children, all of which are 
living, and of them the following is recorde:!; 
Small .1. married .lames M. Thomas, and they have 
one child living, Alvali C. ; Luvena married .lames 
M. Pogue, and they have five children living, 
Charles E., Logan E., Henry W., Sylvia E. and 
James Chester; Emeline married John Honey, and 
they have one child living. Walter; William Logan 
married Maggie Belle Cole, and they have the 
following children living, Peace II., Henry Wilson 
and John C. Our subject commenced life with 
a cash capital of $3.51 I. 



^O 



1 OI1N W. W. BROWN isa brick manufacturer 

iu the town of Windsor, where he does a 
thriving and prosperous business. Mr. 
Brown was born in Licking County. Ohio, 
June 5, 1832. lie spent the early years of his life 
on a farm, engaged in ils duties until eighteen 
years of age. His father was a New England man. 
Luke Eddy Brown was born in Berkshire County, 
Mass. The maiden name of our subject's mother 
was Ann Gleason, she was a native of Shenango 
County, N. Y. They came lo Ohio soon after 
their marriage, and settled iu Licking County, 
where they remained until L850, When (hey emi- 
grated to Illinois, and stilled in McLean County, 
this State. There they made their home for 
several years, and then removed to Missouri. 



The father was killed during the war by bush 
whackers, and the mother died in Nodaway 
County, Mo. 

Eight children were the result of the union of 
our subject's parents, and of these he of whom we 
write, was the second in order of birth. Mr. 
Brown came to Illinois with his parents in 1850, 
remaining at home until he was of age. During 
this time he was engaged in farming and in teach- 
ing. Three years were taken up by this latter em- 
ployment. He continued to reside in McLean 
County for several years, and then went to Macon 
County, where he followed farming and carpentry 
and brick making for a living. In January, 1880, 
lie came to Shelby County and settled in Windsor 
Township, where lie was proprietor of a farm for 
four years. At the end of that time he began the 
manufacture of tile, but in the spring of 1891 his 
factory was destroyed by fire, and since then he 
has been engaged in the manufacture of brick. 

Mr. Brown was married in McLean County, 
Hi., August !», 1857, to Miss Mary Willhoite. 
She is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Ritchie) 
Willhoite. The former was born in Owen Count}', 
Ky., of which the mother was also a native. They 
came from Kentucky to McLean County, and 
there died. A family of nine children came to 
grace the household. Of these Mrs. Brown was 
the fou.th in order of birth. She was bor.i iu 
Owen County, Ky., March 22, 1839. 

Four children have clustered about the hearth- 
stone of our subject, but they have grown to man- 

1 1 and womanhood, and sonic have families of 

their own. Their names are Franklin A., Mary II., 
Josephine A. and Willis B. Franklin married 
Miss Nellie Voris, who is the deputy Postmistress 
of Windsor; Josephine A. is the wife of William 
Hudson. 

The original of our sketch has held the position 
of Councilman in the town. He is a Republican 
in his political belief, and takes quite an active 
interest in local affairs. Both he and his wife are 
active members of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church, in which he has Idled the office of Elder 
and Superintendent of the Sunday School, which 
last position he has filled for thirty-three years. 
Socially, Mr. Brown is a member of the Odd 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



01 I 



Follows, and also of the Knights of Pythias. Full 
of vitality and energy that never recognizes 
defeat, our subject lias overcome many difficulties 
in his business life, and has attained a recognized 
and honorable position among- the influential men 
of the county. Mis home life is very pleasant. 
His residence is all that a hiving wife, who is 
gifted with tact, culture and refinement, can 
make it. 



-*-=^§>* 



fS^~ 




.0*— 



^4 IRON CURTIS. The name at the head of 

this sketch is that of a contractoi and 
builder, uniting with this the business of 

agriculture, being a general farmer resid- 
ing on section 33, of Moweaqua Township, §h< Iby 
County, where he owns one hundred and twenty 
acres of well-improved land. 

Our subject has devoted the greater part of ln- 
lite to the business of a mechanic, in which he has 
had a very successful career, lie came to Mowea- 
qua in 1852, remaining here one year, lie then 
absented himself three years, returning in 1855, 
and has since made the township his home. From 
the fact that he has been here so long and being 
well known as a man of much business ability who 
is never satisfied with doing anything but the best 
work, he is very well and favorably known in the 
county. 

When the slavery question culminated in the ter- 
rible war between the North and South, and a 
call was made for volunteers, Mr. Curtis was one 
of the first to respond. He enli-ted in October, 
1861, in Company K, of the Forty-first O hio In- 
fantry. Col. Hughes being in command. Our sub- 
ject's regiment was under the general command of 
Gen. Culbert, and fought at Ft. Donelson, shiloh. 
Vicksburg, Nashville and Atlanta, and serving for 
three years. Our subject was never afraid of mili- 
tary duty. lie was an active and hard lighter and 
was engaged in many skirmishes besides the well- 
known battles mentioned above, lie was so fortu- 
nate as to escape without a wound, nor was he ever 
captured. Entering the war as a private his brav- 
ery was recognized, and he was offered a first lieu- 



tenant's commission, hut honors of that kind were 
not so much to him as the knowledge that lie was 
doing the best that he could for his country and 
his flag, as a brave private, and he declined the 
honor. He received an honorable discharge at 
Chattanooga, Tcnn.. in ( tctohcr, 1 86 I. ami he is very 
proud of his war record, and though unassuming 
and modest, tells with enthusiasm, of various en- 
gagements in which he has taken part. 

Mr. Curtis was born in Medina County, Ohio, 
February 20, 1837. He is a son of Enoch and 
Mary M. (Serdan) Curtis, natives of Vermont, 
coming of good New England stock. After the 
marriage of our subject's parents they came to 
Ohio, where they lived for a few years and then 
early in the '40s, while the country was as prim- 
itive as it could be, anil while some of the greatest 
characters in American history were maturing and 
becoming strong to meet the emergencies that were 
to confront them. At that time there were nocars 
and but two alternatives: either to come by water 
via the lakes, or overland, with their own teams, 
which latter way the}' chose. Their first location 
was in McLean County, and they made them a 
home in or near Bloomington, Ills. There Enoch 
Curtis died in 1853 at the age of thirty-five years. 
He hail learned the trade of a mechanic, although 
he was reared a farmer, but a pioneer settler neces- 
sarily must be able to turn his skill in several di- 
rections. 1 1 is wife died in 1888, in Moweaqua, 
111., at the age of seventy-two yen's. Both she 
and her husband were prominent members of the 
Christian Church. 1! >th our subject's father and 
his grandfather, Pond Curtis, belonged to the old 
Whig party. Our subject's grandfather and his 
wife were early settlers in this State, in McLean 
County, but they spent the last, years in Lake 
County, where they died at an advanced age. 

Only two members of the family of Curtis still 
survive, our subject, and a sister I'ermelia Kirk- 
man, now of Moweaqua. From the age of twelve 
the original of this sketch has encountered the dif- 
ficulties of life alone and unaided, being at the 
same time, the support of his mother. He learned 
the trade of a house-builder in Moweaqua. and when 
he had arrived at years of maturity, be united him- 
self in marriage to Miss Sarah Daughtry. She 



578 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was born in East Tennessee in 184C and came to 
Illinois while young, with her parents, Brant and 
Lydia Daughtry. The family located in this 
county and township about the time of the break- 
ing out of the war, in which Mr. Daughtry en- 
listed and served as a soldier. He did not survive 
long after the war, his death having been caused 
by sickness contracted in the army. He passed 
away while in the hospital at Mound City, 111. His 
wife, resides in Moweaqua, and is now seventy- 
five years of age. She is a member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church and is a good and conse- 
crated old lady. She never married again. Mrs. 
Curtis was reared and educated for the most part 
in this county. .She is the mother of three chil- 
dren, who are all yet under their father's roof. 
They are Fred and .lames, who conduct the farm, 
and a daughter Bertha, all bright and intelligent 
children. Mrs. Curtis is a member in good stand- 
ing of the Presbyterian Church, and by her in- 
fluence she exercises a very beneficient influence in 
the community. Politically her husband is an 
adherent of the Republican party, upholding its 
platform anil favoring its constituents. 






^♦♦♦•S-r 



i ^.t't-frh 



«ggy IIARLES COWLE, the fortunate proprietor 
of one of the finest and best-managed farms 
in all Penn Township, is a veteran of the 
late war, who nobly devoted the opening years of 
his manhood to the service of his country and 
helped t<> preserve the Union. He was born in the 
beautiful New England city of New Haven, Conn., 
July 27, 1837. His father, Daniel Cowle, was a 
native of the Isle of Man, a son of Charles Cowle. 
who was also born on that island, upon which he 
spent his entire life engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits on an estate that he had inherited. He 
reared three sons and one daughter. 

The father of our subject was the only member 
of the family that ever came to America, his emi- 
gration to this country occurring when he was 
about twenty-live years old. He resided at first 
in New York, and also in New Jersey for a time, 
whence he went to New Haven. Conn., and later to 



Virginia, from which State he ultimately came to 
Illinois in 1841 by the way of the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi Rivers. He located in the southern part of 
Macoupin County, and was one of the pioneers of 
that section of the State. From there he removed 
to Madison County a few years later, and buying 
a farm lived there until 1865. In that year he 
came to this county and bought a tract of wild 
prairie in what is now Penn Township. He built 
upon his land, and in due time improved a good 
farm, which was his home until his death in 1878, 
when the township lost a useful citizen, who was 
greatly respected. During his residence at New 
Haven, be married Miss Kosanna Fanning, in 
whom he found a helpful wife and a devoted com- 
panion. She is still living on the old homestead. 
She is a native of Patterson, N. J., and a daughter 
of John and Catherine Fanning. Of her nine 
children six have been spared to bless her declining 
years. 

Our subject, who was reared to agricultural 
pursuits, followed farming in Madison County 
until 1861. July 16, that year, he threw aside his 
work to volunteer for the defense of the old flag, 
and his name was enrolled as a member of Company 
I, Ninth Illinois Infantry. He went to the front 
nithhis regiment, and took part in the battles of Ft. 
Donelson, Shiloh, Jackson (Miss.), joined Sher- 
man's command at Goldsborough, N. G, and went 
on the Atlanta campaign, doing his share of fight- 
ing in the important battles enroute to Atlanta, 
and in the engagements with the enemy around 
that city. He was honorably discharged at 
Atlanta on the expiration of his term of enlist- 
ment. Returning to Illinois, he re-enlisted the 
same fall, notwithstanding his past experience of 
the hardships of a soldier's life, as, with true 
patriotism, he was determined to see the contest 
I nt ween the North and South to its bitter end, if 
possible. He joined his regiment in North Caro- 
lina, and marched with the victorious army by the 
way of Richmond to Washington, where he *ook 
part in the Grand Review, and was honorably dis- 
charged for a second time from the service in 
July, 1865. 

The Ninth Illinois Infantry to which Mr. Cowle 
belonged were in one hundred and ten engagements 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



579 



commanded respectively by Col. E. A. Paine, Col. 
A. Mersey and Col. J. J. Philips. At Corinth, in 
1863, the regiment was mounted and remained as 
such until the expiration of the term of service, 
and took part in numberless skirmishes and battles. 
In the fall of the year that he left the army, Mr. 
Cowle came to Shelby County, and in 1868 bought 
the farm in Penn Township that he now owns and 
occupies. This is a valuable farm, and its finely 
tilled and highly productive fields yield him a neat 
income. Here he lives happy in a state of single 
blessedness, sometimes keeping bachelor's hall, at 
other times boarding, as his fancy dictates. He is 
much liked in his community, as lie is invariably 
pleasant, neighborly and obliging, and he is trusted 
to the fullest extent by all who know him, ns he is 
always fair and honest in his dealings. Politically, 
he affiliated with the Republican party many 
years, but at present he is independent. 



OI1N E. GARMAN has devoted himself to 
fanning the past few years, and the appear- 
ance of his fine, well improved prairie farm 
on section 20. Penn Township. Shelby 
County, gives evidence that be has a clear under- 
standing of the most practical methods of con- 
ducting agriculture to a successful issue. He is a 
Pennsylvanian by birth, born in the town of Jack- 
sonville, Center County, March l>.">. 1853. His 
father, George Garman was also a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and he in turn was a son of John Gar- 
man, who was born near Hanover. Germany. He 
came to this country after he had attained man- 
hood, and was quite an early settler of Jefferson 
County, Pa. He was a distiller by trade, and fol- 
lowed that occupation in connection with farming, 
spending his last years in the State of his adop- 
tion. 

George Garman served a seven years' appren- 
ticeship to learn the trade of a wheelwright, car- 
penter and millwright. In 1856 became to Illinois 
and located in Stephenson County. Renting land 
near Freeport. he was engaged in farming there 
until death closed his busy career in December, 



1863. The maiden name of his wife was .Mary S. 
Neil. She was born in Centre County, Pa., a 
daughter of John and Elizabeth Neil, natives of 
Scotland. She now resides with her son, James I., 
in Pickaway Township. She was left a widow 
with four children to care for, and she nobly 
shouldered her burden. She resided in Stephenson 
County until 186"), and then coming to this 
county, bought forty acres of wild prairie land in 
what is now Pickaway Township. She at once 
erected a small frame house, and by hard toil and 
much self-sacrifice kept her family together, with 
the assistance of her sons, who improved the land, 
and she still owns the home that is the fruit of her 
unwearied labors. The following is recorded of 
her four c'lildren: Isabelle married John Black 
and lives in Milan Township, Macon County; John 
E. is our subject ; James lives in Pickaway Town- 
ship; William died in 1878. 

He of whom we write was three years old when 
the family came to Illinois, therefore the most of 
his associations are connected with his life in this 
State. Like other farmers' boys, as soon as he 
was large enough to be of any use he was set to 
work on the farm, and was a great help to his 
mother after his father's death, remaining with her 
until his marriage. At the age of seventeen years 
he began to learn the trade of a carpenter, and at 
the age of nineteen engaged as a builder on his 
own account. He continued in that line until 
December, 1884, when he turned his attention to 
the calling to which he had been reared, and at 
that time bought the farm in Penn Township, 
upon which he has ever since resided. He is car- 
rying on his farming operations advantageously 
and profitably, and has increased the value of his 
farm since it came into his possession by judicious 
cultivation, and by many substantial improvements. 

Mr. Garman has been twice married. In De- 
cember, 1884, he was wedded to Miss Winnie T. 
Tolly, a native of Pickaway Township, and a 
daughter of Samuel and .lane (Sims) Tolly. She 
died in August, 1886, leaving one child, Emma 
May. Our subject's second marriage took place 
in April, 1889, and Miss Sarah Frances Foster 
became his wife. She is a native of Todd's Point 
Township, and a daughter of Joseph and Mary 



580 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Foster. Sbe is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, and her name is associated with the 
good work carried on by her pastor and fellow- 
members. Her union to our subject has been 
blessed to them by the birth of two children. Mary 
Alice, and Grace Edna. 

Mr. Garman is a manly, straightforward man. of 
sound principle and good habits, and in him the 
citizenship of this township has a valuable acquisi- 
tion. His politics are of the Republican order. 
and he stands firmly by his party whatever 
betides. 



^^ 



"=] 



S~ 



(MIX S. FRY, who is now one of the success- 
ful farmers of Penn Township, was a volun- 
teer in the Union ranks during the late war, 
and his military record is that of a brave, 
patriotic soldier, who cheerfully endured hardships. 
the perils of battle, and even death, lo serve his 
country in her time of greatest need. His native 
place is the town of Bremen, Fairfield Comity. 
Ohio, and the date of hi- birth November 11, 1845. 
He comes of one of the old pioneer families of that 
section, and his father, Henry Fry, was born on 
the same farm as himself. The grandfather of our 
subject, John "Fry, was an early settler of that 
region. He was born, reared and married in Vir- 
ginia, taking for his wife Mary Leib, also a Vir- 
ginian. He removed from his native State to Ohio 
in the early years of its settlement, and was a 
pioneer farmer of Fairfield County, lie bought a 
tract of Government laud midway between Bre- 
men and Rushville, on Little Rush Creek, and 
cleared a farm, upon which he pleasantly passed 

tiie remainder of his life. His wife died at, the 
home of her daughter in Seneca County. 

In tiie county in which he was born the father 
of our subject was reared amid pioneer scenes. He 
attended a German school at Rushville. and at other 

times assisted his father on his farm until he was 

sixteen years old. At that age he began to learn 
the trade of a cabinet-maker and was employed a1 

it until his marriage, hut after that time he de- 
voted himself to farming the remainder of his life. 



which closed with his death at a ripe age. January 
1. 1875. The wife who shared with him for many 
years the joys and sorrows common to mortals, sur- 
vives him, and now makes her home with a son 
near Millersport, Ohio. In her maiden days she 
bore the name of Jemima Scott, Shaw and she was 
born two miles south of West Rushville, Fairfield 
County. Ohio. 

Our subject was one of seven children and was 
carefully reared in the home of his birth. He was 
but a boy when the great Civil War broke out, yet 
the following year he offered his services to his 
country and on the 16th of July his name was 
enrolled as a member of Company D, One Hundred 
Twenty-Ninth Ohio Infantry. The most impor- 
tant battles in which he took part during that term 
of enlistment were those fought at Wild Cat. Ky. 
and at Cumberland Cap. In 1 8G3 he vet- 
eranized in Company B, Seventeenth Ohio Infan- 
try, and joined his regiment at Ringgold, Ga. He 
accompanied it on the famous Sherman campaign 
at Atlanta, and did some good lighting in the en- 
gagements with the enemy on the way to that city. 
At Resaca our subject received injuries in the right 
knee, hut he continued with his regiment until 
Atlanta was reached. Aftei the fall of that City 
he joined the provost guard and went with that 
command to I he sea, and from there, by the way 
of the Carolinas and Richmond, to Washington, 
where he took part in the Grand Review. After 
that event he returned with his regiment to Vir- 
ginia and served until his honorable discharge. 
July 16, 1865, just three years to a day after he 
entered the army. 

After his long and bitter experiences of the 
hardships and excitements of a soldier's life, Mr. 
Fry relumed to \\\- old home in Ohio, and quietly 
resumed the peaceful vocation that he had aban- 
doned to take up arms in the defense of the stars 
and stripes. In 1S7I he went to Missouri and 
was a resident of ivtii- County, ihat State, for one 
year. He then came Eastward as far as Illinois 
and bought the farm that he now owns in l'enn 
Township, since he took possession of it twenty 
years ago lie has demonstrated the fact that he has 
a char understanding of farming in its various 
branches, as his farm is well ordered and compares 








a^iA^ . 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



,,s;: 



favorably in all respects with all the others in iis 
vicinity. 

Mr. Fry, has had the good fortune to secure the 
helping hands of an efficient wife, to whom he was 
united in marriage June 17, 1869. Her maiden 
name was Kmeline Ruffner, and she is also a native 
of Fairfield County. Ohio, a daughter of Jonas and 
Susanna Ruffner. These are the names of the 
seven children of our subject and his wife: Frank 
K., Dolly V., Thcron R.. Kva S.. Belle and Dell 
( twins) and Carrie. 

In this brief life-record of our subject his value 
as a loyal citizen has been shown by his course 
during the war, and is well known by the people 
among whom he has lived for many years since 
that time. He is exemplary in his habits, upright 
in his conduct, and in him the Presbyterian Church 
finds one of its most consistent members. His life 
as a soldier is held in remembrance by his connec- 
tion with the Grand Army of the Republic at 
Bethany. Politically he is a stanch advocate of 
the Republican party. 



\ 



'-7-' HUMAN P. MAUTZ. The senior member 
//T\ of the linn of Mautz & Diddea. proprietors 

V — y of a general store at Stewardson, Shelby 
County. Mr. Mautz has a wide acquaintance in the 
adjoining agricultural districts, as well as in the 
town itself, and he and his partner are known :i- 
upnght, honorable dealers, and men of sterling 
worth and integrity. The business was established 
by York & Mautz in 1879. Mr. York sold out his 
interest to the^piesent partner, Mr. Diddea. in 
1MX1. and since they have been in partnership to- 
gether, the linn has been successful in its I m-i i n -~~ 
dealings to a gratifying degree. 

Our subject was born in Wurteinherg. Germany, 
December 21. 1849, and is a son of George and 
Rosina (Shantz) Mautz. of whom a fuller history 
may be found under the biography of .1. p. Mautz. 
in another part of this volume. Thomas P.. of 
this sketch, was but a small boy. when the family 
emigrated to America, and proceeding to Zanes- 



ville and Lancaster, Ohio, remained there a short 
linn-, removing in 1854 to Shelby County. III. He 

a-sisted on the farm and early learned the duties 
incident to such work. He was educated in the 
district schools of the vicinity, and continued his 
residence at home until he was twenty years of age, 
when he learned the milling business, working at 
Pana and Rosemond. 

Later Mr. Mautz. removed to Bainbridge, Ind., 
ami thence came to Oconee, 111., and after sojourn- 
ing in the latter place until 1874 came to Steward- 
son, which town was ju-t then organized. Here 
Mr. Mautz for three years operated a flouring mill 
and afterward formed a partnership with II. II. 
'link under the Jinn name of York & Mautz. Mr. 
Mautz established a genera! mercantile business in 
Shumway, 111., in 1878, but one year later removed 
the business to Stewardson, in which In- has con- 
tinued until the present time, being now senior 

member of the firm. They OCCUpy their own stoic 

building and carry a large general stock of mer- 
chandise. 

On May 20, 1879, Mr. Mautz and Miss Bertha 
Kails were united in marriage. Mrs. Mautz is a 
daughter of John Karls, of Rural Township, this 
county, and was born in Lockville, Ohio. Decem- 
ber 13, 1858. They are the parents of four chil- 
dren — Nora. Lillie, Lottie, and Frankie, all of 
whom are intelligent and amiable. Politically Our 
subject affiliates with the Democratic party, its 
breadth of platform and tree trade principles favor- 
ing his notions of the government that should rule 

the Republic. lie is the founder of the Stewardson 

Homestead Loan Association, an organization to 
help the laboring man get a home of his own and 
furnish him with a safe and profitable investment 
for his small savings. This association is a large 
factor for good in the prosperity of the community 
and had contributed materially to the well-being 
of the citizens. lie has been the incumbent of 
several local offices in the gifl of the lowu. having 
been Supervisor of Prairie Township for seven 
consecutive terms. During this tunc hi' wast hair- 
man of the Board of Supervisors for three terms < 
He a No held the office of President of the Village 
Board, and has tilled other local offices. In his re- 
ligious views Mr. Mautz is a Swedenborgian. lie 



584 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and is at 
present, as lie lias been for several terms, Master of 
Sigel Lodge, No. 541, I-'. & A. M. at Stewardson. 
His portrait is presented in connection with this 
brief biographical review. 



! > ■ p fc p i t \ w * > fc 



f i ' r^—^* "^ ■■ ' 



ARRY M. RAWLINGS. Among the ag- 
j riculturists <>f Shelby County who arc so 
capably carrying on their affairs, both as 
fanners anil citizens, as to be deserving of 
representation in a biographical work, may be 
mentioned Mr. Rawlings, an esteemed citizen of 
Ridge Township. Hishome of onehundred twenty 
acres is on section 9, and being well managed, is 
the source of a better income than some of much 
greater extent. It affords a good maintenance and 
enables Mr. Rawlings to make some provision for 
the future, and as a home, it is comfortable and 
pleasant. The owner is industrious and prudent. 
and care is taken to make the best possible use of 
the acreage that he cultivates and to supply it with 
modern inprovements, such as befit the home of a 
cultured and intelligent family. 

John Rawlings, father of our subject, was born in 
Cecil County. Md., in 1817 and upon reaching man's 
estate was married to Martha E. Mi-Master, a native 
of Maryland. After their marriage the worthy 
couple located in Guernsey County. Ohio, in 1856. 
After a sojourn in that county of nine years, they 
came to Shelby County. ML in L865, and Located 
on section II. Ridge Township, where their son. our 
subject, now resides. After improving this farm 
and making it their home for a period of sixteen 
years, they removed to Pickaway Township, where 
the father died September 30, 1887. The mother 
still survives Their family comprised eight 
children, five sons and three daughters, our subject 
being the second in order of birth. 

The birthplace of our subject was Cecil County, 
Md.. and his natal day August 10, 1855. He was 

a mere babe "hen hi~ parents took him to Ohio, 

where be remained untilhe was ten years old, in 

the meantime gaining the rudiments of his education 
in the district schools. In 1865 he accompanied 



his parents to this county, where he has since resided. 

He has from childhood Keen engaged in agricultural 
pursuits and his thorough knowledge of agriculture 
in all its departments has titled him for an honorable 
and successful career. He was married in Ridge 
Township, February 24. 1 885, to Miss Katie Weakly, 
daughter of the late Samuel Weakly. For further 
information in regard to her parents the leader is 
referred to the sketch of Fdson B. Weakly. Mrs. 
Rawlings was horn in Ridge Township, September 
(I. 1861, and is universally esteemed for her noble 
qualities. 

In politics Mr. Rawlings gives his support to 
the Democratic party: religiously he and his 
estimable wife are consistent members of the Presby- 
terian Church. His farm is embellished by all 

buildings necessary for the shelter of stock and 
Storage of grain, as well as a comfortable 
residence, and such arrangements are made for 
sowing and reaping as show that the owner possesses 
progressive ideas and a worthy ambition. He 
is a judicious and successful agriculturist and 
deserved!} commands the confidence of the business 
community. 



mmm&&mmm. 






OI1X II. MILLER. M. I). To attain emin- 
ence in any of the learned professions and 
especially in the humane one of medicine, 
is worth the efforts of a life time and when 
this achievement is gained by a comparatively 
young man. it is certainly worthy of note by the 
biographer. The popularity already gained by the 
gentleman whose name appears al the head of this 
paragraph, the only physician and surgeon in 
Oconee, justifies tin 1 prediction that he will soon 
stand tit the head of his profession in this state. 

Our subjeel was born in Fayette County, 111.. 
April Mi. l,s."}."i and is the son of the Rev. Jacob 
and Mary .1. (Stapp) .Miller who were pioneers of 
that county, the father having been born there. 
The mother was a native of Kentucky but very 

early in life came to Fayette County. 

There were four sons and one daughter in the 

family of the Rev. Jacob Miller, of whom Dr. 



PORTRAIT AM) UIOGRAPinCAL RECORD. 



585 



Josepli 1-'. Miller is the eldest and is located .'it 
Palmer, 111., where he is engaged in the practice of 
medicine. The healing art is a favorite calling in 
this family and a half In-other of our subject, Dr. 
A. I >. Miller, is also practicing his profession at 
Palmer. The only remaining half brother, Louis 
A. Miller, will enter the. College of l'liyscians and 
Surgeons at Chicago this year, thereby making 
complete a continuous line of medicos in this fam- 
ily. Two brothers and one sister are deceased. 
Dr. J. II. Miller received his general education in 

the excellent public scl Is of Illinois and at the 

High School at Shelby ville, and at Eureka ( ollege, 
Eureka, 111. His professional study and train- 
ing were secured privately under competent and 
painstaking tutors, and these were supplemented by 
attendance at the Missouri Medical College at St. 
Louis. At this popular institution he attended 
two courses of lectures, graduating March I. Ikko. 
with honor to himself and credit to the profession. 

Like most men who achieve commendable 
heights in art, literature of science, his success i- 
mainly due to his own exertions. An indomitable 
will combined with energy, industry and good 
health was his stock in trade, and every draft upon 
this kind of bank -tock brings a liberal response. 
Immediately after his graduation the young Doctor 
located in the practice of his chosen profession :it 
Oconee, where he still remains, enjoying the con- 
fidence and esteem of all with whom he is assoc- 
iated either professionally or socially. A genial, 
whole-souled, and companionable gentleman, it 
is not strange that he should he a favorite among 
his fellow-men. hut it is remarkable that so young 
a man should have built up a practice which more 
experienced physicians might justly enjoy with 
pride. Another evidence of the Doctor's pro- 
fessional popularity is the fact that he is the only 
physician in the town of Oconee or within a 
radius of several miles around, although several 
talented men have attempted to get a foothold 
here in their profession. 

On the Hith of January, \KH:\. Dr. Miller was 
united in marriage with Miss Laura Theile of 
Ramsey, 111., the ceremony being performed at the 
residence of the bride's parents. Mrs. Miller is a 
daughter of Henry and Eliza Theile. who were 



among tin- firsl settlers of Ramsey . and her father, 
a millwright by profession, owned and operated a 

mill ill that place. The Doctor is a member of 
Oconee (amp No. 1312, M. W. of A. and enjoys 
the distinction of having been chosen to the office 
of Deputy Head Counsel <>f the Seventeenth 
Congressional District of Illinois. The duties of 
this office are a general supervision over the affairs 
of the order within his territory and the organ- 
ization of new camps, his territory comprising the 
counties of Shelby, Macoupin. Montgomery. Moul- 
trie. Effingham and Payette. 

Of professional associations Dr. Miller is a mem- 
ber of the District Medical Society of Central Illi- 
nois in which he is Secretary; also of the Illinois 
Mate Medical Society in which body he is the 
Secretary Of the Section on Etiology, Preventive 
and state Medicine. He is also a member of tic 
American Medical Association and in all these 
organizations he ranks high among his brethren in 

the profession. In May 189] he was elected to 

the position of Assistant to the chair on Practice 
of Medicine in the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons of Chicago for the winter term, and 
in addition was made a member of the spring 
faculty to till the above named chair. 



-+#§#n#+ 



He» 



•-*« EORGEW. VAUGIIAN. Prominent among 

the public men of Sullivan, and eminent a> a 
church and Sunday-school worker is the 

gentleman whose name heads this paragraph. He 
is no office seeker but an earnest worker in the 
rank and file of the Democratic party and has at the 
earnest request of his fellow-citizens, Idled the 
offices of Supervisor and Deputy County Treasurer. 
His work in the line of Sunday-schools, has brought 
him before the best people of the counl\ . as he lias 
been President of the county organization ■. d 

Ml- a- delegate in most of the State Sunday-school 
conventions. He i> now the President of the 
County Sunday-school Association. 

Mr. Vaughan is a retired farmer and stock-raiser, 
residing in a comfortable home on Jackson street. 

lie removed to the city from hi- large farm ill 



586 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Sullivan Township in October, 1886, leaving an 
estate which he bad materially decreased in extenl 
by gifts in his children. The well-improved tract 
which lie still retains comprises two hundred acres, 
most of which he ha> brought from its native con- 
dition t<> a well drained and highly cultivated 
state. He has been a successful farmer in this 
county where he has lived since 1842 and now 
enjoys the benefits of his labors. 

Our subject was bom in Shelby County in 1833 
his parents having settled in Shelbyville in 182?. 
His father, .lames W. Vaughan was a soldier in the 
Black Hawk War and served as a private under 
(Jen. Atkinson, and helped to bury the dead after 
Maj. Stillman's defeat near Dixon's Ferry. After 
peace was concluded and the Indians were sent 
beyond the Father of Waters, Mr. Vaughan came 
back to Shelby County, and there devoted himself to 
hi-- trade. He was a mechanic and gunsmith and 
at the same lime operated a farm. In 1842 he 
removed from Shelby County, where he had been 
a pioneer-, to Whitley Township, .Moultrie County, 
and later came to Sullivan but in January, 
1864 removed to Coles County where he eon tinned 
active in his trade and upon the farm until his 
death which occurred June 21. 1890, when he was 
past eighty-four years old. lie was horn in Vir- 
ginia December 8, 1805, and was tin- son of Woody 
Vaughan who died when .lames was only eighl 
years old. The family is of English stock with 
some German admixture and came to this coun- 
try prior to the Revolutionary War. The mother 
of James W. Vaughan was a Miss Farrer, who 
was of German descent and who came with her 
family to Illinois in 1829 and died in Shelby 
' ounty at a very advanced age, passing away 
a> did her husband in the enjoymenl of a beau- 
tiful Christian faith. 

James W. Vaughan was eight years old when his 
mother moved to Tennessee and in 1829, after 
Iris marriage to Jemima McNealya native of Tennes- 
see he came to Illinois. This noble and lovely Christ- 
ian wife died in .Moultrie County. -it the age of 

fifty-four years, she had been a member of the 

Cumberland Presbyterian Church most of her life. 

The second matrimonial union of Mr. Vaughan 

waswithMrs. Melinda A. Ellis, net Phillips, who is 



yet living and now at the age of seventy-three 

years makes her home in Cole- (ounty. She is a 

member of the Free Will Baptist Church, in which 
her husband, .lames W. Vaughan was for almost 
fifty year.- a minister. He was an earnest and hard 
working servant in the vineyard of the Lord. ami 
tilled many pulpits in this State, lie was univer- 
sally recognized as nil earnest pioneer minister and 
lode from point to point on horseback to meet 
appointment and to minister to the spiritual want- 
of the people in the days when neighbors were 
twenty miles apart. 

Of the children of this pioneer preacher one. 
Samuel is a Baptist minister at Decatur. 111.; three. 
William, John and George, were soldiers in the 
Union army. John being Lieutenant of his com- 
pany, and being killed ill the battle of Shiloh 

during the great charge of the Union forces. He 
and William belonged in Company 1>, Forty-first 
Illinois Infantry. William served for three years 
and escaped unhurt anil is now living near Bethany. 
Our subject enlisted in Company C, One Hun- 
dred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry, under 
( apt. A. X. Smizer of Sullivan and Col. Richmond 
of Mattoon. This regiment took part in the siege 
of Vicksburg, holding the key to the eit\ in the 
rear, keeping the rebels from entering through the 
V.i/.oo Valley. Later they went to Arkansas doing 
service at Duvall's Bluff and Little Rock. Our sub- 
ject was commissioned Second Lieutenant at the 
lime the company was organized, but owing to 
sickness was forced to resign and received his 

honorable discharge before the expiration of his 

term of service. 

The first marriage of Mr. Vaughan united him 
with MissBeulah Rhodes, who was born and reared 
in Shelby County and died in December. 1880. sin- 
was the mother of two children now living: Ar- 
thur L. a fanner, who has married Nancy Hughes; 
and Ida tin- wife of Arthur Hampton , of Demurest. 
Ga. A daughter now deceased, Oli via, was the wife 
of S. I'. Corley, a Dakota fanner. Our subject 
was again married at St. Joseph, Mo. to Miss Nancy 
C. Henry, who was born in Macon County. III.. 
May 13, 1851. Her parent-, were .lohn and Sybil 
(Tl-uit) Henry. She resided in St. Joseph al the 

time of her marriage, she is the mother of three 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



587 



children one son Jay, having passed away. j«eslie 
1 1. i> afflicted with loss of hearing and is ;i studenl in 
the Deaf and Dumb Institution at Jacksonville and 
Donna M. the baby of the household is the delighl 
of her parents, both of whom are active members 
of society and useful in their church relations 
being connected with the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church. 




II.LIAM J. SNYDER. The gentleman 
/ whose biography it is our pleasure to here 
give, at least in outline, is noted for the 
interest that he takes in the moral and religious 
good of the community; although he lias been and 
is a successful tanner, he is a dccplv religious man 
and devotes mine time to the progress of mental. 
moral and spiritual life than to financial gain for 
himself. He is now one of the county Sunday - 
school workers, having been Superintendent for 
years, and once President <>f the County Board. 

lie is at present one of the executives, anil is 

also a standing delegate to the Mate conventions 
that meet in the interesl of this work. 

[n the business of general farming. Mr. Snyder 
devotes himself mainly to stock-raising, having one 
of the besl stock farms in Flat Branch Township, 
being located on section 8, where he owns four 
hundred and twenty acres. All of this is underthe 
plow. His buildings are all tirst class in construc- 
tion, and the place is well stocked. Ever) improve- 
ment is the work of hi- own hands, lie purchased 
the farm in 1866, locating « »n it the following 
vear. It was then a wild brush patch, but with 
undaunted energj he set about clearing it. planted 
tine shade and fruit trees, tilled the fields and 
divided the meadows into paddocks wherein are 
now found horses, cattle, sheep and swine of high 
grade and breeding. Naturally Mr. Snyder is a 
progressive farmer and is never satisfied with well 
enough. 

Prior t" the coming of our subject to tins State 
he was a resident of Christian County, where he 
was born in Prairie Township, Ma\ 28, \*\'J. 



There lie was reared and educated. going through 

the common schools and finishing at the High 
School at Mt. /.ion. in Macon County. At the 
breaking out of the war. before he "as quite 
twenty years of age, he enlisted in Company II. 
One Hundred and Sixteenth Illinois Infantry. Col. 
N. \V. Tucker (now deceased) and (apt. .1. L. 
I >oi>-on. now at Salisbury, Mo., in command. 
They joined Gen. Sherman's Army of the Ten- 
nessee, and were with them in the battle of Oxford. 
Tenn. Our subject saw much service during 
his experience in the war and was honorably dis- 
charged in 1862, He later, however, re-enlisted in 
the Thirteenth New York Heavy Artillery. Com- 
pany I., and did marine service on the United 
State- steamer "Parks." Col. Howard commanding. 
This steamer was particularly and conspicuously 
engaged in capturing rebel torpedoes and in pre- 
venting the rebels from destroying the Union pro- 
visions at Petersburg. It also captured many 
local fleets and both commissioned and non-com- 
missioned officers. It also captured the James 
River pirate, ('apt. Ilines. While this little 
marine band saw comparatively little hard fight- 
inir. tlie\ did a ureal deal of active and valuable 
service and won for themselves many laurels. 
( )ur subject received his final discharge at Newbem, 
N. ( • in 1865. He was never wounded or taken 
prisoner, bnl suffered from experiences known to 
the kind of army life he had served, being 
swamped in the surf at Port Fisher, with many of 
his regiment. 

\fter the war. Mr. Snyder returned to his home 
in this State and devoted his time to his business 
as a farmer, lie has been remarkably successful 

Mild of hi- abundant -tore, he i- generous and 
open handed. He is a son of Michael Snyder, of 
whom a further sketch may be found in another 
part of this volume. He was married in Brown 
County, Ohio, to Miss Eliza A. Grinner, who was 

:i native of that State and county. She was there 
reared and educated, where her parents lived .'11111 

died. Mrs. Snyder is an intelligent and capable 
woman and make- a charming home for her hus- 
band and children, who -how the influence of re- 
lined and cultured home training. Our subject 

and hi- wife are the parent- of six children, tin;. 



588 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



are: Lula M., who is engaged as a teacher in the 
public schools of the township therein she lives. 
She ■»;(> educated at the VVesleyan College at 
Bloomington, this State; Ernest F., May Bell ('.. 
William R., Lida Pearl and Grace (■.. who are all 
:it home and make the family life merry with their 
brightness and intelligent converse. 

Our subject and his wife arc popular young 
people. Mr. Snyder is a member of the Evangel- 
ical Association, while his wife is a member of the 
Lutheran Church. He is associated in all hi- work 
with the liest men in the township and county. 
Politically he casts hi- vote and influence with the 
Prohibition party. 



w^S 



!>*<S^ 



d) 



-x® 



ACOB F. BAUER represents the lumber 
trade al Stewardson, having carried on tins 
business here since 1885, bis residence in 
Shelby County dating from 1865. II'' is 
well known as a successful, substantial and honored 
citizen. In connection with the lumber business 
Mr. Bauer deals largely in farm machinery, build- 
ers' hardware and paints. Our subject was burn 
in [locking County, Ohio, April 3, 1836. lie is a 

s f Jacob F. and Julia (Reel) Bauer, natives of 

Baden and Hessing, Germany, respectively. 

The paternal grandparents of our subject came 
to the United Mates at an early day and settled in 
Baltimore, where lie grandmother died, and later, 
the grandfather removed to Zanesville, < (hio, where 
he died. The father of our subject had one 
brother, John G. Bauer, who stiil resides in Vir- 
ginia. Tin- maternal grandparents also emigrated 
tii the United States at an earh daw lirst living in 
Baltimore, and then in /.a ne-\ i lie. Ohio. Mr. 
Bauer's mother had three brothers and one sister, 
whose names. arc Antlmin II.. John II.. and Henry 
William II. The two former died at Columbus, 
Ohio. Henrj passed away at Lima, Ohio, and Will- 
iam resides in Lancaster, Ohio. The sister, Chris- 
tine E. Reel, married and lives in Ohio. 

Our subject's parents met and married in Zanes- 
ville where the families were earlj settlers. The 
young couple later located in Hocking < ouuty, on 



a farm, ami there they lived, rearing a family of 
eleven children, nine of whom lived to reach years 
of maturity. Of these our subject is the eldest. 
The names of the children are as follows: ( hris- 
tena E., Anthony Henry. Julia, Christian. Solomon. 
David. William and John, besides our subject. 

Mr. Bauer's early life was spent upon a farm 
where he acquired a physical vigor from outdoor 
duties that has been a great advantage to him 
throughout his career. His school days were lim- 
ited and the education that he has acquired is a 
practical one. attained mostly in intercourse with 
bis fellow-men, and by the exigencies of the posi- 
tions in which he found himself placed. While a 
young man be learned the trade of a carpenter. 
In 1865 he removed to [llinois and purchased forty 
acres of land in Prairie Township and began work 
at his trade. This first purchase was the nucleus 
of the line farm of which he finally became pro- 
prietor, comprising two hundred and twenty acres 
of land, most of which was originally wild prairie 
land. He however expended much time and money 
in placing line improvements on the place and 
made it his home until 1885, "lien he traded one 
hundred and twenty acre- of land for hi- present 
business. 

Before coming to tbi- State. Mr. Bailer had taken 
upon himself the duties and obligations of married 
life. His marriage was celebrated in January. 1859, 
in Hocking County. Ohio, his wife's maiden name 
being Catherine Ulmer. she. like her husband, was 
a native of Hocking County, Ohio, her birth hav- 
ing occurred February '2.~>. IK.'i'.l. She passed a\\a\ 
from this life in 1873, leaving her husband and 
five children to mourn her. The children's names 
areas follows: Elizabeth, Julia. Caroline. Andrew 
and Mary. Elizabeth i- the wife of Charles Friese: 

Julia presides over the domestic realm of the house- 
hold of Ferdinand Kull: Caroline is the wife of 
t reorge Kircher. 

In 1ST I Mr. Bauer persuaded Mrs. Williclmina 
I-'rede ici- Kull. In lake up the reins of domestic 
government in bis household, she was born in 
Fairfield County, Ohio, and by her lirst marriage 
was the mother of live children. Mr. Bauer and 
bis present wife are the parents of five children. 

only two of whom are living: they are Tobias and 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



589 



Martha. The family are members in good standing 
of the Lutheran Church. In his political prefer- 
ence, he (if whom we write is a stanch Democrat. 
He has been :i member of the Board of Supervisors 
of his township for three terms, and has also held 
the positions of School Director and Trustee. Our 
subject owns a beautiful home at Stewardson, and 
nine acres of land. His residence is commodious 
anil comfoitable and contains all the late improve- 
ments in interior arrangement thai are so necessary 
to modern living. Pecuniarily he is well fixed, 
and stands high in the esteem of his fellow-towns- 
men because of his practical business views and his 
honorable and upright dealings. 



OSEPH J. SMOCK, resides on section 2,of 
Rural Township, Shelby County, his resi- 
dence in the county, dating from 1862. 
He is a native of Sullivan County, Ind., 
where he was born, February 20, 1844. .Joseph 
Smock is a son of Abram and Mary E. (Weeks) 
Smock, of whom a fuller history may be found 

under the sketch of the Kev. Harnett Smock, in 

another part of this volume. Our subject's early- 
life was nol dissimilar to that of the majority of 
lads wliu are raised on a farm. He early became 
acquainted with the mysteries of milking, feeding 
the stock, ploughing, hoeing com, and kindred 
work that the farmer liny i- ap1 to attempt to 
escape mile-.- he has a vigilaal eye placed over 
him. It is much pleasanter in a hot, .lime day. to 
go a-fishing than to cultivate corn. 

The educational advantages enjoyed by our sub- 
ject, were limited, although he attained a good 
foundation for a practical education in the districl 
schools in the vicinity in which he lived. In 1862 
he came to Shelby Comity. Ilk. and for one 
vear was engaged in work a- a farm hand. He 
then rented land and tilled the same in order to 
get means to purchase. In 1866, January 25, he 
was united in marriage to Susanna Casey, a 
daughter of Judge John and Nancy (Denton) 
Casey, she was born in Shelby County, this State, 
December 17. 1846, Her father was a native of 



Kentucky, anil when bul a child of fourteen years 
of age, was brought by his parents Levi and Chloe 
Casey, to Illinois. The family settled in Ridge 
Township in the year is:!.",, and at that time en- 
tered a large tract of Government land, upon 
which they made many improvements. 

Levi and Chloe Casey died at quite advanced 
ages. They were parent- of eight children. Their 
son. John Casey. Mrs. Smock's father. «:i> 
born February HI. 1813, in Warren County. Ky. 
The family removed to Illinois in 1816, and re- 
sided in Bond County until 1885. John Casej 
was married February 20, 1834 to Mahala Jackson, 
who died in duly. 1835, leaving one child as a 
reminder of his gentle and affectionate wife. Oc- 
tober lit. 1KS7. Mr. Casej again married, his bride 
being Nancy Denton. Their union was blessed by 
the birth of eleven children. Of these four daugh- 
ters and one son survive him. In the early days 
Judge John Casej was a man of considerable 
prominence. He tilled the position of Justice of 
the Peace from 1845 to I860, and during this 
period he solemnized man\ marriages. In 1846, 
he became a volunteer, enlisting in the Mexican 
War, entering the army in Company Ik Third Reg- 
iment. Captain Foreman in command. lie served 
to the end of the war and was regarded as a brave 
soldier and a loyal citizen of the Republic of the 
Tinted State-. He made a record for being the 
fleetest runner and the best rifleman in the 
regiment. 

Before Mr. ( asej left home for service, he pur- 
chased a pair of shoes of General 'Thornton and 
these he wore during the whole time in which he 
was in service and on hi- return, the General pre- 
sented him with a new pair in exchange for the 
old ones, which he kept as a souvenir and which 
are properly labeled as a treasured relic of that 
stormy period. .Indue Casey was one of the As- 
sociate Judges under the old system. He was a 
member of the Twenty-seventh General Assembly, 

and served as a Supervisor for several terms. Ill 

1874, he removed to Shelbyville, which he made 
his home until his death. He was that extremely 
rare thing in law. an honest judge, and prided 

himself that his word wa- as g 1 at any time, as 

his bond. In his religious preference, he was a 



.-.'.Ill 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Baptist. Personally lie was an Immense man, 
weighing from [three f hundred to three hundred 
and fifty pounds. 

After marriage our subject, Mr. Smock, resided 
in Ridge Township for two years, there operating 
land which he rented. They then returned to 
Flat Branch Township, also renting their land for 
one year. Thence thej went to Pickaway Town- 
ship, where they rented land for three years. From 
there they came to Rural Township, making a stay 
of six vears. Then they returned to Pickaway 
Township, where they remained for ten years, 
since which time they have lived in Rural Town- 
ship, where he purchased a farm of one hundred 

and twenty acres, all of which is g 1 and well 

improved land. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smock have had their lives enrich- 
ed by the advent into their family of five children. 
Two of these were lent them lint for a short time. 
The three living arc Aha I!.. Chloe Ellen anil 
Eliza A. Politically our subjeel is a follower of 
the Democratic party, casting his vote and influ- 
ence with it. .Mrs. Smock is a member of the 
I'nited lla]itisl Church. She is an intelligent, as 
well a- amiable and cultured woman. 



-.$..5..}. .5. ^5B' , ^"^4"J C 



^ 



\MKs HOGARTH, a prosperous farmer and 

stock-raiser of Penn Township, was born in 
Yorkshire England. .Inly 5, 1839. UN 
father, who bore the same name as himself. 
was a native of the same country, his birthplace 
being Westmoreland, and he in turn was the son 

of another .lames Hogarth, who was a farmer, na- 
tive of Lancaster-hire, and a life-long residenl of 
England. The father of Olirsubjecl was reared on a 

farm and followed agricultural pursuits in York- 
shire, where he spent his last years, lie married 
Elizabeth Birtle, whose whole life was passed in 
Yorkshire, she was the mother of two children, 
our subjeel and Isabella, her daughter spending her 
entire life iii England. 

Our Subject was lefl an orphan when onh leu 

years old. As soon as large enough he began 

work on the farm and earlv sained a practical in- 



sight into the besl methods of carrying on farming. 
While attending school he learned a great ileal 
about the United States of America, a subject 
which hail a great interest for him. and in pursu- 
ance of a determination to try life in this great 
and growing country, he embarked at Liverpool 
in 1860, on the steamer "Washington City." and 
aftera voyage of eleven days landed at CastleGar- 
den. New York, lie came directly to Shelby 
County, arriving here with about $15 in his 
pocket, which scant capita] was supplemented by a 
courageous heart, a cool head and steady hand, 
and willingness to do whatsoever he found to do 
with the capacity of doing it well. lie began life 
here by working on a farm by the month, continu- 
ing that employment until his marriage, when he 
located on the farm in Penn Township, that he 
has since occupied. At that time the place was 
but very little improved, but since it came into 
his hands he has wrought a wonderous change by 
persistent and well directed labor. The land is 
now under a high state of cultivation, the neat 
and. substantia] buildings comparing with an\ in 
the township, and fruit, shade and ornamental 
trees, planted by his own hand, add greatly to the 
attractiveness of the place. The reader will he 
pleased to notice a view of this homestead on an- 
other page. 

In 1867, .Mr. Hogarth took unto himself a wife 
in the person of Mrs. Margaret (Shinnnan ) P.irketl. 
a native of Cumberland, England. Mrs. Hogarth's 
lather. Philip Shinnnan. was reared on the Isle of 
Man. and thence he removed to Cumberland, where 

lie lived for many years. In [857 he caine to 
America with Mrs. Hogarth. lie visited a short 
time in Cleveland, Ohio, and then went to Clinton 
in the same Slate, to see a daughter, and died in 
her home ten weeks after landing in this country. 
Mi- wife died in England in 1851. She was the 
mother of -i\ children, of whom these three came 
to the I'nited States — Mr-. Hogarth, her sister 
Mary and brother Thoma-. 

The wife of our subject grew to womanhood in 
her native shire, and was lir.-t married thereto 
John Birkett. He was a native of that part of 
England, and resided there until 1857. In that 
year, August 7. he set -ail from Liverpool on the 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



593 



vessel "American Union," accompanied byljjswife 
and her father, and Landed in New York after a 
voyage of six weeks and live days. Lie and his 
wife lived in Ohio from 1 is ."> 7 to I860, then they 
came to Todd's Point Township, this county, which 
.-it that time was but sparsely settled and Little im- 
proved, with plenty of land for sale at $5 or Less 
an acre. Mr. Birkett's means were limited, and lie 
began Life in his new home on rented land. In 
the spring of L864 he boughl a tract of railway 
land in l'enn Township, and at once commenced 
to improve a farm. But he was not destined to 
finish his work, as death cut short his career in the 
fall of that year, and his township lost a useful 
citizen. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Hogarth are people of most esti- 
mable character, worthy in every way of the good 
will and respect of their neighbors, which is ac- 
corded to them in full measure. They are both 
members of the Presbyterian Church. In national 
politics Mr. Hogarth votes the Republican ticket, 
hut in local affairs he is independent, giving his 
support to the best man regardless of party. 



f *=-i-3= 



N 




DAM II. FULTON. Forty years seems, in 
considering the history of the develop- 
ment of some countries, a mere speck of 
time, but in this Western World, since 
railroads have been reaching out their grasping 
fingers in every direction and carrying along their 
line an infusion of vigorous life, it i- not aston- 
ishing that as much should have been done in >o 
short a lime, as has taken ages to evolve in the 
Old World. It is a truism that weare the heirs of 
all the ages, and that fact should make US modest 
instead of boastful. 

Our subject first saw the Light of day a little 
over forty years ago upon the place where lie at 
this time resides, his natal da\ being June 10, 
L851. These forty years of life spent in Rural 
Township have not been without avail, for his 
early efforts have been crowned with success, and 
he is now a Largeand prominent farmer of Slielby 



County, residing on section 13, of Rural Town- 
ship. He is a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Hill) 
Fulton, natives of County Antrim, Ireland. They 
were married in their native land, and in 1849 
came to the United States. Adam Fulton, our 
subject's father, entered land from the Government 
in Rural and Ridge Townships, hut he died in the 
winter of 1851 or L852. 

The original of our sketch being tin- only child 
and an infant of hut six months old at the lime of 
his father's death, he was not of much assistance 
to his mother for some time after her bereave- 
ment. She lived until March. 1890, when she died 
at the age of seventy-seven years. The father of 
our subject was the only member of his family to 
Leave the native land for the United states, but 
on his mother's side he has an uncle Living in 
Shelbyville, whose name is George B.Hill. Our 
subject was reared on a farm and early learned the 
duties of a fanner's lad. His education was attained 

at the common scl Is, and there he was fitted for 

the practical relations of life. lie continues to 

reside on the homestead ami has not yet made up 
his mind to surrender his bachelor freedom ami 
enter the hencdictine ranks. 

Mr. Fulton is the owner of a section of land 
and also thirty acres in Ridge Township. Upon 
these lie lias erected good buildings, and the houses 

and bams On each are attract ive and commodious 

structures. He devotes himself principally to the 
raising of grain and has found this generally to 
he a most Lucrative business. Tin- father of our 
subject was forty-seven years of age the time of 

his death. lie came to the United States xinie 
year- prior to 1849. and was a merchant at Cincin- 
nati, and also kept a country -lore in the village 
of 1 lenton. Shelby County, lie returned to Ire- 
land, during which \i>it home he was married, 
and in L849 broughl hi* bride to the United 
States. They were good, substantial citizens and as- 
sociated with the best element wherever thej Lived. 
In their religious preference they were attendants 
upon and members of the Presbyterian Church. 

Like his parents, our subject is a member of the 
Presbyterian Church. Politically he affiliates with 

the Republican party and has held several of the 

minor local offices in the gift of his party. He is one 



594 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



of the substantial business men of the county, and 
besides the land lie owns here, he is also the owner 
two hundred acres in Flat Branch Township, one 
hundred and sixty of which was entered by his 
father and is known as "Bald Knob." As do all 
these places. this boastsof a g 1 class of improve- 
ments. 

Oil another page of this volume the reader will 
find a view of Mr. Fulton's homestead. 



&+£ 



^_ 




s - 



AMTJEL M. BHOADS. One of the mosl 
delightful homes in Jonathan Creek Town- 
ship, Moultrie County, is (lie one occupied 
by the family of Mr. Rhoads. It is located 
on section 35, and is not only handsome in its ex- 
terior but delightfully located and fitted up, and 
furnished with numerous evidences of taste and re- 
finement. The beauty of the home is not. how- 
ever, entirely due to it^ material adornments, for 
it [s permeated with a lovely spirit of cordiality 
and harmony, which gives to every visitor an 
impression of cordial good-fellowship and true 
home life. 

The owner of this pleasant home is the son of 
William and Rebecca (Bradford) Rhoads, both na- 
tives of Tennessee. The father resides at this 
present writing iii Arkansas, where he was a (rw 

years ago bereaved by the death of his wife. Only 

two children blessed this worthy couple, namely: 
our subject ami his sister Catherine. Christmas 
Day. 1850. was a date of great importance in the 
life of this family, as upon thai day vv.-is born to 
William ami Rebecca Rhoads their only son. Sam- 
uel M. Arkansas was his native home and the 
scene of his boyhood days, and after taking his 

training there U] his father's farm, and iii such 

schools as tin 1 neighborhood afforded, he came to 
Moultrie County, 111., and worked out by the 
mouth at farm labor, with the exception of eight 
months, when he worked in McLean Countv. Ihis 

state, lie has always been engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits and has made of them a notable 
success. 
The (lav of days to this young man was August 



1, 1869, when he was united in marriage in East 
Nelson Township, with Miss l'ermelia Wiley, who 
was born in 1851. she is a daughter of the late 
Thomas Wiley, who died at his home in East Nel- 
son Township. The young couple settled upon 
section 35, Jonathan (reek Township, and there 
they have ever since made their home, and upon 
this beautiful farm Mr. Rhoads has erected the 
pleasant house which serves as the family residence, 
tie has made other substantial improvements and 
most of his two hundred and eighty acres is in an 
improved condition. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rhoads are the parents of six chil- 
dren — Knior Y.. Flora, Thomas. Edith, Edna and 
Black. This gentleman has. in his office as School 
Director, done much to advance the educational 
interests of the community, and is helping to build 
up a healthy public sentiment in this respect. His 
convictions have led him to ally himself with the 
Democratic party, and he believes that the princi- 
ples endorsed by the author of the Declaration of 
Independence are good enough for Americans 
now-a-days. He gives his attention to general farm- 
ing and stock-raising, in which he finds both en- 
joyment and SUCCeSS. 



Y olIN D. DAUGHERTY. It would be diffi- 
cult to find among the farming community 

of Moultrie County a man who wields 
greater influence or has greater personal 
popularity than the gentleman whose name intro- 
duces this sketch. Hi^ life has been spent in the 
peaceful pursuance of his calling of a fanner and 
in a share of the local public affairs. His home- 
stead upon section I I. Fast Nelson Township, ranks 

: lie' the best in the community, while the entire 

amount of land owned and operated by Mr. Daugh- 
erty in this township comprises three hundred and 
twenty-eighl acres. lie is also interested in land 

in Whitley Township and is in various ways closely 

identified with (he development of this section. 

Virginia claims Mr. Daugherty as one of her 
children, and in Shenandoah County he was born 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



595 



January 10, L823. Amid scenes which have since 
been made memorable in the history of our country, 
he grew to a stalwart manhood, aiding in the farm 

work at home and attending the village scl I in 

the intervals of harvesting. At the age of thirty 
he left the Old Dominion and proceeding Westward 
as far as Illinois, settled in Coles County, where lie 
remained one year. Tin 1 year 1854 found him in 
Moultrie County establishing himself as a farmer 
in East Nelson Township. He soon became prom- 
inent in local affairs and was well known as a man 
of honor and integrity. 

Mr. Daugherty has made Moultrie County bis 
borne since his first arrival bere,with the exception 
of a few years spenl in Coles Countj during the 
late war. for many years he had the companion- 
ship of a most estimable woman, who was true to 

the interests of husband and children, and a g 1 

neighbor and friend. She bore the maiden name 
of Elizabeth Waggoner and was born in .Moultrie 
County. Her union with our subject, which was 
solemnized in Whitley Township, this county, was 
blessed by the birth of three children, George R., 
who died in infancy, Anna K. and an infant who 
died unnamed. 

The wife and mother passed from earth in No- 
vember, 1889, at her home in Kast Nelson Town- 
ship, she was a member of the Baptist Church 
and conscientious in all the relations of life, ever 
working for the good of others and living in her 
life the principles of the "Golden Rule." Their 
daughter, Miss Anna. i- now a refined and intelli- 
gent young lady, upon whom, in his declining 
years, the father leans for support and advice. 
she is judicious in the management of household 
affairs and possesses good judgment. A good bus- 
iness woman, practical and thorough in her work, 
she is also intellectual, and in social circles i- ail 
ever welcome guest. 

Believing that the principles of the Democratic 
party are first adapted for the promotion of the 
common good, Mr. Daugherty uniformly casts his 
ballot for the candidates pledged to its support. 

lie has held the minor Offices of the township and 

served as Highway Commissioner for six years, 

doing much to advance t he interests of the com- 
munity in this way and serving with credit to 



himself and his constituents. Religiously he is a 
member of the Baptist Church and is respected for 
the Strength of his character and the industry he 
has shown in worldly affairs. His labors have 
gained for him a competency sufficient to insure 
him against wanl and enable him to gratify all 
reasi mable desires. 



i i i in ) * i 1 1 i i 



? i ' i ' i ' i 



","' v X. STEWARD. The gentleman who is the 

subject Of this sketch is engaged in the 
manufacture of tile and brick in Rural 
Township. Shelby County, but his resi- 
dence i- in Shelbyville, and few, if any men. 
have been for many years, more industrious 
than he, 01' more successful. His residence date- 
from 1858, at which time he left his native State. 
Ohio, and removed to Illinois, lie was horn Sep- 
tember 26, 1833, ami is a son of John and Sarah 
(Lacount) Steward, natives of Maryland. Thev 
came to Shelby County in I860, and both passed 
away in Rural Township at the advanced age of 
seventy-five years. 

lie of whom we have the pleasure of writing 
this sketch, was one of a family of six children 
born to his parents. Their names are as follows: 
.lames. Sarah. John, Prances, Mary and Russell 1!. 
.lames ami Russell 11. both reside in Sumner County. 
Kan.: Sarah, who is now Mi's. Smith reside- in 
Iowa: France-, who married a Mr. Finney, dice] 
at Assumption, 111.: Mary, who is Mrs. Finney, re- 
sides in Washington. 

The educational advantages enjoyed l>v our 
subject, were limited, being only such as could he 
absorbed at a country school during the summer 
months, that period "hen the mind as well a- the 
body', i- relaxed and so little capable of vigorous 

action. However, he had perseverance enough to 
work for an additional three month-' term at 
\\ esterville ( 'ollege, Ohio. Thereafter he gave his 
attention to farming and became the owner of two 
hundred and forty acres of land. While dealing 
ill live slock, he met with heavy Losses, and in 
fact, was so deeply involved, that some ofhiscred- 
itors offered to accept fifty cents on the dollar in 



596 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



settlement. Bui while he felt thai he had youth 
and energy, he was too much uf a man to accepl 
this concession, and sturdily promising to pay all 
in full, if they would hut give him more time, he 
started anew, laboring almost nighl and day. lie, 
however, discharged all his debts and his credit 
was restored, and the confidence that this manly 
course aroused in his creditors and townsmen was 
of great value to him. 

Our subject is now the owner of eighty acres of 
land in Rural Township, on which, in 1881, he 
erected a tile and and brick factory. and now turns 
out a half million brick annually, and of such 

g 1 quality that it is steadily gaining ground in 

commerce. Mr. Steward married in 1855, to .Miss 
Sophia 1). Agler. The children whose names fol- 
low, were the fruit of this union: Marcellus A. 
died in childhood; Josephine died in 1S,->S; Alice 
married John Middlesworth, and has sine,, died; 
flora is the wile of Henry Thomas, and resides in 
Assumption, 111.: Harlow W.; Alma, who dieil in 
childhood ; Wallace and Effa. Politically Mr. Stew- 
ard is a follower of the Democratic party. He isa 
member of the Presbyterian Church, and socially 
belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 






ILLIAM II. AKINS. who is a well-known 
practitioner before the Circuit and Dis- 
' ' tricl Court, and also before the Supreme 
Court of Illinois, is enjoying a lucrative practice 
in Cowden, Shelby County, and surrounding 
towns. He is a native of this county and was 
born ill ISIS. IIi> parent-. Samuel and Susan 
(Moore) Akins. were uatives of Ohio and North 
Carolina respectively. Both are now deceased, 
the father having departed this life in 1879, at the 
age of sixty-two years, and the mother having 
died in Is*.",, after having reached her fifty-eighth 
\ ear. 

The father had been soldier ill the Civil War. 
He enlisted as a private ill Company II. Fori J - 
lirst Illinois Infantry, and at the close of his term 
of service re-enlisted and remained in the army 
until the close of the war as a veteran volunteer, 




He was promoted to the position of First Lieu- 
tenant, but was not mustered in as such, owing to 
it.- depleted ranks, as there were not men enough 
to entitle the company to a full quota of com- 
missioned officers. He participated in all the en- 
gagements, marches and manoeuvres in which his 
regimenl was engaged during all his long term 
of service. 

Of the family of our subject's parents three 
sons and two daughters are living: John, a farmer, 
married .Mary Belt and resides in Cowden; Rachel 
I... the wife of William Beck, a farmer, resides in 
Fayette County, this State; Mary A. is unmarried 
and is the housekeeper for her brother, our sub- 
ject; Henry C. married .lane Belt and resides in 
Cowden. being engaged in farming. 

William Akins, like his father, was a soldier in 
the Civil War. He enlisted in January, 1864, and 
served until the close of the war in Company M. 
Third Illinois Cavalry, lie participated in the 
battles of Tupelo, Guntown, Nashville and sub- 
sequent engagements growing out of that cam- 
paign. During the summer of I860 the regiment 
operated in a campaign against the Indians in Da- 
kota and in the Red River Valley, starting from Ft. 
Snelling. Devil's Lake, and Ft. Bethel, on the Mis- 
sissippi River, and made a march of several hundred 
miles. They endured many privations and dangers 
incident lo their removal troni civilization and 
close proximity to hostile bands of Indians. This 
regiment was mustered out of service at Ft. Snell- 
ing, Minn., in ( (ctobcr, 1865. 

Farming and teaching engaged Mr. Akins for 
awhile after his return home, and during that lime 
he commenced the study of law and became a 
student in the law department of the State Uni- 
versity of Iowa in I ssi. being graduated from 
that popular institution in 1 882,with honor to him- 
self and credit lo his Alma Mater. Pursuant upon 
hi- graduation Mr. Akin- resumed teaching for 
two years, also superintending his farm. In L885 
he opened hi- present office in Cowden. In con- 
nection with his business as an attorney and coun- 

seior-al-law he deals cousidcrabh in real estate, 

buying and selling, and does a general law and 
land business. Mr. Akin.- is a worthy member of 
Samuel Akin- Post, No. 566, G. A. R., which was 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



:»:i, 



named in honor of his deceased father. Mr. AJrins 
also handles a number of standard insurance com- 
panies besides personally carrying on his farm of 
about ninety acres, which is situated two miles 
from (owden. This tract is mostly in hay and 
has a line yield. His political views have allied 
him with the Republican party, to which he is an 
intelligent adherent. 

y^* DOAR ALLEN. He of whom we write is a 
member of a family who just previous to 
the war settled in this state. His father 
was a large landowner and a man who was highly 
respected in the community. Our subject resides 
on section 2(>, of Ridge Township. Shelby County. 
where he owns one hundred and twenty-five acres 
of land in a good state of cultivation. IIi> parents 
were George and Nancy (Carlisle) Allen, natives 
respectively of Maryland and Ohio, having met 
and married in the latter State. Our subject was 
born April 1*. L854, and is now in the meridian 
of life. 

In 1863, our subject's parents came to Shelby 
County, and purchased two hundred and twenty 
acres of land which was al that time but little im- 
proved. They paid for this $18 per acre. The 
father however, returned to Ohio, and there in the 
winter of L863, February 21. he died, leaving a 
family of eighl children to mourn his decease. They 
are Sarah A.. William II.. Annetta,Angeline,Thomas, 
Theodore, Edgar and Alice. Sarah married And- 
erson Hunter. Annetta became the wife of Milton 
Hunter and died in Shelby County. Angeline was 
married to George N. Arnold, and Alice became 
the wife of M. E. Moore. In ihc spring of 1864, 
the mother with her family of children returned to 
thi- State and settled on the land purchased by the 
husband and father, she is still living having at- 
tained more than the three-score years and ten usu- 
ally allotted to mankind. 

Our subject remained on the farm until he 
arrived at manhood. He was thereengaged in the 
usual duties of a farmer lad. which duties were re- 
lieved by the enjoyments and amusements common 



to country life, lie received his education in the 
district schools in this vicinity, and is thus prepared 
for the practical hand-to-hand combat with daily 
life. 

In February, 1885, Mr. Allen was united in mar- 
riage to a lady whose maiden name was Miss Allie 
Brandt, a daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Rugh) 
Brandt, who still reside in Fairfield County, Ohio. 
Four children graced and beautified this union, 
tint f whom art' living. Bessie, Maude and The- 
odore are bright, intelligent children, who promise 
to more than fulfill their fond parents' expectations 
and hope for them. Politically, our subject affili- 
iates witn the Democratic party and under his 
party he has for some time held the position of 
Tax Collector. Socially he is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. 



— i y- 



. •— o 



=§>*«= 



FORCE W. YANTIS. One Of the men who 
has made many sacrifices for personal inter- 
V — A ests that have redounded to the benefit and 
advantage of the place that he has made his home, 
is he whose name heads this sketch. Although he 
has accumulated neither the land no rthe pecuni- 
ary advantages that many of his neighbors and 
fellow-townsmen have gained, no one has accom- 
plished more for the township than has our subject. 
Recognizing that educational advantages offer in- 
ducements for settlement to the he-t class of people 
he has striven to build up a reputation in this dir- 
ection for the town, and he is a progressive man 
in every way. Mr. Yantis is a general farmer 
residing on section 32, of Pickaway Township, 
where he owns eighty acres of well improved land. 
Our subject located on his present farm in 1864. 
It was at the time partially improved and since 
then he ha- expended much money and unceasing 
effort in bringing it up to a high state of cultiva- 
tion. He has lived in this township since 1855, 
and in the county since 1853. He was horn in 
Pickaway County. Ohio. April 20, 1836, ami i- the 
second son of Daniel Yantis. of whom a biograph- 
ical -ketch may he found in another part of this 
volume. 



598 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Theoriginal of oursketch was only a young man 
when his parents came to this state, and he here 
attained his majority, where his marriage took 
place. His wife'- maiden name was Miss Lucinda 
Tolley, who was born August 2, 1843, in Flat 

Bri Ii Township. She was reared and educated 

in this county and here died at their home May 4, 
1882. She was a daughter of .lames Tolley one 
Of the oldest settlers in this part of the county. 
Mrs. Yantis was a co-worker with her husband in 
everything that pertained to the interest and ad- 
vancement of the community. She was a kindly 
neighbor, and an intelligent and cultured woman, 
she was a member of the old-school Baptist Church, 
and an ardent worker in that body. Five children 
came to enliven the home life of our subject and 
his estimable wife. One of these, a daughter whose 
name was Rose B. is deceased. The living child 
ren are Minnie E. John W., James T. and George 
V". Minnie is the wife of William Seibert, and 
lives in Assumption, where her husband isengaged 
in the grocery business. John \V r . took to wife 
Rachael Bice and he now lives on a farm in this 
county and township. .lames was married to Nora 
B. Killam and resides in Elk Counts. Kan. on a 
farm. George lives with his father and is of great 
assistance in conducting the business of the farm. 

Our subject is a Democrat in his political belief. 
lie has no aspirations to high position, and enjoys 
the consciousness that while the pleasure of his life 
is iii his home, his heart is disposed to work unsel- 
fishly lor the good of others. 



JEFFERSON W. CARR. The name that 
heads this sketch is that of a gentleman 
who resides on his farm on section 19, of 

( ^1/ Prairie Township, lie was born in Holland 
Township, Sh el by County, March 17. 1839. lie is 
a son of Elias and Nancy Carr, a history of whom 
max be found in that of YV. (t. Carr. Oursubject's 
carl\ training was such as would lit him for agri- 
cultural life, having been born and reared on a 
[arm, and naturally being thoroughly' well ac- 



quainted with such duties. Air. Carr now owns 
two hundred and sixty acres of land which it is 
now hard to believe, was not so many years ago in 
a crude, uncultivated state. 

When a lad of but nine years, the parents of our 
subject were taken away and he thereafter made 
his home with an uncle, and with other guardians. 
The thought of the lad without a mother's tender 
care and a father's counsel, involuntarily arouses 
our sympathies. In 1861, when the heavens were 

Overcast with tin- clouds of war. our subject en- 
listed in Company II. of the Forty-first Illinois In- 
fantry, lie was mustered in at Decatur. III., ami 
firsl met tire at l-'t. Donelson. After that time 
he took part in the most desperate and celebrated 
battles of the late war. He saw men mowed down 
before the tire of the cannon like swaths of wheal, 
at Shiloh. Corinth, and that battle whose name is 
a synonym for the greatest military tragedy, the 
battle of Vicksburg. After Vicksburg, the regi- 
nienl in which our subject was re-enlisted and be- 
came one with the consolidated Fifty-third Illinois 
Infantry. Thus they served until the close of the 
war. engaged in many skirmishes and being par- 
ticipants in much hard fighting. Mr. Carr was 
mustered out at Paducah, Ky. lie was a private. 
being proud of the fact that he fought, not for 
fame, or position, but because of loyalty to his 
country. He went with the regiment under Sher- 
man in his celebrated march from Atlanta to the 
sea, thence proceeded to Washington and partici- 
pated in the Grand Review. Our subject had the 

rare good fortune for one who took part in so 
many serious engagements, never to have re- 
ive ived a wound, to be taken prisoner, or sen I to the 
hospital. 

After the war. he of whom we write purchased a 
farm in Prairie Township, where he settled and it 
is his present home. In 1867, lie was married 
to. Matilda Williams a daughter of John Williams, 
who .-ell led as a pioneer in Shelby County, at an 

earl,') day. There, Mrs. Carr was born April 1*. 

1849. All. and Mrs. Carr have the g 1 fortune 

to be the parents of -i\ intelligent and mauls' son-. 
Their name- are Sherman. Walter. Krven, John, 
Alahlon and Roy V. 

The farm of which Air. Carr is proprietor, as 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



599 



has been before said, was :it the time of his settle- 
ment here, new prairie land. Ii is now in a per- 
fect state of cultivation, and the well tilled Melds 
yield bountiful crops. Several good buildings 
have been erected on the place. They have :i 
home thai is comfortable and commodious, n<>i too 
good for the use and benefit of the suns thai are 
growing up around their parents, bul being of 
such a character as to cultivate refined, yel strong 

ideas of life 

Politically, our subject is a Republican. His 
religious preferences arc in the direction of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church in which body he has 
been a ( llass-Leader for a number of years. Social I \ 
lie is a member of John Huffer Post, No. 633 
G. A. Ii. 



B' 



• 



JET 8 y ' ■ ' 




I \li( IS F. PLEAK. A man who is noted 
as being a thrifty and well-to-do farmer 
residing on section 11. of Flat Branch 
Township where he owns one hundred and 
sixty acres of highly improved land, is he whose 
name is at the head of this sketch, lb- is evidently 
a man who thinks more of home than of the mere 
accumulation of money, for his family are sur- 
rounded by all the comforts and even elegancies 
that the modern style of living declare so neces- 
sary. His residence is a tine, brick house, com- 
manding a charming view of the surrounding 
country. Exteriorly, it is attractive ami tasteful 
in style of architecture, and the interior arrange- 
ment is made with a view to comfort. 

Besides his tine home place. Mr. l'leak owns 
ninety-six acres on section 12, and sixty-two acres 
on section 1 in the same township, and forty acres 
on section •'!. lie is regarded by those who know 

him best as being one of the mOSl practical and 
successful farmers of the township, having made 
line improvements since his coming here, which 
was February 1. 1*77. Our subject came hither 
from Middle Tennessee, where he had lived for 
some years, lie wasbornnear Mt. Sterling, Mont- 
gomery County. Ky., April 2*. lH.'jK. His par- 
ents are Joseph B. and Sarah J. (Riblin) l'leak. 



both natives of Kentucky, who came of German 
stock and ancestry. The family were early set- 
tlers in Kentucky. Our subject's grandfather was 
John l'leak. a native of Virginia, and a soldier in 
the Revolutionary War. belonging to a Virginia 
regiment, lie. however, died in Kentucky, after 
marriage with a lady of that State whose maiden 
name was Nancy Wade. She was of Irish descent 
and like her husband, died in Kentucky at an 
advanced age. The family were all members, both 
active and prominent, of the Christian Church and 
were anions' the early associates of that reform, 
they being personal friends and workers with Dr. 
Alexander Campbell, and the Rev. Barton W. 
stone. Joseph I), l'leak and wife, after marriage, 
resided in Kentucky until 1870, when they came 
to Decatur County. Ind.. where the father of the 
family died in 1876, having attained seventy-six 
years of age. His wife died in 1889, at the age of 
eighty-four. They were both prominent members 
for many years of the Christian Church, in fact. 
being so from Dr. Campbell's day. 

Our subject is oiu- of a large family, six of 
whom are still living. Mr. l'leak was well reared 
in his native county, where lie became of age. lie 
completed his education, which was begun at home, 
at Hartsville, hid., in the university of that place. 
He was married October :i. L869 in Tennessee to 
Mrs. Francis II. Briggs, nee Beard. The lady was 
a native of Tennessee, where she was reared 
and married to her lirsl husband," who was W. 
Briggs. Mr: BriggS was treacherously shot by a 
Southern guerrilla chief, known as Dave Miller. 
Mr. Briggs being then a Federal scout, lie was 
only twenty-five years of age at the time of his 
death, and was known as a lirave. daring man. 
He left one chilil to his widow. William N.. who 
now lives in this township on a farm, having 
taken to wife. ( ienevra Tannyhill. 

After Mr. Pleak's marriage, he lived in Tennes- 
see for seven years and then removed to the place 
where they now reside, being a leading member of 
their community. Mr. l'leak is a refined and ac- 
complished gentleman, and his wife is a lady with 
whom it is a pleasure and privilege to meet. They 
have eight children, three of whom are deceased, 
one in infancy and Lillie A. and Wallace E. who 



(Kill 



PORTRAIT AND lil ,' UCAL RECORD. 



died in childhood. The living children are Stoder 
M.. Arthur E., Marcus F. Jr., Mary C. and John J., 
all of whom arc Mill at home, making the house 
merry with their bright jests and happy ways. Mr. 
l'leak and his wife are prominent members of the 
Christian Church, of which the gentleman has 
been an Elder for years. Politically he is a Re- 
publican, using his influence for the advantage of 
that party. 






ffiOHN L. GREGORY. The farmers and stock- 
raisers of Penn Township have no better 
representative than our subject, who stands 
V_>/ high among the keen, progressive, business- 
like men who are so ably conducting the extensive 
agricultural interests of this part of Shelbj 
County. He has adopted the best modern methods in 
carrying on bis fanning operations, and his farm is 
conceded to be one of the best managed estates in 

the township. It is also the seat of one of the st 

attractive and comfortable home.- of this locality, 
of a recent and appropriate style of architecture, 
and replete in its interior appointments. 

Mr. Gregory was born in Perry County, In d., 
opposite Cloverport, Ky., January 26, 1845. His 
father, Edward Gregory, was born in HenryCounty, 
Ky., September 26, 1817. lie is a son of Peter 
Gregory, who was born either in Culpeper or 
Botetourt Counties, Va. He in turn was a son 
of John Gregory, who was horn in Virginia, and 
was of early English ancestry. He was a farmer, 
and so far as known spenl his last days in Virginia. 
The grandfather of subject passed his early life in 
his native state, but after marriage he removed to 
the wilds of Kentucky, taking with him his wife 
and the two children that had hecn horn to them 
in their old home, and making the removal with a 
pair of horses and a wagon, lie settled in Henry 
County, and was engaged in farming there until 
1825, when he removed t" Breckenridge County. 
In 1833 he left Kentucky to become a pioneer of 
Indiana, his wife and nine children accompanying 
him on the journey, which was performed with a 
team. He crossed the Ohio River on a ferry boat 



at Cloverport, and settled in Perry County, where 
he rented land and dwelt during the remaining 
days ol' his earthly pilgrimage. His wife also died 
in Perry County. In her maiden days her name 
was Mary Dobson, and she was horn in Virginia, a 
daughter of William and Edith (Calvert) Dobson. 
Edward Gregory was sixteen years old when his 
parents removed to Indiana, and there he grew to 
manhood on a farm. He was married in 1843 to 
.Miss Elizabeth Winchel, a native of Perry County. 
and a daughter of Smith and Annie (Malory) 
Winchel. He bought a tract of improved land in 
that county, and lived there, actively engaged in 
farming, until 1865. In the fall of that year he 
came to Shelby County, and bought a quarter of a 
section of land, a half of it in Penn and the 
remainder in Pickaway Township. He erected a 
dwelling and other suitable buildings in Penn 
Township, and at once commenced to prepare his 
land foi' cultivation, lie has been prosperous since 
he came here to seek a habitation, and has DOUghl 
other land at different times, and now has a valuable 
farm of two hundred acres. Here he is spending 
his declining years in comfort, anil in the enjoyment 
of a competence ample for all of his wants. The 
good wife who joined her fortunes with his when 
iioth were young, and walked by his side, staying 
hi- hands and strengthening him in his work, for 
nearly forty years, has gone from him. her death 
taking place April 7. 1880. Together they reared 
seven children, namely. .lames E., John 1... Laura. 
T. Jefferson, Wallace. Franklin and Richard. 

John I.. Gregory grew to manhood in his native 
county, and obtained his education in its public 
schools. In June, 1865, he came to Shelby County, 
and spent t he summer in Penn Township and at 
Moweaqua. In the fall he joined his parents and 
resided with them until 1870, and then, at the 
time of his marriage, he boughl eighty acre- of 
wild prairie land on section 5, Penn Township, and 
later he purchased a like amount of land near by. 
lie placed nearly t he cut ire tract under cultivation. 

erected good buildings, and lived there until 1887, 

when lie SOld and boughl the farm that he now 
occupies on section 6, of the same township. It i- 

well improved, the -nil i- excet dingly fertile, and a 
never failing supplj of water add- greatly to the 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



<;o.- 



value of the place. In 1889 Mr. Gregory erected 
a fine frame bouse, building it substantially, and 
in :i modern style of architecture. 

In the upbuilding of liis home Mr. Gregory has 
had the benefii of the good taste and assistance of 
his amiable wife, to whom lit- was married March 3, 
1870. Mrs. Gregory was formerly Miss Mary R. 
Thomas. She is a native of Fairbanks Township, 
Sullivan County, End., and a daughter of < alvin 
and Jane (Hunt) Thomas. Mr. and Mrs. Gregory 
have six children living, Edwin M., Mary Lilian. 
.Minnie Florence, Arthur Hastings, Alta Beatrice 
and Tracy. Their son Clinton L. died at the age 
of nine years. 

Since his removal to this county more than a 
quarter of a century ago our subject has shown 
himself to be an acquisition to it.- citizenship not 
onl\ as a very intelligent, skillful fanner, but as 
one who i- desirous to promote the general welfare 

of his community, and at all times uives cordial 
support to all schemes advanced for the benefit of 
the public. He has always taken a deep interest in 
educational affairs, and has served several years as 
Scl 1 Director. He has also been Highway Com- 
missioner, and this is his third term as Assessor of 
the township. His political views are in accord with 
the principles promulgated by the Republican party. 
Religiously, he and his wife are members of the 
Baptist Church, and they lead exemplan Christian 
lives. 



--^C-?- M 



ECGENE BLAND is a fine representative of 
the native-born sons of Shelby County, 
and also of the cit izen -soldiers that she sent 

to the front during the great Civil War to defend 
tin' -tar.- and -tripes. The farm that he owns and 
occupies on section 23, Todd's Point Township. 
was the scene of his birth November 2, 1841. He 

is now one of the most extensive tanner- in this 

section of Illinois, and a leading -lock dealer, a 

business that he ha- carried on with more than 
ordinary success for several years. 

The father of our subject, Capt. Henry Bland, 
wa- a well-known pioneer of this county ami a 
wealthy citizen, who materially aided in its up- 



building. He was born in one of the early pion- 
eer home- of Muskingum County, <>hio. and when 
only a hoy of a few years heassi rted hi- indepen- 
dence, and left the shelter Of the parental roof to 
make his own way in the world. He was very 
ambitious and enterprising, full of push and energy, 

and in a feu years lie had risen to the command of 
a steamer plying on the .Mississippi River. When 
St. Louis was hut a small village, he bought a trait 
of land there, which he afterward exchanged for 
a boat load of honey, that he sold in New Orleans. 
Lor a time he was Overseer on a plantation in 
Mississippi, hut the Southern climate disagreed 
with In- family and he concluded to locate in the 
North, and SO came to this Slate ami county. He 
was one of the early settlers of Todd's Point 
Township, where he bought a tract of land on 
section "J-'i. He devoted himself to it- improve- 
ment, and made it his home until death closed hi- 
hii-y career, and deprived the county of one of its 
most valued citizen-. He had met with more than 
ordinary success from the financial point of view, 
ami in the course of years had become a large real- 
estate holder, owning extensive tract- of land in 

Shelby and Moultrie Counties. In early maul d 

he had married Elizabeth Dittenhauer, a native of 

Ohio. She survived him until 1875, when -he too 

passed awaj . dying on the old homestead. 

Our Subject "a- reared ill the home of hi- birth, 

receiving a careful training in all that goes to make 
a good citizen ami a capable business man. and 
with the exception of the- time that he devoted to 
his country's service iii the army, he was with his 

parents until their death. lie can remember when 

this section of the country was -till in the hands 
of the pioneer-, and presented a far different ap- 
pearand' from what it doc- to-day "here many 
cultivated farms and thriving town- have taken 
the place ot a sparsely settled, and hut little devel- 
oped wilderness. In hi- boy! 1. deer, wild 

turkeys and other kinds of game were plentiful; 

there were no railways here, and the farmers had to 
go to St. I.oui- for the principal market. Our sub- 
ject's education was conducted in the pioneer 

schools of other days, and the building in which 
he gained his knowledge of the -'11110' 1;-." was a 
log house, heated by a li replace, a ml furnished with 



i;m; 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



benches made of s] >lit logs, one side hewn smooth, 
and there were no desks or backs to 1 1 1 1- seats. 

The breaking out of the war found our subject 
:it work on his father's farm, but a1 the first call 
for troops he abandoned agricultural pursuits to 
offer his services to his country, thongh be Iiad not 
then attained his majority. He enlisted with the 
Fourteenth Illinois Infantry for three months and 
in IM()2 he re-enlisted as a member of the 
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Infantry. 
He served a few months, and was then discharged 
on account of disability. Notwithstanding all 
that lie had suffered on Southern battlefields and 
on the long and trying marches, his loyal spirit 
was undaunted, and as soon as he was able to en- 
dure the hardships of a soldier's life once more, he 
had Ins name placed on the roll of the Seventh 
Illinois Calvary, with which he remained until 
after the war was closed, lie saw service in the 
state- of Kentucky. Tennessee, Mississippi, Ala- 
bama and Virginia, and in many a hard struggle 
with the enemy showed that he possessed all the 
requisites of a good soldier, and his military re- 
cord docs credit to the citizenship of his native 
Illinois, lie was honorably discharged with his 
regiment at Nashville after peace was declared. 

After his return from the seat of war .Mr. Bland 
resumed farming, and also gave hi- attention to 
buying and shipping stock, in which line he has 
built up a large business, and is to-day one of the 
most extensive dealers in this part of the State. 
lie now owns and occupies the old homestead, and 
this, with other land that lie lias bought at differ- 
ent times, makes him the possessor of upwards of 
eight hundred acres of valuable real-estate. 

Mr. Bland was married in 1KC7 to Miss Nancy lv 
Wright, a native of Todd's Point Township, and 
a daughter Of William anil Martha Wright, well- 
known pioneers of this county. Mrs. Bland is a 
member of the Christian Church, she possesses in 
a high degree those line womanly traits of char- 
acter that mark her as a true wile and devoted 
mother, who is willing to sacrifice self-interests to 
procure the peace and well-being of her house- 
hold. Her marriage with our subject was brought 
then these eight children: Mattie, Ella, Ada, Wil- 
liam, Belle, Arthur. Eugene and Ray. 



Our Subject's Success in life was assured at the 
outset, not only from the fact that lie came from a 
well-to-do family and did not have so many dis- 
advantages to content against in his chosen career 
as many who have set their faces in the same 
direction, but he had line natural endowments to 
aid him in achieving whatsoever he desired. Asa 
gentleman of character, business acumen, and pub- 
lic-spirit that is manifested in his readiness to do 
all in his power to help forward any and all feasi- 
ble plans for the good of the community at large, 
his name stands high in his country. In his 
political belief, he is a Republican sound and 
true. 

The reader will he pleased to notice in this con- 
nection, the Lithographic portraits of Mr. and Mrs. 
Bland. 



OIIX T. KILLAM resides on section 38, of 
Rural Township. Shelby County, where lie 
is proprietor of a line farm. lie was horn 
in Ridge Township. May In. 1847 and is a 
son of John and Mary M. T. (Bowen) K i Ihiiii and 
a grandson of Peter Killam. His mother's death oc- 
curred February 12, 1*77. He was at the tender 
age of one year when his parents removed to sec- 
tion :!:!. Rural Township, where his father had pur- 
chased a tract of land and had also entered sonic 
Government land, and thus became the owner of 

sis bund red acres ne body. He also owned 

land in other parts of the county, and some valu- 
able property in l'ana. being one of the founders 
of -aid town. 

Our subject is the youngest of a family of five 
children, lie early learned the business of farm- 
ing and stock-raising, having resided at home un- 
til he attained his majority. He attended the dis- 
trict school and completed his education at the old 
Seminary at Shelby ville. February 12. L878, he 

was united in marriage to Oma J. Oiler, a daughter 

of David and Caroline (Conrad) Oiler, natives of 
Ohio, « ho removed to Wisconsin and then came to 
Illinois i- L855, settling in Shelby County. Mr. 






PORTRAIT AND P,lO( iRAPHK AL RECORD. 



6i)7 



Oiler died in 1862 or 1863. His wife is stilMiving, 
making her home at Pana. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Killam have no children of their 
own bu1 have been the loving foster parents of 
several children; one daughter, now deceased, 
having lived with our subject and his estima- 
ble wife and enjoyed every advantage thai 
she would have received had she been their own 
child. Austin E. McDaniel resided with Mr. 
Killain until he was twenty-seven years old, hav- 
ing been taken at nine vears of age. On his mar- 
riage to .Miss .Minnie Kerr, he made a home for 
himself, hut only live months later, was killed by 
lightning. Jessie May Ferguson was one of our 
subject's family until she was united in marriage 
to Paul C. Smith. .March '.I. L891. Leslie Ray 
Ramsey is now the pel of the household, being a 
small boy, his attention being chiefly devoted to 
his studies and in getting as much fun out of his 
childhood life as possible. 

Mr. and Mrs. Killain are members of the Christ- 
iau Church. Politically our subject favors the 
purity of principle promulgated by the Prohibition 
party. He was formerly a Democrat, bul now 
shows his total abstinence principles in union with 
the above named party. He was Chairman of the 
Central Committee of the Prohibition party for 
several years. For seven years he served as Super- 
visor of the township, being Chairman of tin' 
Board for six- years, lie has also held the office of 
Collector for one year, lie i> the owner of three 
hundred and thirty acres of well-improved land. 
bul raises and deals largely in live-stock. 

So much of a man's character is accounted for 
by his antecedents that we feel that a short sketch 
of Peter Killam. the grandfather of our subject, 

will he in place here. He was horn in Maryland, 

hut when a young man removed to Kentucky, and 
there married. He came to Illinois in 1831 and 
settled in Ridge Township, where lie died at tin 
age of sixty. His wife. also, passed away from 
their home in Ridge Township. Peter Killam had 
five sons and four daughters, all of whom came 
with their parents to Illinois, with the exception 
of a son named Samuel, who died at the age of 
twenty. Those, who made settlement with their 
father in this State, are Isaac. Thomas. William. 



John, Mary. Elizabeth, Sarah and Naomi. William 
was a soldier in the Mexican War. anil dying 
while on the voyage home was Iniried ill the Gulf 
of Mexico. Mary became the wife of Nathan Smith. 
Elizabeth married I.eton Smith. Sarah married 
Harrison Bailey. Naomi married John Todd, in 
whose honor Todd's Point Township received its 
name. 



> II. 1. 1AM WALKER. The ideal life of an 

\\\ „ /// American agriculturist 




is perhaps not so 
\Vf'Y often attained as poets and romances 
Qlighl lead one to expect, hilt when one >ce- a man 

not past the prime of life, comfortably settled with 
his wife and children upon a fertile farm which 
responds with generous crops to the thorough and 
systematic culture bestowed upon it. whose home 
is attractive and surrounded with beautiful 
grounds one can hut envy a citizen SO situated, 
especially if to this material comfort we may add 
that in reputation he stands high among his fellow- 
men as worthy of their confidence. Such a life is 
that of William Walker, a fanner and stock- 
grower, who resides on section 6, Oconee Town- 
ship, and was horn in Boston, Mass.. August IK, 
I Kill. His parents were Edward and Rachel 
(Simonds) Walker, natives of the Bay State, where 

the father was horn in 1824 and the mother in 

1820, Middlesex being her native county. He 
came to Illinois with his parents, when he was 
twelve years old and made his home at Alton. 
After awhile he returned to Massachusetts and re- 
mained for one year and then came to Pana. Chris- 
I ian ( oiinl \ . 

In that town Mr. Walker was married iii Febru- 
ary, 1871, to Miss Mary C. McConnell, daughter 
of Asa and Elvii'a (Newport) McConnell. natives 
of Ohio, where their daughter was also horn in 
1844. The young couple located on a faun in 
Oconee Township, which Mr. Walker had procured 
the previous year, and where he has since resided. 

Their happy union has been blessed by the birth 
of four children, of whom Edward, now nineteen 
years old is the eldest. The vounger ones are 



(HIS 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Carrie ('.. aged sixteen; Asa. aged thirteen; and 
Ray a frolicsome boy <pf Ave years all of whom arc 
living and tinder the parental roof, attending 
school in the neighborhood. 

Matters of public interest always command the 
attention and consideration of Mr. Walker, who is 
now a member of the Building Committee which is 
engaged in erecting a church for the worshiping 
people of the community, and he has served for 
several terms as School Director of his district. He 
had only one brother, Edward, who died at the age 
of eighteen years. Our subject is a member of the 
Oconee Detective Association. lie votes with the 

Republican party, having always supported its 
principles and believes that the theory of govern- 
ment which was endorsed by Abraham Lincoln is 
the true basis from which to secure prosperity for 
the country. Loth he and his good wife arc earn- 
est and devoted members of the .Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, and lie is an honest, upright citizen, 
and enjoys the confidence of all who know him. 
His linch improved farm lies mostly in Oconee 
Township, where he has three hundred and live 
acres, and twenty acres lie across the line in Mont- 
gomery County, llis pleasant home is delightfully 
situated and handsomely and comfortably fur- 
nished. 



i>^m 



™>-_ 



-5— 



!3y~ 



JOHN SWENG-EL, the leading representative 
man of Ash ( Irove Township, Shelby ( 'ounty, 
resides on section 36, in a pleasant home 
where he is remarkably successful ill agri- 
cultural pursuits, llis father was the late George 
Swengel, who had his birth in Pickaway County, 
Ohio, and his mother was Sarah Hamilton who was 
born in Ireland. Their firsl home after marriage 
was near Seymour, hid., and upon first Leaving 
there they came to Cumberland County. 111., in 
1865, and there made their home un I i I t he deal h 

of his honored father, which occurred in January, 

1888. llis widow is still surviving and is active 
and bright for a lady of her age. 

These respected parents had five children — 

Frank, John, Reuben, Kenned} and Edward. < >ur 



subject was the second m order of age, hi^ birth 
taking place near Seymour. End., December '.>. L856. 
He came to Illinois with his parents when about 
nine years old, and upon his father's farm he was 
reared to maul 1. being given a thorough train- 
ing in all that is pertaining to agriculture and 
learned in the true way, by doing, how to cultivate 
a farm and care for stock. Ili> early education 
was such as could be procured in the district schools 
in Indiana and Cumberland County after coming 
here and he received great benefit from their thor- 
ough drill, although he would have been glad to 
take advantage of a college curriculum, for which 
his natural abilities befitted him. 

This young man resided in his father's home 
until that ureal event in his life which took place 
at the residence of the bride's father in Cum- 
berland County. Ill, October 30, 1878, when Flora 
I).. daughter of Col. T. A. and Ann Apperson, be- 
came his bride. Mrs. Flora Swengel's father died 
at his home March HI, 1879. This daughter was 
born at the family home. January 1*. 1859, anil 
after her marriage with Mr. Swengel they estab- 
lished themselves on section .">li. Ash Grove Town- 
ship where the young man purchased a farm of 
one hundred and sixty-live acres, which he has 
since carried on. lie has always followed farming 
and stock-raising and has made a success in both 
departments of the work, as his prudence and fore- 
sight have enabled him to govern his spirit of en- 
terprise ill such a manner as to secure the best re- 
sults from his labors, which have been unceasing. 
lie has a thorough knowledge of the characteristics 
ami needs of the various grades of slock which he 

handles and takes a comprehensive View of the soil. 

climate and productions of the Prairie state, lie 
is thus enabled each year to plan his work so as to 
obtain the best results for his labor. 

Mr. Swengel's common-school education was 

supplemented by attendance upon the academy at 
YVe-tlield. 111., which so advanced him as lo lit him 
to teach for two terms in Ash Grove Township. 
To him and his lovely and capable companion have 
been granted three children— Imogene, Oscar and 
( teorge. < >ur subject was elected Supervisor in the 
spring of 1889, sine.' which time he has continued 
to serve on the Hoard, as his excellent judgment, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



609 



li i> broad views of men and matters, and his devo- 
tion to the besl interests of the community have 
made him a model Supervisor. 

The political convictions of our subjccl have 
always led him to work with and for the success 
of iln' Democratic party, in which he takes a lively 
interesl and has also taken an active pari in relig- 
ious affairs and Sunday-school work, and is exceed- 
inglj helpful in all movements that tend to the 
elevation <>f the community. Both he and his wife 
are of value in their church connection, being 
members of the church of the United Brethren. 

The breeding of fine grades of animals is a spec- 
ialty with Mr. Swengel and lie is remarkably suc- 
cessful in raising Hereford cattle, Poland-China- 
hogs, Shropshire sheep, bronze turkeys, and Ply- 
mouth Rock fowls, and in their welfare he take'- a 
lively interesl and provides for their comforl mosl 
generously. The record of such a home as Mr. 
Swengel's and of such a life as his must be influ- 
ential for generations, not only upon those who 
come in immediate contact with him bul also upon 
the whole communit v. 



J+'fr-M" • 



H***+ 5 



V / 




» II. 1. 1AM E. STEDMAN, M. 1).. one of the 



successful physicians and surgeons of Sul- 
livan. Moultrie County, locating hen- in 
August, l85o, hail formerlj practiced in the little 
town of Horace, Edgar County, this State, where 
he began bis profession in 1880. lie isa uativeof 
Ohio, being born in Pike County, October 19, 1849, 
and isa son of Enoch Stedman, a uative of Che- 
nango County. N. Y.. being of English parentage. 
Enoch was yet a small boy when his father, who 
was a seafaring man and captain of a vessel, was 
lost at sea. When Knoch had reached his majority 
and while still unmarried he came to what was then 
known as the Western Reserve in Medina County, 
Ohio, and there married Elizabeth McConkey who 
had been born and reared in that county. 

Samuel McConkey. the father of Mrs. Enoch 
Stedman, was a native of the North of [relandand 
came while yet a young man to this country and 
in Ohio married a Scotch lady, After marriage 



Mr. and Mrs. McConkey lived on a farm in Medina 
County through all the remainder of their lives. 
surviving until they reached extreme old age. 

They were highly esteemed for their honorable 

Christian lives and were members of the Presby- 
terian ( Ihurch. 

After Knoch Stedman and wife were married 
they began life in Medina County. Ohio. Mr. Sted- 
man being a cabinetmaker by trade, but somewhat 
later they removed to farm in Pike County and 
there remained for many years. lie has now 
reached the age of eiglnty-three years and has re- 
tired from active life, making his home with his 
daughter, Mrs. Cordelia Daley, of Waverly, Ohio, 
The Methodist Church was the religious body in 
which Mr. Stedman was for many years an active 
worker and he is still a member of its communion. 
He is a stanch Jacksonian Democrat in politics. He 
was bereaved by the death of his wife in 1887, as 
she died full of years in Pike County. 

The thirteen children of this excellent couple 
were a source of great comfort and pride to their 
parents, and eight of them are yet living, all of 
these having established homes of their own. The 
common schools furnished the educational advan- 
tages which were conferred upon our subject and 
for eighl war- he was a teacher in Ohio and Illi- 
nois, lie is by taste and habit scholarly and keeps 
up with the trend of the times upon every point 

of public interest, lie was graduated in the Class 
of '80 from the Kentucky School of Medicine at 
Louisville, where he had been for three or four 
years. He had also studied under different precep- 
tors in Waverly, Ohio, and Coles County. 111., at 
the former place being favored with the instruct ion 
of Wells .1. W. Jones, M. I)., and al the latter place 
having as his teacher Dr. .1. R. Hawthorn, Like 
many another poor boy he had to make his way 
upward by dint of push, pluck and perseverance 
and found it necessary to teach school in order to 
secure the means of acquiring a medical education. 

but his efforts have been crowned with success and 
hi has reached the goal which his early ambition 
pointed out. 

The happ\ wedding day of our subject, which 
united him with Miss Ella Jenkins, of Edgar 
County, this state, came upon January 12. 1878. 



610 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



This lady was born, feared and educated in Ohio 
and came to Edgar County with her parents, Mar- 
tin and Amanda (Sillcott) Jenkins, who live in 
Sullivan, having retired from active work as farm- 
er.-. They arc active and useful members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church and Mr. Jenkins es- 
pouses the cause of the Republican party. .Mrs. 
Stedman is a bright, earnest, capable woman, who 
i- prominent as a leader in social circles and faith- 
ful and efflcienl as a home-maker and a wife. 
Both she and her husband arc useful in their church 
relations and belong to the Methodist Church. 
The Doctor affiliates with the Democratic party 
and is a member of the Subordinate Lodge of 
Moultrie, No. 158, I. <>.<>. V. lie is also a Knight 
of Pythias, belonging to Moultrie Lodge No. 222. 



El (.KM'. F. DES LARZES. Our subject is a 
native of that country which boasts the 
most beautiful scenery on the globe, whose 
mountains tower skyward and are girdled by the 
overhanging, m i>t \ clouds, and a country the 
aspirations of whose people areas high as its moun- 
tains. One of the earliest European nations to 
cast aside every vestige of tryanny and to declare 
itself a Repxiblic, the sons that Switzerland -ends 
out from her borders are worth} representatives 
of the mother country. The} stand high in science 
and high in the ethics of nations. Our subject, 
who resides on section 6, of Rural Township where 

he settled in 1865, c es from the land of European 

freedom to that of America, lie was born inSwit- 
zerland August 15, 1822, and is a son of Benjamin 
and Mary Des Larzes. 

lie of whom we write «a- a half orphan in early 

el i ill II I, his mother having been taken away and 

leaving to her bereaved husband five children 
whose names are as follows: Benjamin, our subject, 
frank, Margarel and Morris. Benjamin now re- 
sides in Colorado, frank make- his home in Fari- 
bault, Minn. Morris lives in .Meeker* < hi ii t \ . M inn. 

The father of our subject while still in his native 
land, married a second lime and in 1849 came to 
the United Mate-. Two children were the fruit of 



this marriage, Kate, who became the wife of Charles 
Geneva and resides in Oregon, and Lewis, who 
died in Assumption, this .Mate: he was unmarried. 
Upon coming to the United .Mates the family set- 
tled first in Dodge County, Wis., on a farm, but in 
1863 they removed to Kankakee. 111., whence in 
1865 they came to Shelby County and settled in 
Rural Township, where the father purchased one 
hundred and twenty acres of land. Here his wife 
died, and in 1885 lie went to Faribault, Minn., to 
reside with a daughter. 

The gentleman of whom we write came with his 
family to this county and in 1858; while residing 
in Wisconsin, he was married at Kankakee. 111., to 
Louisa Morend. She was born in Switzerland and 
came to the United States with her parents. Lewis 
and Mai - } .Morend. Mr. I )es l.ar/.es continued hi- 
residence in Wisconsin until 1863, and then re- 
moved to Kankakee Count}', this State, and in 
1865 he again removed to Shelby County and pur- 
chased his present home, lie is the owner of one 
hundred and twenty acres of land in a high state 
of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Des Larzes are the 
parents of three children whose names are Lewis E., 
Allele and llortcnse. The} arc bright and attrac- 
tive children. Politically our subject Is an advo- 
cate of and voter with the Republican party, its 
platform being consonant with his idea- of the 
equit} and policy that should rule so great a nation. 
In his religious views he is a follower of the Roman 
Catholic Church. 



V 



Cd 



nll\ VVHITAKER, a retired farmer living 

in Sullivan, Moultrie County, to which he 
removed in February, 1891, came here from 

Douglas County, III., where lie had lived 

since 1856. lie had there improved S farm of 
some eighty acres which lie afterward sold and 
purchased and improved a larger tract which com- 
prises some two hundred acre-. Hi- farm is sup- 
plied with good farm buildings and a pleasant 
residence, and he has been more than ordinarily 
prosperous in his pursuit of agriculture, 






PORTRAIT AND RIO GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(511 



Mr. Whitaker is :i native of Indiana, being born 
in Vigo County. March 12, L833. His father, 
William WTiitaker, was a Kentuckian by birth and 
there grew up, and while yet a single man removed 
tn Vigo County) Ind., where he married Elizabeth 
Taylor, a Kentucky lady who had come to Indiana 
several years before her marriage. They made 
their home upon :i farm and he died in Vigo 
County while still in the prime of life, when his 
years numbered less than half :i century. His wife 
survived him for many years and died in extreme 
old age at the home of her son John when he was 
residing in Douglas County. Both she and her 
good husband were earnesl and consistent mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church and throughout life 
were devoted to their religious duties and faith. 

Our subjecl is the third of the four children born 
to his parents and only one besides himself now 
survives, namely: a sister, Mrs. Recnah Weddell, 
widow of Thomas Weddell, who was formerly a 
resident of Coles. III. John Whitaker grew up a 
fanner and has been very successful in his life work 
having made all that he has by his own unaided 
efforts. His lirst marriage took place in Douglas 
County, being then united with Hannah DaviSj a 
native of Vigo County, Ind.. who had come with 
her parents to Douglas County when a child. 
Their faniil\ home continued there until after her 
death which occurred at the age Of forty-one years. 

she wa- deeply mourned by her husband and the 
live children who survive her. who are as follows: 
Theodosia, the wife of John Hastings, a farmer in 
Douglas County; William, a student in the Chicago 
Law College; .Mary K., the wile of Jacob Kiddle 
who resides in Cincinnati, Green County, Ind.. 
here he is a merchant; Cora B., who is at present 
with her sister, Mre. Riddle, in Indiana. and Charles 
who is at home. 

Our subjecl was a second time married in Sulli- 
van to Mre. Harriet Dyson nee Elder, who was bom 

in Springfield, 111., and there grew to womanl 1 

and was lirst married in that city to Mr. Levi Dy- 
son, now deceased. Both Mr. and Mrs. Whitaket 
are earnest and consistent members of the Baptist 
Church and in its communion and labors they 
share, being willing to lend a hand toward ever; 
movement for the upbuilding of religion and 



morality. The Democratic party in its declarations 
and platform gives expression to the political be- 
lief of our Subject, who is earnest and active in 
his advocacy of the party which is proud to claim 
as its must distinguished exponent the author of 
the Declaration of Independence. 

« ii^ <i < ^ i. ^ ii 

< jfelLLLAM J. PUGH. He of whom we write 
\ / is the owner Of a good farm located on 
V V section 1 I. of Tower Hill Township. Shelby 
County. In another part of this volume will be 
found a more extended sketch of the history of 
his parents, who are proud of the fact that they 
are the earliest settler- in this county. Our sub- 
ject's father is John Pugh. His mother was Eliza- 
beth (Inman) Pugh. They were the parents of six 
children of whom our subject was the youngest 
memlier and onl\ son. He is a native of this State 
and county being here born near the village of 
Shelliyville. February 2, 1849, 

With the exception of six months spent in Texas, 
the original Of our sketch has always made his 
home in this State and county, and has ever been 
engaged in agricultural pursuits. Asa lad. he was 
educated in the common schools of the district in 
which he lived and there received such practical 
and common sense instruction as has titled him for 
the cares of the ordinary business man. The growth 
Of this State has been SO Very phenomenal that one 
coming from older State- or countries would 
scarcely believe that the educational advantages 
offered in the districts, were equal, even at so early 
a day, comparatively, as when our subjecl was a 

school hoy to those i n older comin un it ie>. lint such 
was the case. 

William Pugh 's marriage took place in Shelby 
County, this state December is. 1873, at which 
time he was united to Mis- Mary 1-'. Smith, a 
daughter of Samuel and Margarel ( Weakly) Smith. 
The former was a native of Kentucky, and the 

latter of Ohio. Thc\ were among the very early 

settler- iii this county. Immediately after mar- 
riage, the young couple -et up their household 
goods in Tower Hill ["ownship, and there he has 



612 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ever since resided. His wife's mother Margaret 
Smith' died here about 1855. The second wife of 
Samuel Smith was Sarah A. McCullough. Mrs. 
Pugh is one of three children that were the fruit 
of the first marriage, she wms horn in Tower Hill 
Township, February '.». \s:>-2. 

I'pon the marriage of our subject he settled in 
Tower Hill Township, where he owns two hundred 
acres, his farm here boasting fine improvements. 
Our subject and his wife are the parents of two 
children, Charles J. and Robert W. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pugb are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church in which body lie of whom we write has 
been Steward for several years. They are kindly, 
warm hearted people, with broad philanthropic 
ideas, and aets that are ever characterized by gen- 
erosity and purity of purpose. They took a little 
girl into their family with the intention of adopt- 
ing her and rearing her as one of their own chil- 
dren. She hole the name of Mary Pearl Dove; 
she was but three months of age when taken 
to the hearts and home of her kindly foster par- 
ents, and there she made herself a place in their 
affections that was left very desolate when at the 

age of three years and eighl months, she was taken 
into the arms of the Good Shepherd and placed in 
his fold. 



4^ 



s r ^i- 



KUMAX GREEN. In the full Hush and 

f 1 vigor Of manhood thi- gentleman came 
from his early Ohio home to this county 
and allied himself with its farmers by pur- 
chasing s farm in Penn Town-hip. He soon ac- 
quired an excellent reputation as an industrious. 
sensible, methodical agriculturist, and was con- 
ducting his farming operations with a good degree 

Of -iii-ccss. when death removed him from his 

sphere of usefulness in April, 1885, thus depriving 
his fellow-citizens of a valuable co-worker. 

Mr. Green "as bom in Geauga County, Ohio, 
.March I 8, 1858. His father. Alonzo Green, was a 
farmer and is now a resident of Gr.md Junction, 
Iowa. The maiden name of the mother of our 

Subject was Elizfl PattOll, She died when her son 



Of whom we write was an infant, anil lie was reared 
by his aunt. .Mrs. I.adow. in his native county. 
He was carefully trained under good home in- 
lluence- anil gained a sound education in the pub- 
lic schools of Ohio. His early life was spent on a 
farm, and he began when quite young to acquire 
a practical experience of farming that was of ser- 
vice to him when he began his career as an inde- 
pendent farmer. He lived with his aunt until his 
marriage and then boughl a farm in Geauga 
County. He was actively engaged in its manage- 
ment until 1883, when he sold it at a good price in 
order to take up his residence in this county, as 
he wisely considered that on this fertile soil that 
had not Keen worn by generations of cultivation 
the prospects for rapid advancement in his chosen 
calling were of a most encouraging character. 

( )n coming here our subject bought the farm in 
Penn Township now occupied by his widow, lie 
devoted his energies to its further improvement, 
hut scarcely more than a year had elapsed after his 
settlement here when death stayed his hand, and 
his life-record was broughl to a close when but 
thirty-two years of age. It may he that it has 
been taken up in a fairer land, where he has 
"entered upon broader fields of action and duty, 
where nobler struggles shall tax the strength and 
more precious crowns award the victor, where the 
hopes and dreams of earth shall he turned to sight, 
and the broken circles of life he rounded to the 
perfect orb." 

The marriage of .Mr. Green to Miss Amarett 
l'elton was solemnized October I. L874,and in her 
helpfulness, loving counsel, and devotion to his 
interests, he found how much a faithful wife has 
to do with a man's success in life. Mr.-. Green is 
a native of the same county in Ohio where her 
husband was horn, she i- a daughter of Storrs 

GllStavilS Pelton, who was born in one of the 
pioneer homes of Trumbull County. Ohio. His 
father. Klias l'elloii.a native of New England, was 
one of the early settlers of that section or Ohio, 
and cleared a farm from the primeval forest- on 
which he lived until he passed from life to death. 
Mrs. Green's father learned the trade of a carpen- 
ter in his youth and became a good mechanic in 
that line He resided in his native county until a 






PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



615 



short time after his marriage, when he went to 
Geauga County, and buying a farm in Russell 
Township, devoted himself to farming during Lhe 
remainder of his active life. lie is now living in 
retirement in the same township with a daughter. 
He was bereft of the companionship of his beloved 
wife in 1860, her death occurring during their res- 
idence on the farm. Her maiden name was Lydia 
Bailey. She was a native of Trumbull County, a 
daughter of [do Bailey, and the mother of nine 
children. 

Mrs. Green was but six years old when her 
mother died and after that she lived with an older 
sister until she married our subject. After his 
death she cheerfully took up the burden that her 
husband laid down, and has nobly fulfilled her 
duty. Iii her management of her farming interests 
she has displayed exceptional ability, and shows 
what a woman can do when east on her own re- 
sources. She has a line farm with well-tilled fields, 
ami amply provided with neat and well-kept build- 
ings, everything about the place wearing an air of 
thrift, good order and solid comfort, thai betoken 

extra care and denote a substantial home. A \ iew 
of this plaee may he found on another page. .Mr-. 
Green i- prized by her neighbors and the com- 
munity at large, not only as a woman of exceed- 
ing capability and business acumen, but for her 
pleasant social qualities. She is a useful member 
of the .Methodist Episcopal Church, and is m veri- 
table Christian. She has two daughters, Gertrude 
K. and .Maud A., whom she is carefully training to 
a true womanhood and who bid fair to follow in 
the footstep- of their mother. 



■> EORGE W. BALLARD. When the country 
/ 

was convulsed with the war spirit and com- 
mercial as well as domestic life was shaken 
to its very center by the chances that hung upon 
numbers of the respective armies and the compar- 
ative military genius of the leaders, so that for- 
eign nations looked on the Struggle with the urea test 
interest and closest attention, he of whom we write 



sought peace and solitude in the newness of the 
Prairie State, hoping to do his part for the Union 
by Supplying the forces with the products of his 

labor. Now located on section .">. of Jonathan 
( reek Township. Moultrie County, he of whom we 
write settled in this countj in I860. He is a Vir- 
ginian by birth and education, being born in Fau- 
ipiier County. \'a.. September Hi. 1834. His par- 
ents were Jonathan and Mary Ann (Dawson) 
Ballard. 

Our subject's father was by occupation a mill- 
wright and was engaged in the exercise of his call- 
ing in his native State. Virginia, where his decease 
took place ; ;it which time our subject was but a 
child. The mother lived for some years longer, 
but she too died in Virginia. Thirteen children 
were left to feel the bereavement of a double or- 
phanage, of whom our subject was the seventh 
in order of birth, lie was reared on the home farm 
and resided in Virginia until 1860, when he came 
to Illinois and rented land in .Moultrie County. 
Three years later he purchased forty acres of prai- 
rie land on section I. of Jonathan Creek Township, 
and he has since been a resident here. That his ef- 
forts have not been in vain during these years that 
have elapsed since his settlement in this state, is 
proven b\ the fact that he is now the owner of 
three hundred and seventy-four acres of land, and 
besides the acquisition of this handsome property 
has spent large sums iii the erection of a good 

class of buildings upon his place. 

The year prior to Mr. Ballard's coming to this 
state, was made memorable to him by his marriage 
in Virginia to Phoebe Martin, a daughter of Isaac 
and Florinda (Wood) .Martin. The lady was born 
in Harrison County. Va., April 19, 1838. Mr. and 
Mrs. Ballard have had thirteen children, although 
eleven are at the present time all who are surviv- 
ing. Thc\ are John, Edward, Montville, Dora. 
Florence. Lucy, Martha. I larlow. Ira. Ida and Blanche. 
Dora is the wife of Moses Dickson; Florence is 
the wife of William Kinney: Lucy married William 
Matthews; and Martha was united to Edward En- 
terline. 'This large and interesting family has 

grown to manhood and wonianh 1 and have 

taken responsible positions in social and commercial 
life. The -on- .-ire sturdy, independent youug 



616 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



men, filled with a vitality and energy that are bound 
to bring them to the fore in their business re- 
lations. Politically he of whom we write is a Dem- 
ocrat, admiring the doctrines and platform of thai 
party and the leaders thereof, and linding in it 
more admirable principles than in any other po- 
litical body. He has been Road Commissioner for 
twelve years and in this position lias accomplished 
much for the township, making the thoroughfares 
not only passable, but keeping them in such good 
condition as redounds greatly to the credit not 
only of our subject personally, but to the county 
I hat elects him. 



U<, 



"S3 



<H^- 



e_ 




f,L^ KXRV SPKARS. n successful farmer resid- 
ing on section 24, Rose Township, Shelby 

Connt\'. was horn in Washington County. 

Ohio, April 19, 1847. Ilis father, Annis 
Spears, was ;1 native of Maine and his mother. Han- 
nah I.add. was a native of Washington County, 
Ohio. They came to Shelby County, III., in 1857, 
and settled north of Shelbyville for one year, and 
then came into Rose Township, where they made 
their permanent home. The father died January 
14, 1885, and the mother passed away March !•. 
I*x;j. In their family of ten children our subjed 

was the seventh. 

He of whom we write came to Shelby County 
with his father when he was ten years old. and has 
thus been a resident of this county since 1857. 
August 2'.». 1*72. was hi- wedding day, and he was 
then united in Rose Township, with Miss Rebecca 
Warner, a daughter o f Aaron ami Hannah (Kers- 
chner)\Varner. They came from Pickaway County, 
Ohio, to this county in 1871, and are still residents 
of this county. 

Mrs. Spears firsl saw the light in Pickaway Coun- 
ty. Ohio. December 31, 1851. She is now the 
mother of three children — Charles 11.. Estella, and 
.I'.tna. Mr. and Mrs. Spears are most earnest and 
efficient members of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
in which this gentleman lakes an active part, lie 
has held the office of Collector for three terms, and 
in his politics espouses the cause of the Republican 



party. He has erected good buildings upon his 
farm and is the owner of one hundred sixty acres 
of rich and arable soil. His enterprise and energy 
combined with pluck, push and perseverance have 
made him a successful fanner and he is universally 
esteemed. 



(^ OLOMON YANTIS. is the owner of one 
'^s<4 hundred and eighty acres of well-improved 

land located on sections 27 and 28, of 
Pickaway Township. Shelby County, lie 
i- a general farmer and successfully operates his 
tract of land makingit yield as much as any farmer 
does a larger tract. .Mr. Yantis is an intelligent 
man and a close observer, having early familiarized 
himself with the ways of nature. He has adopted 
many ideas from his German and English neigh- 
bors, who. in their native lands where the soil is 
held at a higher premium than here, learned to 
utilize every foot of soil and make it yield crop 
after crop in a single season. 

Our subject has placed many valuable improve- 
ments upon his tract, which is well-stocked. If it 
were the custom in thiscountry, to give a name In 
the country residences as it is in England and 
France and some parts of the South, our subject 
mii; lit properly give his the beautiful name of " The 
Walnuts." for he has upon his place a grove of wal- 
nul trees which covers ten acres, lie also has a tine 
peach orchard covering live acres, in which about 
one thousand trees have recently been set. 

The place has good and substantial buildings, 
the residence being comfortable and commodious, 
and the hams and outbuildings indicate the care- 
ful attention the proprietor gives to every de- 
tail of his farm wink, lie purchased the farm in 
1862 and then began the work of improvement, it 
being, at the time of his purchase, unbroken prairie 
land, lie has lived in this township and county 
since the spring of 1 855. 

Our subject was bom in Pickawaj County. Ohio. 
December Hi. 1839. He is the son of Daniel Yan- 
tis, who is one of the well-known and influential 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



617 



men of this county and township, although now 
quite advanced in age, but still living on his old 
farm, and : — till retaining liis faculties. Our subject 
i> one of fifteen children that grew to manhood and 
womanhood. Of these nine are yet living, mosl 
of them residing in this state. He of whom we 
write remained with his father until twenty-seven 
years of age. lie reached his majority in this town- 
ship, and was married in Pickaway County, i)hii>. 
to Miss Mary Runkle. she was born in Pickaway 
( ounty, September 2(». 1842 and conies of a good 
Pennsylvania Dutch family. Her parents died in 
Pickaway County, the father at the age of eighty- 
seven. Mr. and Mrs. Runkle, as were the Yantis 
family, were members of the German Reformed 
Church. 

Since marriage, the original of our sketch and 
his wife have lived upon the farm which they at 
present occupy, and have here raised a family of 
ten children. One of these died in infancy. The 
living children who arc still at home are: Mary K.. 
Daniel. Henry. Cora M.. Noah, Grace, Alma P.. 
.lames M.. I larlev and Roy. 

Our subject is a member of the Baptist Church. 
Mrs. Yantis holds to the Reformed Church. Mr. 
Vantis is now serving his second term as Superin- 
tendent of the township. Politically he is inde 
pendent. Socially he is a member of the Farmers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. 



-^—ct 









' OHN SCHEEF, who is one of the most sub- 
stantia] farmers in Prairie Township, Shelbj 

County, dates his residence in the county, 
from December, 1S77. His thorough-going 
German characteristic.- of thrift, industry and 
steadfastness have been a help not only to himself, 
Imt also to the community where he has lived and 
labored for so many years, and these trait- are 
worthy of the study and emulation of the young, 
who are apt to be led astra\ by the Hash and bril- 
liancj of less worthy but more show \ qualities. 
For this reason we are pleased to present a record 
of such a life as we have here before us. 

.lohn Scheef was horn in Schleswig-Holstein, 



Germany, February 13, 1853, and i- a son of 
Henry and Dora Scheef, who brought up to man's 

and w an 's estate eight children, five of whom 

came to the United States, while three remained in 
their native land. The following is the record of 
the offspring of this worthy couple: Anna, who 
married Henry Frohani and resides in Chicago; 
Amelia and Hannah, who remained in Germany; 
Fred and William who reside in Chicago; John, 
our subject; Dora, who is still in the Fatherland 
and Christian, who died in Chicago, leaving one 
child. It was in 1884 when the parents of this 
family came to America and they have both now 
passed away, the mother being called home while 
( hicago was the family residence, ami the father 
died in this county. 

Our subject wasa lad of sixteen when he came 
to this country and his first home was in Chicago, 
where hi- In-other Fred was living. He there 
worked as a laborer, following various lines of 
business until he came to Shelby County which 
was not until after the great Chicago lire, through 
the tragic experiences of which he passed. After 
that tremendous disaster the young man thought 
best to gel out into the country, where there 
would be a better opportunity for him to do well 
for himself, and leaving the city he came to this 
county ami for five years worked upon a tract of 
eighty acre- which he rented. Thrift and economy 
supplemented the untiring energy and zeal with 
which he worked, and being now able to purchase 
the laud upon which he had been living, he 

decided to give the rest of his life to agricultural 

pursuits. He now ow n- one hundred and twenty 
.nil- of land and upon it he has erected good suh- 

stantial farm buildings. 

The union in marriage of two true heart- and 
two honest hands is an event which deserves not 
onl\ i gratulation, but the most serious consid- 
eration of the biographer, for it is the great event 

in the lives of those who are thus united, telling 

upon their future more practically and efficiently 
than it is possible for au\ other event to do. This 
important union which joined our subject to 
Elizabeth Falk, took place December 5, 1875, the 
bride being the daughter of .lohn and Anna 
I Frank) Falk of whom mote is told at length m 



618 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the sketch of their son, Mr. John W. Falk, of 
Herborn. Mrs. Scheef was born in Germany, 
December 11. L853. She is the happy mother of 
six children, namely: Anna, born October 10, 
1876; Maggie, January 2'J, l*7i>; John, January 
24, 1881; Lena, March 21. 1883; Henry. Septem- 
ber 27. 1887, and August, October 18, 1889. The 
religious views of this family are in accord- 
ance with the doctrines and practices of the 
Lutheran Church with which they are connected 
and in it they are esteemed highly, as faithful 
helpers in the vineyard of the Lord. The politi- 
cal preferences of Mr. Scheef have led him to 
affiliate with the Democratic party, and he believes 
that in its declarations is found the true wisdom 
of political economy. While residing in Chicago, 
Mr. Scheef was for one year a partner in a grocery 
business, but he did not continue long in this line 
of work as his training and his preferences inclined 
him to a farmer's life. 



^€>*<P-= 



"77 NDKEW J. RICHEY. Among the farmers 
( -/ I of Moultrie County who have retired from 

/ * arduous labors and arc quietly passing their 
QJ declining years, is Mr. Richey, whosehome 

is a pleasant residence in Atwood, Piatt County. 
It is not possibh iii the limits of a biographical 
sketch like this to do more than touch upon the 
Scenes and incidents in a life which has been full 
of toil and usefulness, bu1 it is our purpose to note 
the most salient features in that of Andrew .1. 
Itichey, until recently a resilient of Lowe Town- 
ship. He still owns the fine farm on section 2, 
which was for iuan\ years the scene of his labors, 
hut this he now rents a ud expects to pass the re- 
mainder of his life retired. 

Mr. Richey comes Of excellent families of Ken- 
tucky, both parents having been bom in that state. 
The father. Robert, and the mother, Elizabetb 
(Biggs) Richey, were united in marriage in Shelby 
County, Ky., in 1826. Two years after that im- 
portant event they emigrated to Indiana and re- 
sided in Montgomery County five years, where the 

father followed the vocation of a farmer. \Venr\l 



find them in Vigo County, hid., where the father 
died in 1861. To him and his good wife eight 
children were horn, our Subject being the eldest. 
Kentucky is his native State and in Shelby County 
he was horn October 22, 1*27. He accompanied 
his parents in their various removals and was reared 
to manhood chiefly in Vigo County. Ind. 

When of sufficient age Mr. Richey wisely chose 
the vocation in which he has gained a good main- 
tenance and has been able to give his family edu- 
cational and social privileges that add to their 
efficiency as members of society. On November 9, 
1848, he was united in the holy bonds of wedlock 
with Miss Barbara Doty, a native of Indiana. Mrs. 
Richej died in Lowe Township in 1867, leaving 
five children — Theodore .1.. Emory R., .lames K\. 
Mary M., (Mrs. James Griffin) and Eli X. After 
his marriage our subject settled in Sullivan County, 
Inch, where he lived twelve years, operating as 
a tiller of the soil. In the fall of l«t'.."> he came 
to Moultrie County and settled in Lowe Town- 
ship where he resided until 1891, the date of his 
removal to Atwood. 

The home of Mr. Richey is presided over by a 
lady of refinement and intelligence, who ha.- aided 
her husband by her cheerful co-operation in all 
his enterprises. She hore the maiden name of 
Elizabeth Moon and was horn in Mon< Dgahela 
County, Pa., December 12. 1830. Her parent-. 
John and Catherine Moon died in Piatt County. 
111. At the time of her marriage to our subject 
she was the widow of Cornelius Williams, who 
died in White County, Ind., leaving to her care 
two children — William and Jasper. The ceremony 
which made her the wife of Mr. Richey was solem- 
nized in Moultrie County, 111.. December 12. 1867, 
and ha- brought mutual happiness. Mr. and Mrs. 
liiche\ are active and consistent members of tie' 
Missionary Baptist Church. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Richey i- a lie- 
publican and has been active in local affairs, lie 
is especially interested in the cause of education 
and has served as School Director and Trustee. 
Prior to his removal from his farm he had placed 
it under excellent improvements, both in respect 
to buildings and cultivation of the soil. The es- 
tate comprises two hundred acres of improved land 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



619 



and is numbered among the best farms in the 
township. Its beauty is enchanced bj the numer- 
ous shade and fruit trees, whose foliage throws a 
pleasant shallow on the grassy lawn and whose 
ripened fruit Mushes as though kissed by the sum- 
mer sun. Mr. Richey is a reading, thinking man. 
public spirited and well informed, and owns one 
of the finest libraries in the community. He and 
his wife are deservedly held in high estimation by 
their neighbors; their warm hearts, kind manners, 
and many generous deeds have gained them the 
affection of the entire community. 



J.J..J..J..;. 5 



■'•!-•!— 5.-:- 



f'OHX RAWLINGS. It seems one of the com- 
pensations for the many hardships we suffer 
in this world that when the dark river has 
been Crossed, the friends left on this side 
forgel to a great extent the mistakes that have been 
made, and have only kindly, gracious things to >a\ 
of one. Tins is as it should he. for human nature 
is at heart much better than we are often willing to 
give ii credil for. Let us strew pansies tor sweel 
thoughts over the mounds whose tidiness leaves a 
void in many a saddened heart. 

Our subject, who passed away from this life into 
the unknown but imagined brightness of the after 
world al his home, which is located on section • i I . 
Pickaway Township, in 1888, was taken away while 

yet there was a golden yellow in the fall season, he- 
fore the hlasts of winter were chilling the homes 
and making life seem more desolate. At the time 
of his decease he had all but reached the three-score 
and ten generally allotted to man, being sixty -nine 
years and some month- old. He was born in Mary- 
land December 1*. 1819. Although he was an 
American by birth and parentage, he was of Irish 
ancestry. 

Our subject's father had died when his son was 
hut two years old. lie was the youngest of two 
sons and two daughters horn to his parents. 
Carefully reared by his mother, he continued to 
live with her in his native State until he became 
of age, during which time he aided in the work of 
earning a livelihood. There he became of age and 



was soon after married to Miss Martha K. McMas- 
ter. Their marriage was celebrated May 1."). 1851. 
The lady was a native of Maryland and horn May 
16, 1831). She was of American parents, although 
of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 

After marriage our subject and his wife went to 
Ohio and there they lived for some years in Guern- 
sey County, where a part of their children were 
horn. In ISC") the family came to Shelby County, 
111., and our subject, who. by his industrious, 
thrifty ways, had accumulated for that time acorn. 
fortable amount, was enabled to purchase a farm of 
two hundred and eighty acres in Ridge Township, 
at which place he lived for some years. In 1882 
Mr. Rawlings came to Pieka way Township and pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres on section 21. 
where he was living at the time of his death. 

Our Subject was a man with careful, industrious 
and prudent business faculties, in whom the acquis- 
itive faculty was predominant. lie was ver\ SUC- 
cessful in every undertaking and at the time of his 
death was the owner of six hundred and ninety- 
two acres of line land in this count v. Mostofthis 
in fact all hut eighty-five acres, which is timber 
land, was well improved. Thrifty and far-sighted, 
the investments that he made on first coming to the 
county were proved to he judicious and profitable, 
nor was he alone in his efforts, for his wife was 
such a woman as is described in Proverbs. 

He of whom we write had been reared in the 
Quaker belief and throughout life rather held to 

that belief, hut here, where there were so few of his 
sect, he united in worship of the Almighty with 
the members of the Presbyterian Church, of which 
he was a regular attendant. Mr. Rawlings was a 
Democrat in his political inclinations, although in 
accordance with his early religious training he ht'l 
political strife to those who hail taste for such an 
exciting, unsatifying career. Our subject's widow, 
who yet survives him. is an amiable and charming 
woman, who holds a prominent position in social 
life, by virtue of her high intellectual attainments 
and her suavity and gentleness of manner. She 
is now the owner of part of the homestead, including 
the line brick residence in which she lives. At 
sixty years of age her vigor is unabated and the 
keenness of perception shows no diminution, she 



620 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



has a large circle of friends in this county, among 
whom she is regarded with tender and loving affec- 
tion. She and her children arc members of the 
Presbyterian ( 'luuvli. 

Eight children have come to this beautiful home 
and have enjoyed the advantages of loving par- 
ental care. Two of these are deceased: Emma T.. 
who died at the age of twenty-one years, and Mary 
T. passed away at four years of age. The living 
children are: Cecil. I., who is an owner and oper- 
ator of a farm in this township; he took to wife 

Amelia Robinson; Harry M., took to wife Cath- 
erine Weekly and resides on a farm of which 
they are the owners, in Ridge Township: William 
C. farms his own land in this township: his wife's 
maiden name was Ida Yencer; Robert E. owns and 
occupies one hundred and twenty acres of home- 
stead and makes Ids home with his mother; Ed- 
ward M. took to wife Ettie Reed, of this township; 
they live upon the old home place in Ridge Town- 
Ship; Lizzie R. is at home and is the comfort and 
help of her mother. 



PRANK M. HARBAUGH. The career of 
this young gentleman is one which may he 
reflected upon with profit, lie began pad- 
dling bis own canoe at an early stage of his exist- 
ence, and after pulling up stream for a season 
finally found himself in smooth waters, and bis 
course has since been one of uniform prosperity. 
lie is now numbered among the influential lawyers 
of Sullivan. Moultrie County, where he located in 
1883, and after experiencing the aps and downs 

incidental to the commencement of :i professional 
life, he is on solid footing, with every indication 
of a prosperous ami even brilliant future in the 
law. 

Mr. Harbaugb bas known no other home than 
.Moultrie County, and he was horn on his father's 
farm, one mile soutli of Sullivan. September I. 
1859. As is the usual experience of everyone 
reared upon a farm, he had few idle moments, 
even in his boyhood, being employed in aiding 
bis father in the work of sowing and reaping, 



while he alternated this toilsome labor with attend- 
ance in the village school, lie decided when quite 
young to enter upon a professional 'life, and there- 
1 . .ii- devoted himself assiduously to gaining knowl- 
edge, lie entered the law department of the State 
Eniversity of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and after 
taking a thorough course in that institution, he 
was graduated with the Class of '80. Soon after- 
ward he was admitted to the bar at the Appelate 
Court, in Mt. Vernon, 111. lie began practiceof 

his profession in Windsor, whence he removed to 

Lovington, sojourning in both places about three 
years, and coming to his present location in 1883. 
The father of our subject. David Ilarbaugh. and 
his grandfather. Jacob, were both natives of Penn- 
sylvania, and of Dutch descent, belonging to that 
substantial class of people who brought the Key- 
stone State to its present state of development. 

Jacob Ilarbaugh grew to manh 1 upon a farm 

and in his early prime married a lady by the name 
of Sinclair. About 1831 they emigrated to Illi- 
nois, making the tedious journey overland, as was 

conn in those days, and settling in what is now 

Sullivan Township. Moultrie County, before the 
town of Sullivan was laid out. The father pur- 
chased Government land, which he improved from 
the wilderness. Neighbors were very few. the 

country being sparsely settled, and improvements 
were only being begun. Amid these primeval 
scenes Jacob Ilarbaugh passed his declining yeai'S 
and there he died at a ripe old age. 

The father of our subject has always been inter- 
ested in farming pursuits, and now at the age of 
sixtj'-seven years, is hale and hearty, and makes 
bis home in the city of Sullivan. He was married 
in this county to Miss Elizabeth Smith, a native of 
this county, who i-- living and ha> attained to the 

age of three-score and live years. Her parents 
were early settlers of this county and are now de- 
ceased. The mother of our subject is a consistent 
member Of the Baptist Church and adorns her pro- 
fession of faith by a noble and godly life. It may 
truly be said of her that her children "rise and call 
her blessed." 

There were three children in the family circle. of 
who Leander, the eldest, died young. Thesurviv- 
ing member of the family, besides our subject, is 



PORTRAIT AND ];!<)< JUAI'IIICAL RECORD. 



621 



Lucretia, wit'.' of Roberl M. Peadro, attorney -at- 
law in Sullivan. Our subject is an enterprising, 
ambitious young gentleman, who will, undoubtedly . 
make his way to fortune and fame. In his politi- 
cal views he is a stalwart Democrat, devoted to the 
success of that party in both national and local 
affairs, and ever anxious to casl his ballol for the 
candidates nominated by his chosen party. He 
served as City Attorney with credit to himself and 
in the satisfaction of his constituents. He hasalso 
been Central Committeeman of the county, and is 
in various ways connected with the public affairs 
of tliis section. 



•:• •:• ■*• 



< folLMER A. ST F.I 

\ / prietor of the < 

W puplished in M 



i^ILMER A. STEIDLEY, the editor and pro- 
CaU-Mdif. a weekly paper, 
Moweaqua, Shelby County, 
is a bright and ambitious young man. who has 
already had considerable experience in journalism, 
and gives t<> the public one of the best family 
papers issued in Central Illinois. He was born in 
Barr Township, Macoupin County. Augusl 10, 1861. 
He received a practical education in the public 
schools, and when a hoy worked on the farm. At 
the age of seventeen he left school to enter the 
office of the Moweaqua Register)', the Brsl paper 
published in this city. He soon acquired the art 
preservative in that establishment, and remained 
there until the fall of 1880, when he went to .Mon- 
tezuma, hid., and was employed in the office of the 
Era the ensuing three months. From there he went 
to Maroa, and was employed in setting type in the 
office of the Maroa News until L881. 

In that year Mi'. Steidley entered upon his career 
as a journalist, coming t<> Moweaqua in the month 
of January, and started a paper called the Mail. 
In 1884 he sold that publication, and returning to 
Maroa. bought tin' News, the paper on which 
he had formerly set type. He conducted the News 

until July 1. 1888, and then sold it on g 1 terms. 

and for nearly a year thereafter he lived at Colo- 
rado Springs, Col., where he was engagedasa clerk 
in a furniture store. In May, 1889, he returned to 



Moweaqua, and resumed his vocation as editor. 
purchasing the Call, and in July of the same year 
buying the Mail, and consolidating the two under 
the name of the Call Mail. Thus united he has 
infused new life into their columns, and has made 
the union paper a strong, breezy, entertaining 
family newspaper, full of information on subjects 
in which the public is most interested, with it> 
matter well arranged, and its editorials showing a 
progressive spirit, and giving good points in re- 
gard to political and Other topics with which the 
people should he familiar. 

November I. 1881 is the date of the marriage of 
our subject with MissS. E. Huff. Mrs. Steidley was 
horn in 1 )e Witt County. 111., in February. 1862, 
anil is a daughter of James and Nancy (Dine) Hull. 
Three children are living of this union, — .lames .1.. 
Wilmer A. and Ida Clare. Their fourth child. 
named Marguerite, died in .Inly. 1889, aged ten 
months. 

Mr. Steidley is popular and well-known in social 
circles as a member of the following organizations: 

Shelby Lodge, No. 271. 1. O. < ). F.. I Home 

Lodge, No. 152 of the order of Tonti, he being 
President of the latter lodge. In his political affil- 
iations, he is a Democrat. Religiously, both he 
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church. 



g ET lWp' '1: 1 » i 1 m i*y^ 



? I ' I ' I ' I ■ 



■RANK .1. STILLWELL, one of the efficient 
and progressive farmers of Rose Township, 
Shelby County, is a -on of John \V. and 
Sarah (Templeton) Stillwell. The former was 
horn near Newport. Ky.. and then came with his 
family to Shelby County in 1866, making their 
home in Shelby ville and operating a sawmill in 
Rose Township, which they carried on for several 

years. The wife passed away in Shelby ville in 

1876 and the bereaved husband is now living a 
retired life. They had two children. Robert T.aud 
Frank .1. 

Our subject was born near Newport. Ky,, 
AugUSi I. 1859, and came to Shelby County, thi- 
State with his parent-. He received his education 



622 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in the cfommon schools and made good use of his 
advantages, gaming much from this thorough, 
though somewhal narrow, curriculum. His mar- 
riage at Shelbyville, April 5, 1883, united him 
with Miss Anna Wortman, who was bom in Dry 
Point Township. When they married they settled 
in Rose Township, where Mr. Stillwell is engaged 
in farming, iri\ inu' his attention to the cultivation 
of two hundred and seventy acres of excellent 
land, and also raising considerable good stock. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stillwell are the parents of two 
children, Mary A. and .1. Frank. The office of 
School Director has been efficiently filled by Mr. 
Stillwell. lie is a Democrat in his political views, 
lie is prominently identified with the Order of 
Modern Woodmen of America, and with his wife 
is an active member of the 1 In j >l ist Church. 

'I'he parents of Mrs. Stillwell are William and 
Margaret (Hickman) Wortman. Mr. Wortman 
was born in Shelby Township, Shelby County, 
October 22. 1831. His father, Isaac Wortman. was 
a native of Christian County, Ky., being born 
there August 26, I860, ami being the -on of 
Michael Wortman, a Virginian by birth and one 
of the first settlers of Christian County, Ky. 
Michael Wortman secured a tract of timber land 
in that comity and cleared a farm and spent his 
last years there. 'I'he maiden name of hi> wife 

was Elizabeth Wallace and she was also a Virgin- 
ian, she came to Shelby County after the death 
of her husband. 

The grandfather of Mrs. Stillwell was reared in 
Kentucky and resided there until 1828, when he 
came to Illinois accompanied by his wife, his 
mother and his brother with his wife. They 
brought all their household l:i"»1- along with 
them in their wagons and camped and cooked by 
the way. They arrived in Shelby County in 
December, 1828, and resided in what i> now known 

:i~ Windsor Township tor one year and then re- 
moved to Shelby Town-hip and entered a tract of 

Government land one mile east of the city. A 
few lo«r houses were all thai Shelbyville then 

boasted. Isaac Wortman erected :i log llOUSC on 

!n- land and c enccd ;il <e to clear aw:i\ the 

timber. After residing there for several years he 
sold hi- property and boughl in Holland Town- 



ship, where he resided until his death in 1868. 
The maiden name of his wife (who was the grand- 
mother of Mrs. Stillwell.) was Zelinda Hall. She 
was horn in Fayette County, Ky.. of Virginian 
parentage, her father and mother being Peter and 
Mary (Fisher) Hall, who became pioneers of Fay- 
ette County, Ky. Mrs. Hall died at the home of 
her daughter, Mrs. Emily Willis, in Shelbyville in 
1872, having been the mother of twelve children. 

William Franklin Wortman resided with his 
parents until his marriage and then settled on an 
eighty-acre tract of land which he owned on sec- 
tion 1 of Dry Point Township. It was wild land 
at the time, forty acres of it being in timber and 
the remainder in brush. He built a log house and 
there commenced housekeeping and later boughl 
other land until at one time he possessed some two 
hundred and fifty acres all in one body, part of it 
being in Holland Township. He improved the 
land, planted an orchard and erected good farm 
buildings. He continued there until the fall of 
1890 when he retired from active farming and 
built the home where he now resides in Shelbyville. 
lb- was married in 1856 to Margaret Hickman, 
who was born in Shelbyville, February 15, !*■'!(>. 

Joseph Hickman, the father of Mrs. W. F. Wort- 
man. was a Virginian by birth, and the son of 
William Hickman, who removed from that State 
to Shelby County, Ky., where lie continued his 
vocation of a farmer, lie died in that county. 
The maiden name of his wife was Elizabeth Tal- 
bot, who was a native of Virginia and died in 
Shelby ( ounty. Ky. 

Joseph Hickman, the grandfather of Mrs. still- 
well. married in Kentucky and came from that 
State to Rlinois in 1830, thus becoming one of the 

early settlers of shelbyville. He was one of the 
first teachers in the county and was a man of more 
than ordinary education. He resided there for a 
number of year- and then boughl a farm in Shelby 
Township, upon which he made his home until his 
death. His wife (the grandmother Of Mrs. Still- 
well. i bore the maiden name of Ziporah Frankford. 
she was born in Illinois, being a daughter of Fl/a 
and Margaret (Adams) Frankford. and died at the 

I ie of a son in Shelby Township about the year 

1868. Seven children were born to Mr. anil Mrs. 



PORTRAIT AM) l'.l<i<:i;.\ril'( Al. RECORD. 



623 



Wortinan, namely: Mary, Hattie, Emma. Annie. 
Thomas, James and Mattie. The parents are ear- 
nest and active members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church and Mr. Wortman is a Democral in lii> 
political views. 

Mr. Stillwell's personal qualities arc sucli as to 
have \v(jn for him the respect and admiration of 
his fellow-citizens and he has the hearty good will 
of all. His home is comfortable and pleasant and 
his fauiih share with him the good opinion of 
their neighbors. 

<)IIN V. MAUTZ. The' gentleman whose 
biographical sketch we take pleasure in here 
writing, resides on section 31, <>t' Rural 
Township, .Shelby Comity, and also owns 
land in section 32. lie belongs to the nationality 
which is beginning to tinge American life so largely 
with its sterling qualities, and to show in a better 
physical development which has resulted from the 
commingling of the American and Teutonic na- 
tions. Our subject was horn in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, April ■'!. 1840. lie i- a son of George and 
Rosina (Shantz) Mautz, the former born in Wur- 
temberg, in 1802, and the latter. February I 8, 
1HIIH. 

Our subject's father was a farmer by calling and 

he of whom we write early learned the best meth- 
ods of making the ground produce the hot in 

fruits ami vegetables, cereals and stock. After the 
marriage of the parents of our subject, the\ de- 
voted themselves to the rearingof their large fam- 
ily, which numbered eleven children. They were 

brought up under the best conditions, having re- 
ceived that hot of inheritances from their parents, 
robust constitutions, blood that flowed through 
their veins in swift purity, and intelligences that 
were undimmed by vicious associations or habits. 
The brothel's and sisters of our subject are in name 
as follows: Gottleib, Rosina. Christian, George, 
Barbara. Lewis, John !•".. who i> our subject, Will- 
iam. Jacob II.. David and Thomas. Gottleib died 
in Shelby County in 1879; Rosina married Chris- 
tian Eberspacher; she died in November, L866, 



and left four children to her bereaved husband; 
Christian was for man\ years a prominent man in 
Rural Township; he was for sixteen war- Justice 

of the Peace, and now resides in PrescOtt, Nevada 
County. Ark.: George died in Shelby County in 
1863; Barbara married John I laberlein. anil died 
in L865, leaving one daughter; Lewis was killed 
by a bull in Cowley County. Kan.: William re- 
sides on the homestead; Jacob II. and David live 
iu Rural Township; Thomas resides in Shelby 
( oiinty. 

All of the family of children of which our sub- 
ject was one were born in Germauy. Our subject 
was but eleven years when, in \x.'>2. tin- family 
emigrated to the United States, landing in New 
York harbor April I. The journey across the three 
thousand mile-, of water required only nineteen 
days. The family at once went to Zanesville, 
Ohio, and soon after settled in Fairfield County, 
Ohio. In 1*.">1 the\ came to Shelby County, this 
State, t i i— t settling in Rose Township, where the} 
rented land which the\ operated for some year-. 
They then purchased section '■'•'J. in Rural Town- 
ship, and later purchased one-half of section 31. 
Success followed their agricultural efforts, and as 

the young people matured they were encouraged 

to start out in life for themselves. Tin' father 
died February ■">. I s 7 'J . The mother followed him 
.January 15, 1891. The\ were kindly. Christian 
people, and their simple, honest lives infused -a 
spirit of kindliness and generosity into all with 
whom they came in contact. The\ were member- 
of the Swedenborgian Church. 

( tur subject, -I. F. Mautz. came with his family 
to Shelby County, and in 1861, he enlisted in the 
War Of the Rebellion to fight for the flag, which 
had already become dear to him as a symbol of 
freedom, which he could not enjoy so fully in his 

native land, lb' was mustered into service, and 
joined Company II. of the Fifty-fourth Illinois 
Infantry, and remained with his company for four 
year, re-enlisting at the end of his firsi term. 
During his military career he was neither wounded 
nor taken prisoner, nor was he confined to the hospi- 
tal. He was :i participant in many battles, and 
the side of military life, which, to one who has 
never seen battle, but onl\ read and dreamed of 



62 J 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the glorious display thai is an accessory, haa a 
seriousness to him, which was an outcome of bitter 
personal experience. He was in the battles of 
Jackson, Tenn., at the siege of Vicksburg and at 
Little Rock, Ark. In I Slit eighl companies of the 
regiment to which our subject belonged, were 
taken prisoners, only Companies II and F escap- 
ing. Our subject was mustered out of service in 
October, 1865, and he returned to Shelby County 
November 19, 1867, he was married to Matilda 
Ivnll. who «as born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 
184 7. 

After marriage Mr. Mautz settled with his wife 
upon the land whereon he now resides, at that 
time raw prairie. Now it is one of the finest 
places in the county, comprising one hundred and 
.sixty acres of beautifully cultivated land, and 
upon it are line buildings that are in the best of 
order. The original of din- sketch and his wife 
have four children, whose names are as follows: 
William, Albert, Julius and George. Mr. Mautz 
casts his vote and influence with the Democratic 
party, under which he has held several positions. 
He has been Supervisor for three terms, and. in- 
deed, has held all the local offices. Both our 
subjeel and his wife are members of the Evangeli- 
cal Church. 




s. CREECH. Sullivan counts anion- ii- 
active business men. uol only those in the 

mercantile line and nun who cater to the 
physical needs of the citizens, lint those 
who have also built up lines of business which pro- 
vide for the higher nature. Art and music are 
having their full share of attention in this flourish- 
ing city and it i- well supplied with marts Of lica ill v 
and luxury. 

The successful photographer and jeweler whose 
name appears at the head of thi- writing, i^ finding 

such success in his business thai he ha- Keen en- 
couraged to build for himself a place of business 

and dwelling, both of which are i iplete in all 

departments. His tine stock oJ jewelrj is on the 



ground floor and the sec d storj contains his well 

arranged and commodious photograph gallery. 
lie has acquired his knowledge in both branches 
of his art by determined application and persever- 
ance and for four years has carried on both lines 
of endeavor, independently of others. 

This young man applies himself closely to busi- 
ness and is a practical workman in both arts. To 
no one but himself can credit be given for his 
Success, as his natural talents in the mechanical 
line have been fully exercised and developed bj 
his efforts t,i gain the front rank in his line of work, 
lb- is a natural mechanic- and learned the trade in 
that line which he followed for a few years in his 
earlier life. 

Our SUbjecl lias been a resident of this county 
since 1*71 and is a native of Indiana, where he 
was born in Owen County May 31, 1854. lie is 
the son of Tennessee parents, his father. Christopher 
('. Creech, being a man who had come when young 
with his parents to Owen County, and had there 
grown to manhood and carried on the double 
avocation of farmei and mechanic. He married 
Miss Amanda ('. Evans, who had come to Owen 
County with her parents at an early clay. After 
marriage this wedded couple remained near the 
home of their parents until the spring of 1871. 
when they came to this Slate and made their first 
settlement in Coles County, and in the fall of the 
same year removed to Moultrie County. Here the 
father lived and followed his trade till death called 
him hence, his demise occurring at Oak, Neb., in 
March, 1891, when he had reached the age of fifty- 
five years. His widow is now residing in Bethany 
and at the age of fifty-seven years is a useful mem- 
ber of society and active in the good work of the 
Methodist Episcopal ( hui'Ch,aS was alSO her husband. 

Mr. Creech is the eldest in a family of seven sons 

and one daughter, all bu1 two of whom are living, 
and all married but two. Our subjeel is the only 
one of the family now residing in Sullivan, lie 
was married first at Bethany, Moultrie County, to 
Miss Martha Robertson, who was born and reared 
in Moultrie ( Hunt \ and after becoming the mother 
of one son. .lames ( .. died at her home in Sullivan 
in L884. This promising son survived his mother 
but died recently when nearly fifteen years old. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(52;") 



his demise bringing greal grief, not only to his 
father, bul to .-ill who knew him. 

A. s. Creech was :i second time married, being 
united in this county to Miss Flora tfoggett, who 
was born, reared and educated in this county, and 
is highly respected among all her acquaintances 
for her intelligence, her affability and her capabil- 
ities as a housewife. No children have come to 
brighten her home and sin- turns her activities in 
the direction of church work, being a membei of 

the Christian Church and a helper in every g I 

work. The declarations of the Democratic party 
embody the political ideas of Mr. Creech, but he 
is ii" politician as he prefers to devote his energies 
tn business and dues nut care to be one of those 
who manage public affairs. 



3*+£l 



[=" 



» I I.I.I AM I'.. K 1 1. 1. A.M. over half a cen- 
/ tury has Keen spent by our subject ill up- 

'V ward growth. lie was born ill tin 1 early 

part iif the nineteenth century, when advantages 

tin culture and education were not tlinist upon a 

young man. but had to lie sought by those who bad 
an inclination therefor. William Killam was born 
in Ridge Township, Shelbj County, March 7. 1838. 
lie was a son of John and Mary M. T. (Bowen) 
Killam. and a grandson of Peter Killam. lie now 
resides on section 28, Hi' Rural Township, Shelby 
County, and has been successful in makings pleas- 

aul linine and amassing a competency . 

When our subject was a lad he attended the 
country schools, which were very different from 

the schools of to-day. Technical training was at 
that time no part of the school curriculum. Each 
ho\ learning from his father the duties to he done 

ill agricultural life. Neither was tin re any atten- 
tion paid to modern languages, although Lindsley 

Murray was conned from first to last pages, so thai 
every pupil could at leasl parse an English sen- 

sence correctly, which is more than many can do 
at the present day. The tew who had the proud 

acquisition of a knowledge of Latin, made it theirs 
lor life, and where a Latin student of to-day can- 
not remember from one day to another, a single 



sentence of his translation, the old time Latin 
students can recite page alter page of Caesar's Com- 
ntaries and of Virgil. Our subjecl laid a thor- 
ough foundation for the education that he after- 
ward acquired by much drill in the three R's, and 

in English grammar, al the district school-, lie 
completed his education at the old seniinarv al 
Shelbyville, which at the time was considered a 
\er\ tine institution of learning. While here, 

George li. Wendling was his classmate and asso- 
ciate. After finishing at Shelbyville, our subjecl 
was engaged as a teacher for two terms. 

tin October 31, 1861, Mr. Killam was united iii 
marriage to l.e\ ie\ Tolly, daughter of Roberl and 
Jemima (Denton) 'roily. She was horn in Flat 
Branch Township. Shelby County, this state. Feb- 
ruary Hi. I' s; '« s . She was an admirable woman and 
made a pleasant home for her husband and the six 

children which she left on her death, to her 
husband's care. Her decease took place in [889. 
Ilea' children's name- are as follows: Mary l>.. 
Morris F.. John II.. Clara A.. William E.,and Mabel 
O. During her life Mrs. Killam was a consistent 
and conscientious member of the Baptist Church. 
Previous to his marriage lie of whom we write 

had liuilt a house on the land where lie made his 
home. The young couple al once settled here, 
spending the happiest day- of their marital life in 
the making of a home iii ils truest sense, thai is. 
not lour square wall- that should lie merely an 
abiding place, hut the sanctuary of love, sympathy 
and encouragement. Our subjecl now own- two 

hundred acres of laud that is under a good state 

of improvement, lie has always followed mixed 
husbandry, finding that to he in the end more 
profitable than attention to specialties. Our sub- 
ject i- a member of the Baptist Church, as was his 

wife. While the political inclinations of Mr. Kil- 
lam are Inward I )c moc racy, like ino-t men w ho have 

breadth of thoughl he is rather independent, lean- 
ing however toward Prohibition, lie has held 
several local offices in the township, having been 
Assessor, Supervisor, School Assessor, and Town 
Clerk. He is a charter member of the Rural Town- 
ship Farmers' Mutual In-iirancc Company, and 
since it- organization has always held an office. 
This company insures farm property in six town- 



62G 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ships, namely: Tower Hill, Rural, Flat Branch, 
Pickaway, Ridge and Todd's Point. 

Mr. Killam has taken great interesl in the edu- 
cation of his children. Two of these Mary R.,and 
Morris E., have attended the State Normal Univer- 
sity at Normal, 111., when- they finished the course 
with high honor to themselves. Mary taught 
school for several years, and .Morris E. was like- 
wise engaged tor three terms. Clara E. has de- 
voted herself to becoming proficient in the art of 
music, having attended the Jacksonville Musical 
Institute, and being a line pianist. The young 
people are intelligent and accomplished and their 
father is justified in the pride which he takes in 
their progress. 



EREMIAH 1). DONOVAN, M. I). After 
years spenl in attendance upon invalids 
whose physical weakness is as diversified in 
nature as their degrees of mental capacity, 
and whose ills are the result of ignorance, careless- 
ness or heredity, all of which are equally inexcusa- 
ble in the light of a higher understanding, it must 
lie refreshing to turn from the imperfections of 
human nature to the unstuntcd and perfect growth 
of nature, pure and simple. This relief does our 
Subject experience after there has been a strain 
upon his sympathies as well as his professional 
skill, and he feels grateful as he turns from the 
village street.- into his own sweet and modest 
abode, surrounded by a pleasant velvety green 
lawn and flowers whose brightness of color ami 
varied perfection of form are an inspiration to his 
higher nature. 
Our subjecl is a Kentuckian by parentage and 

birth and inherits the Southern warmth of nature. 

ami a certain loyally that is found among Ken- 
tuckians more than among people of other States. 
Mis father, James Donovan, was born in Mercer 

County, Ky., as was his ther, Elizabeth Carey. 

The aged couple are still spared and reside in their 

native State and couut\ . w here the father has been 

engaged in farming all his life. Our subject is one 



of two children horn to his parents. His advent 
into the world was made in Mercer County. Ky.. 
December 7. 1836. lie was reared to manhood on 
his father's place, enjoying such educational and 
social advantages as that favored portion of Ken- 
tucky offered. For five years after reaching his 
majority he was engaged in teaching in his native 
county, although in I860 he began the study of 
medicine, and in 1868 he graduated at the Uni- 
versity at Louisville. Ky. 

Dr. Donovan commenced the practice of his 
profession at Johnsonville, Anderson County. Ky.. 
and continued there for two years, when he deter- 
mined to remove to his native village, Covnish- 
\ ille. in Mercer County, where he enjoyed a "'ood 
and paying practice. During these years he was 
attaining a reputation in the healing art such as 
only actual experience can give, lie remained in 
his native town from 1 sr»:i until 1881, when he re- 
moved to Antioch in Washington County. Ky.. 
and there Stayed for two years, then he made the 
radical change from his native State to Illinois, 
settling in Lovington, luit at that time only re- 
mained here about eight months, removing to La 
Place, in Piatt County, where he was engaged in 
the practice of his profession for about the same 
Length of time. He then returned to Moultrie 
County, locating in Lake City where he enjoyed a 
good practice for three years, until August, ISMS. 
he returned to Lovington. 

Personally, our subjecl has a strong physical and 
mesmeric power that is greatly in his favor in the 
sick room. A bright -mile and a cheery good 
morning goes a- far with his patients a- a bottle o. 
medicine with many others who have less dynamic 
foi'ci-. He here en jo\ s a good practice and has 
been appointed to the State Hoard of medical 
examinations for pension-, lie is called into con- 
sultation with the best physicians in the county 
and his judgment ami knowledge of disease is ac- 
curate, lie eschews line spun theories and bases 
the majority of Ids deductions upon common sense 
reasoning. 

The original of our sketch was tirst married in 
Johnsonville, Anderson County, Ky. His bride 
was Miss Amanda Driskell, a native of the same 
county with himself. That union wa- blessed by 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



627 



tlic advent of one child. a son, whose name is 
James, and who is now a successful farmer in Mer- 
cer County, Ky. Mrs. Amanda Donovan died in 
her native State and county. 

Dr. Donovan was again married in Mercer 
County, Ky., to .Miss Narcissus Driskell, a sister of 
his first wife. By this marriage they became the 
parents of eleven children, whose names are 
respectively, Elizabeth, John, Josiah, Jefferson, 
Ileishel. I. ma. PastOB, William, Samuel, Roscoe and 
Lloyd. Two lit' these children died in infancy. 
The others have grown up and promise to take re- 
sponsible and honorable positions in society. Polit- 
ically the Doctor is a Republican, and although he 
has not remained in any one place long enough to 
thoroughly identify himself with its local political 
life, he is of course interested in local government. 
Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity . 
and in his relations with his patients or society at 
farge, his manner is characterized by a courtesy 
and affability such as is seldom found outside of 
the Southern States 



■HoMAs BANKS, of the firm of N. F. Keim 
& Co., general merchants at Findlay, has 
^y long been variously identified with the in- 
terests of Shelby County, and is connected both 
with its mercantile and agricultural affairs. 
Vaughn Township, York County, Province of 
Ontario. Canada, is the place of his birth. His 
father, who bore the same name as himself, was a 
native of Yorkshire. England. He learned the 
trade of a stonemason and that of an oatmeal 
miller. On coming to America lie settled in 
Vaughn Township, Canada, and devoting himself 
to his trade as a miller, he ground the first oatmeal 
that was ever exported from Canada to England. 
He continued his residence in York County many 
years, and then, after spending a few months in 
the United States, returned to Canada, and passed 
his last years in Elgin County. The maiden name 
of his third wife, mother of our subject, was 
Janette Jeffrey. She was horn in Scotland, and 
died at Richmond Hill. York ( ounty,< anada. 



The subject of this sketch was reared in his 
Canadian birthplace, and in his youth served a 
three years' apprenticship to Thomas Harris, a well- 
known carpenter and builder. After acquiring a 
thorough knowledge of his trade in all its branches, 
he went to Elgin County and did journey work 
there until 1859. In that year he crossed the bor- 
der and came to the •■Stale-." and for some twelve 

months was engaged as a carpenter in Indiana. In 
lKt;il he started on his return to his old home, and 
on his way came to Illinois to collect a small bill 
due him by a person living in Todd's Point Town- 
ship, this county. This proved to be the turning 
point in his life, for he became favorably impressed 
with the country and resolved to settle here per- 
manently, perhaps influenced to this decision by 
the matrimonial alliance that he contracted soon 
after with the daughter of one of the pioneerfam- 
ilies of the county. He found work at his trade 
as a carpenter and builder, and was thus employed 
until 1863, when he rented a tract of land and 
gave his attention to farming, lie was successful 
in his operations and soon purchased eighty acres 
of land on section M. in that part of Okaw 
Town-hip now included in Todd's Point Town- 
ship, to which he subsequently added eighty acres 
adjoining, and he also bought fifteen acres of tim- 
ber land on section 35. IK' has his farm well im- 
proved, under admirable tillage, and provided with 
two sets of conveniently arranged frame buildings. 
In 1889 .Mr. Banks formed a partnership with his 
son-in-law, N. F. Keim. to engage in the mercan- 
tile business at Findlay. They have a well- 
appointed store, cany a line assortment of 
general stock, and have already built up a thriv- 
ing trade. 

Mr. Banks was first married in 1861 to Mrs. ( as- 
sandra (Waller) Beck, daughter of Eli and Mary 
(Stanaford) Waller, and widow of Nathaniel Beck. 

She was a native of this count\. She departed 
this life in June. 1883. Four children were horn 
of her marriage with our subject, all of whom are 
living: Priscilla, who married Navier Wernett. 
and has two children Joseph and Henry: Klla 
married Warner 11. Mauzey, and has two children 
— Eva and Adda; Cynthia married N. F. Keim. 
and ha- one child — Irus; Effle May. the youngest 



628 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



daughter, is al honie with her parents. .Mr. Ranks salt. Venison could be had much nearer home as 

was married a second time in 1890 to Mrs.Tabitha deer, bears, turkeys and other game abounded and 

Robertson. She i> a member of the Christian came within easy shot of the house. 

Church, and shares with her husband the respect The mother of our subject became a widow in 

and esteem of the entire community. Mr. Ranks 1846, her husband then passing away at the age of 

is well known in thi> part of the county, and is fifty-two years, and she survived him until Septem- 

looked up to as a man of solid worth, whose deal- ber, 1865. < M' this large family of eleven children 

ings are always fair and above hoard, and whose two died in infancy. One was killed by Calling 



mini is as ffi »>d a> a I" mil. 



_-^ 



;>*<: 



,<g!^_ 



(Qv^ "~ 



IvXDERSOX (J. SMITH, one of the promi- 
nent citizens of Okaw Township, Shelby 
County, was bora within its bounds, June 



out of a wagon when a little child four years of 
age. Henry formwlya farmer and merchant, died in 
Farina, III.: William who has been a fanner and 
stock-dealer, makes his home in Los Angeles, (al.. 
Squaii- T. dieil in Texas when a young unmarried 
man. Thomas is a fanner in Washington; Eliza B. 
died unmarried. February 21. 1846; Wilburn who 
is a physician makes his home in IndianTerritory 



) in. 1829, has a line farm on section .'ill. and Bloomer A. is carrying on a farm in (lay 

where he has carried on successfully farming and County, III. 

stock-raising. lie lias nearly four hundred acres The early school days and indeed the entire ed- 

of laud all in good condition and his residence ucation of our subject was very limited as the 

which lie built in 1**7 is homelike, capacious and opportunities in his boyhood were poor and his 

delightful. help was greatly needed upon the farm; hill he 

Allen and Karen II. (Robertson) smith, tin' received the best of home training and a thorough 

father ami mother of our subjectwen horn in N'ir- grounding in the practical work of farming. In 

ginia and married in Kentucky, and after six chil- 1854 he was united in marriage with .Mary L.Butts, 

dren were bom to them the) came to Illinois in:ik- a daughter of .Joseph and Perlina B. (Corley) Butts 

ing the joiirnev l>\ the way of prairie schooners. and a native of Smith County. Tenn.. where she 

and camping out l>\ the way. Al the end of this firsl saw the light, April 1. l.s;!.s. Her father was 

primitive journe\ they settled in Okaw Township, a native of North Carolina and her mother a Tenn.- 

in the fall of 1828 and entering land they erected esseean and they came to Illinois in 1841, settling 

a house of hewed logs. This substantial, although successively in Wayne County, Jefferson County, 

rudely-buill house has been occupied from that and Clay County, in which latter place the parents 

,1:,\ in this, but i- now removed from the .-pot died. and where their daughter was residing al the 

where it "as firsl built. The land which he pur- date of her marriage with Mr. smith. 

chased was located jusl in the edge of the timber After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith made their 

:i inl lie proceeded to improve ii and place it in a firsl home on the farm which they still occupy and 

condition for cultivation. he gave his whole attention to tilling the soil. He 

The following year, the father of our subjecl re- has devoted much attention to stock-raising and 

moved to the place which is now the family home his farm is thought to be especially well adapted to 

and became the happy possess fs e three linn- stock-raising. The eighl children of Mr. and Mrs. 

, Ired acres ol rich and fertile soil and proceeded to smith are: Wilbum, John II.. Allen, William T.. 

place upon it good improvements, so thai it was Perlina, Dexter, Mary L. and Klza ('. Perlina is 

soon in as prosperous a condition as an\ farm in the wife of William Ilendriek and makes her home 

those early days. There were few conveniences in not far from her parents. Mr. smith's political 

those days and fewer opportunities for culture and views are independent although he was a Rcpub- 

education. Mr. smith had to go to St. Louis to Mean during war but for the last twenty years he 

market, to Springfield lo mill, and to Saline for hasdesiredto feel free from part) ties, lie has 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



629 



held numerous local offices and has served as Sup- 
ervisor. His wife is a member of the Separate 
Baptist Church in which she finds a broad field foi 
influence and labor and in whose communion she 
i- highlj prized. Mr. Smith has always been of h 
speculative turn and has made numerous business 
deals many of which have proveda profit to him. 






AMES L. B. TURNER. Farm life on the 
Illinois Prairie! To the writer the very 
thought is a poem, and the mind instantly 

\^J clothes it in the words thai Longfellow ha- 

nsed in so exquisitelj describing the prairies in 
the beautiful poem, "Evangeline." If it is a life 
Of toil, thai of the farmer, it is also one of beauty, 
for even the black loam overturned by the plow 
has a fragrance of its own in the earlj spring-time 
thai fills the heart with gladness, and makes the 
laborer conscious of an exaltation and a nearness 
to Divinity, that one gets in no other occupation. 
I le of whom we write belonged to the class of 
agriculturists, who inspire with each breath, a sense 
of freedom and elevation. He was a fanner born 
and bred. His father was 1 1 1 1 1 — engaged before him. 
•lames Turner, Sr., our subject's father, was horn 
in Buckingham County, Va.. in 1790, and his 
mother, Elsie ( Pendleton) Turner, was a native of 
Buckingham County, Va., ami was horn about 
ITii.'i. After marriage they settled in the county 
in which their wedding took place, and after var- 
ious changes of location. thc\ came to Illinois and 
settled in Effingham County, in 1830. 

.lames and Elsie Turner were the parents of 
eleven children of whom our subject was the third 
in order of birth, lie was horn in Wilson County, 
Tenn.. October 21. 1824. He was six years of age 
when his parents emigrated to this Male, and his 
youth and early manhood was spent in Effing- 
ham County, lie made his home under the pa- 
ternal roof until twenty-three years of age when 
he was married in Shelby County. 111.. October 21. 

is 17. to Hannah E. l'oe. Mrs. Turner's father was 
•lames F. l'oe. who was horn in Franklin County. 

Tenn.. about 1802. Her mother's maiden name 



«:h Hannah Parks. She was horn also, in Frank- 
lin County. Tenn.. about 1807. After marriage 
they settled in their native county, where the wife 
died November 23, 1829. .Mrs. Hannah F. Turner 
was the only child, being born the same day that 
her mother died. tier father came to Shelby 
County and settled in Richland Township in the 
spring of 1830, and continued to he a resident of 
the county until his death, which took place on 
his own farm in Ash Grove Township. October 1*. 

After his wife's death, Mr. l'oe was for a second 
time married, his wedding being celebrated in 
Tennessee, in 1830. His third wife was Mrs. Re- 
becca I Miller) Elliott, by whom lie liccame the fa- 
ther of four children, whose names are respectively . 
Franklin. Amanda M.. ( teorge and Ann. and an in- 
fant killed l>\ being tlu'own from a wagon. Mrs. 
Rebecca l'oe. was, after the death of her second 
husband, united to Charles Loomis. Her death 
took place in Tazewell County, III. After the 
marriage of our subject he settled with his bride 
on a portion of the farm that was formerly owned 
by her father. It was located in Richland Town- 
ship, between Richland and Ash Grove Townships. 
They there resided from February, 1848, until 
Api i I. 1 89 I . when they remo\ ed to Windsi ir, where 
hi' died Augusl 31, 1891. He was the owner of 
between six anil seven hundred acres of finely im- 
proved land. Four children have been horn to 
Mr. Turner and his wife. They are James I... 
William W., George R., Zinnette M. The last 
named is the wife of (.. F. Schlack. 

His second son. William W. died in 1875 at the 
age of twenty-four years. The original of our 
-ketch has held many of the most important Offices 
in the township. He has licen Supervisor of Rich- 
land, and also Assessor and Collector. Hi' was in- 
dependent in politics. Since 1882, oursubject and 
hi- wife have been connected prominently with the 
Universalis! Church. He of whom we write was a 
member of the Masonic fraternity, and had been 
thus connected since early in the '60s. .lame- I., 
married Grace A. Smith; William W. married 
Laura 1'.. Smith; George R. took to wife Mary Ann 
( urry. 

.lame- I.. B. turner held an enviable position in 



630 



PORTRAIT AM) lilt X iKAl'IIICAL RECORD. 



the respect and confidence thai lie had among the 
people with whom lie has been connected in busi- 
ness or in a social way. He was a Christian and 
a gentleman in every sense of the word, and al- 
though having reached quite an advanced age, he 
was progressive ami interested in every measure 
that promised to he for the welfare of the commun- 
ity 'if which hi' was a part. 



OHN PUC4H. llr .if whom it isoui pleasant 
privilege to write in outline a short biogra- 
phical sketch, enjoys the distinction of being 
the oldest living settler in Shelby Comity, 
and although having attained more than four-sci >re 
years in age, he is still :i hale and hearty old gen- 
tleman. Although pioneer life was fraught with 
many drawbacks and hardships, the lapse of time 
during which these uncomfortable features have 
been entirely done awav with, has east a pleasing 
»lov\ over the whole, and the pleasures and adven- 
tures that were tinctured with a spice of danger 
.■Mid an occasional hit of romance, are far better re 
memiii red than the privations of Ordinary routine 
existence. 

When our subject made his advent into the 

State, the prairie was still a playground for the 

wild animals; when the larder needed replenishing, 

all he hail to do was to shoulder his gun, and. go- 
ing out into the woods, game was at hand. Wild 
deer and turkeys «ere as common as the domestic 
fowl in the barnyard to-day : . His father was 
Thomas Pugh, who was probably horn in North 
Carolina. Hi- mother was Beulah (Hall) Pugh, 
who was probably a native "t the same State as her 
husbanu. They were married, however in Christian 
( ouutv. Ky.. where lln\ settled and lived until 
182(1, when they removed to l his Mate, located in 
( old Spring Township. Shelby ( ounty, and there 
the\ lived until about 1832, when thej removed to 
a point aliout one mile north of Shelby ville. There 
they lived until their decease, which took place 
iv-|,cctivel\ . 1848 and I 8 I ■>. 

Our subject i- one of four children, there being 
three sons and one daughter, Their names arc 



respectively, John. Robert, William and Nancy. 
John, the eldest of the family, and the gentleman 
of whom we are writing, was horn in Christian 
County. Ivy., September 20, 1809, and consequently 
was eleven years of age when his father removed 
to Shelby County. He was reared on a farm in 
this county, and lived with his father until his 
marriage took place, which auspicious event was 
celebrated at the residence of Rufus luinan. who 
also lived about one mile north of Shelby ville. 
The lady to whom he was united was a .Miss Eliza- 
beth Inman. who was probably horn in Fayette 
County, thi- Stale. February '20. 1815. 

After marriage the young couple settled about 
one mile south of Shelby ville. and there they lived 
for several years. They removed however to :i 
place aliout three miles north of Shelby ville. but 
made that their home for a period of only three 
years, at the expiration of which time he sold out 
and removed to Texas, but made a stay of only 
about six months in that State, when he returned 
to Illinois and settled in Dry Point Township. 
They resided there about twenty years when again 
they sold and came to Tower Hill Township, of 
which place they have ever since been residents. 
Mrs. Elizabeth Pugh was taken away from her 
husband and family and joined "the innumerable 
throng." November II. 1868. She was the mother 
of six children. Ave daughters and one son. They 
arc by name Man Ann. Nancy C., Martha, Eliza 
.1.. Sarah F.. and William .1. Mary Ann was the 
wife of Henry Corlev. and was a true and faithful 
helpmate until her decease which look place Janu- 
ary 2H. 1891. Nancy C. is the wife of I'. M. Killam. 
Martha wa- the wife of Neison .Neil, and died 
October 10. 1864. Fli/.a .1. is the wife of Thomas 
11. Ilayden. and Sarah F. presides over the domes- 
tic affairs of the family of Joseph Wakefield, An 

extended -ketch of the only son may be found ill 
another part of this volume. Their mother. Mr-. 
Elizabeth Pugh, was a member of the .Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

The original of our sketch was a second lime 
married. October 5, 1870, his bride being Mrs. 
Nancv Mi/.e. a daughter of Andrew and .lane 
(N'owland) Henderson, and widow of Isaac Mize. 
She was born in this county February l!». 1839, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



68 1 



/ 



*%t *%* «$* 



By this union. Mr. Pugh has been tin- fatraer of 
four children, the two eldest, however, died in in- 
fancy. The surviving children are John S. and 
Beulafa I.. Our subject formerly affiliated with the 
Democratic party, but after the Rebellion broke 
out, he transferred his allegiance to the Republican 
party, of which, ever since, lie has been a faithful 
ami devoted adherent, In his church relations he 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and for years lias been a generous supporter of 
Gospel work, lie has always followed agricultural 
pursuits and is the owner of two hundred and forty 
acres of tine arable land upon whicb are excellent 
improvements, 

lie of whom we write is the objecl of the regard 
and veneration of the whole township. lie i- an 
interesting conversationalist, ami to one who is 
interested in pioneer history, he is a fertile ami re- 
liable source of information. 






' AMES \Y. CAREY, a prominent resident on 
section 25, Big Spring Township. Shelby 
Count}', was horn in Clinton County. Ohio, 
February 15, L862. Elias Carey, his hon- 
ored father, was a native of Virginia, where he was 
born April 23, 1814, being a son of John Carey. 
In early life Elias Carey learned the trades of the 
silversmith ami blacksmith, and in \M7 he decided 
to make a home of his own and chose as the woman 
in all the world best pleasing to his eyes, .lane 
Moon, who was born in Martinsville, Ohio, Nov- 
ember 26, 1819. 

After marriage the parents of our subject made 
their home in Martinsville, and in 1851 removed 
to I.a Grange County, Ind., where they lived upon 
a farm, and afterward resided for some time in 
Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in Martinsville, Ohio, 
whence in IK(>7 the\ emigrated to Illinois and 
settled in Big Spring Township. Here 1 1 n ■ \ 
purchased land which was hut partially improved, 
that is it had upon it a log cabin and a few 
acres Of the land was broken. At the date of his 
death, which occurred in 1875, Elias Carey owned 



some one thousand acres of land, had built a tine 
brick residence and made other valuable and sub- 
stantial improvements. Thus had the poor trades- 
man through his own enterprise, and by the wealth 
hidden in the soil of (he Prairie state, become a 
rich landed proprietor. He was a man of Sterling 
Christian character, ami belonged to the Society 
of Friends. In the beautiful homestead which was 
built by him his bereaved and venerable widow 
now resides. 

The ten children of this excellent couple were. 
Mary F... who married Richard Jones and resides 
in Zenia. Ohio: Sarah M.. who married David 
Hazely and died in Richmond, Ind.; Hannah M., 
who became the wife of Jesse Mendenhall and died 
in Shelby County; Martha !•'... who married Jesse 
A.Gibson, and John II.. both of whom reside in 
Neoga, 111.: Rachel, who is now Mrs. Francis M. 
Ilackett and resides in Jamestown. Ohio: Anna. 
who is now Mrs. William C. Bain and makes her 
home in Marion. Ind.: Isaac M.. who resides in 
Shelby County; Irene, the wife of Alfred Lindlcy. 
who also live- in Shelby < Ounty, and .lames Wal- 
ter, the subject of this sketch. 

lie of whom we write was united in marriage in 
April. 1885, with Mis- Elizabeth A. Hubbert, who 
was hom in Cumberland (ounty. Ohio. To this 
happy couple have been horn three children — Ethel 
1.. Edith . I., and Pearl I. Mr. Carey in connection 
with his mother, own- and carries on the home- 
stead which contain- one hundred and sixty acres 
of rich and arable land, all in a high state of cul- 
tivation. 



i , i t i w >- r i- 



f i ' i ' i ' i ' 



REDERICK IIAIM'MAX is a general farmer 

. on section 22, of Flat Branch Township. 
1 Shelby (ounty. where he onus one hun- 

dred and twenty acres, which he purchased in the 
wild state in 1865, and upon which he has since 
made a comfortable home. The place is well- 
stocked and watered and the buildings are all good 
and substantial. He located in this county on 
coming from Ogle County, where he had lived .a 
good main rears, from 1856 to 1865. There he 



632 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



received his naturalization papers, being, as his 
name would indicate, of German origin and 
birth. 

He of whom we write was engaged in Ogle 
County as :i fanner, where he had been quite sue. 
cessful. Previous to going there he had spent one 
year in Pennsylvania. Mr. Hartman was born in 
Pleidelheim, Wurtemberg, Germany, .May 11. 1832. 
His family in the old country are of good Stock. 
His father. Frederick Hartman, Sr., lived and died 
in his native province, having reached seventy-two 
years of age. He had married Magdeline Kline, a 
Wurtemberg lady, who was a true helpmate and 
companion to her hushand. H^v death occurred in 
1842. She was then m middle life She and her 
husband were members of tin- Lutheran Church. 

Our subject is the eldest of seven children, of 
whom there were four sons and three daughters. 
Of the sons, all came to this country and all are 
farmers here, hut one. who is a shoemaker in Chi- 
cago. Our subject had become of age before leav- 
ing his native land, and in 1855, in the month of 
April, he took passage from Havre de Grasse, on a 
sailing vessel, and in May he landed in New York 
City, coming thence to Dawson County. Pa., where 
he spent his lirst year, and then proceeded In Illi. 
nois. 

November 29, 1858, Mi-. Hartman was united in 
marriage at Mi. Morris, Ogle County, to Miss 
Margarel K. Mitchell, she was born in Fairfieid 
County. Ohio, November l I. 1838, and i- a daugh- 
ter of Jacob and Sarah (McGlinsey) Mitchell, na- 
tives of Maryland and Virginia, respectively. 
Both, however, are of Irish parentage and descent 
on the paternal side, while on the maternal side 
the lad\ i- of Scotch descent. Mrs. Ilartman's 
parents were married in Ohio, ami later moved to 
Illinois, settling in Ogle Count \ in I HI."), where 
they located and improved a farm and there spent 
their last days, passing away at a good old age. 
They had settled at a vers early day in Ml. 
Morris Township, and had procured unbroken land 
in the mosl western pari of Wes1 Grove Town- 
ship. For a number of years thej were almost the 
onlj settlers in that part of the county. They both 
passed away in 1886, and were deeply mourned bv 
many friends in their adopted home. They were 



Methodists in their religious preference, and were 
consistent members and generous supporters of 
thai sect in their township. 

The father of Jacob Mitchell was Samuel Mit- 
chell, who had come to Ogle County. 111., in the 
early days of L838, and was one of the earliest 
settlers there, where he died at the age of seventy- 
nine years. Mrs. Hartman was one of a large fam- 
ily, of which live are now living. She was ten 
years of age when her patents came to Ogle 
County. She afterward lived there until her 
marriage. She is a true-hearted, kind friend, and 
affectionate wife and tender mother. Both she and 
Mr. Hartman are active members of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

The original of our sketch and his wife are the 
parents of eight children. One of these died in 
childhood. This was Sarah M.. who was twelve 
years of age. The living children are: Jacob E.. 
William II.. Henrietta M.. George E.. John \\\. 
Elizabeth and Franklin A. Of these. William 
was united in marriage to Miss Ada M. Beckett, 
and is a fanner in this township. Henrietta is the 
wife of Elmer Pierce. They also live on a farm 
in this township. George E. and other younger 
members of the family, all reside at home. They 
are bright, intelligent young men and women, and 
promise to make a recognized position for them- 
selves ill life. 



■#€!■ 




ARON SANDS. Pennsylvania. like all of 
the' Eastern and Southern States, contrib- 
uted a large share toward the settlement 
of Illinois, both in the early clays and 
during more recent years. The natives of that 
State have a well-earned reputation for thrift, in- 
dustry and steadfastness of characterand they were 
made welcome to join the hoards of emigrants who 
Hocked to the Prairie Stale from their native homes. 
Among such we find our subject, who resides on 

section 6, Okaw Township. Shelby County, where 

he rents two-hundred and ninety-four acres of land. 

Mr. Sands has resided in Shelby Countj since 

1864, having conn' VVesl lirst to Ohio from his 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHK A!. RECORD. 



683 



Dative home in Berks County, Pa., where*he was 
bora May 8, L833. lie is a son of William and 
Catherine Sands, who removed to Fairfield County) 
Ohio, in 1835, where they made their home until 
|H(;.">. when they came to Illinois, where the father 
died in Shelby County, in 1870. The mother is 
still living and is enjoying a green old age. 

In this family of William and Catherine Sands 
there were nine children, and all bu1 the eldesl 
daughter, Mary, are still living and form a happy 
and united band of brothers and sisters. After 
Mary came Eliza, Aaron, Daniel, William. Frank- 
lin, Edward, Peter and John. Previous to our 
subject's emigration to Illinois he was married in 
Ohio, in I860, to Julyann Foor, who was born 
April ■">. 1840, and was the daughter of I I < ■ 1 1 1\ and 
( Caroline Foor. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Sands have been born eight 
children, all of whom have lived to become worthy 
and reputable citizens and who are now the com- 
fort and support Of their parents. They areas fol- 
lows: Eliza, deceased; James M., Lsabelle, Calvin, 
Otto, Margaret K.. Oscar, Minnie and Edward. 

The political views which have been entertained 
by Mr. Sands during most of his life have led him 

to atliliate with the party which is proud to claim 

the names of Jefferson and Jackson, but of late 
years lie has felt that it was better to be un tram- 
meled by party ties and has cast his vole independ- 
ent of the dictates of parly leaders. His good wife 
is an earnest and useful member of the German 
Reformed Church, in which her labors are highly 
appreciated. This worthy couple receive whal they 
so richly deserve, the kind regard and esteem of 
their neighbors and of all who know them. 



!•'.( >li< ! E Kl 1-T. a prom incut and noteworthy 
citizen of Rose Township. Shelby County. 
A i- a son of John M. Ruff, who was liorn ill 
Germany in 1813, and Barbara (Weitner) Ruff, 
whose birth occurred in the same land in 1817. 
She was about fourteen years old and lie had at- 
tained some eighteen years when they came to 



America. They were married and made their first 
home in I locking County. Ohio, and emigrated to 

Illinois ill January, 1884. They made their home 
ill Prairie Town-hip. where they still reside. 
George was the fourth in their family of twelve 
children and he resided in his native county, 
Hocking County, Ohio, till he reached his major- 
ity. His natal da\ was March 17. 1843, and he 
received his education in the common scl I-. 

When our subject was t wen ty-one years old he 
came to Illinois and worked Cor four years in the 
counties of I )e Witt and Logan and then came 
into Shelby County and employed himself upon 
farms and at carpentry until his marriage. This 
interesting event occurred in Shelby County, 
March 21, 1869. His bride was Miss Sophia 
Stumpf, daughter of Gearhart Stumpf. For fur- 
ther details in regard to the history of this capable 
and amiable lady, our readers are referred to the 
biography of .Mr. Edward Roessler, as Mrs. Rutland 
Mr-. Roessler are sisters. Mr. Stumpf died in 
Shelby County in 1853, having been bereaved of 
his wife in Fairfield County. Ohio, some four years 
earlier. Mrs. Ruff was the youngest child in her 
lather'- family ami was born in Fairfield County, 
( >hio. June I. 1847. 

After the marriage of Mi. and Mrs. Ruff they de- 
cided to go further we-: and located in Anderson 
County. Kan., where Mr. Ruff worked at his trade. 
that of carpentry, for five years and then followed 
the same business for two years in Shelbj County, 
lb' now decided to engage in farming and for 

eight year- rented land in Rose Town-hip. at the 
cud of which time he purchased the farm of eighty 
acre-, on section :!. where lie ha- erected a good -el 
Of buildings. lie divide- hi- lime between farm- 
ing and carpentry and i- thorough and successful 
in both lines of work. 

This gentleman and his estimable wife are the 
parent- ot seven interesting and promising chil- 
dren. They were SO unfortunate as to lose their 
eldest. Florence A., a bright and beautiful child of 
two and one-half year-. Those w ho survive are as 
follow-: Anna M.. Cora I., Clarence A.. Charlotta 
s.. t teorge W. and 1 larmon I.. 

The estimation in which .Mr. Ruff is held by his 

fellow-citizens ha- been e\ inced bv their confidence 



634 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in placing him upon the School Board. He is 
deeply interested in educational matters and makes 
an efficient and active Director. He is well read in 
political matters and active in promoting the inter- 
ests of the Democratic party, to which he belongs. 
In the Lutheran Church, where Mr. and Mrs. Ruff 
are active members, he has filled the offices of Dea- 
con and Truster. 



_^1 



^f^\ 



"=) 



JOSEPH S. ROBERTS. Among the men who 
are ambitious, not only for their own suc- 
cess hut also for the prosperity and prog- 
ress of the community in which they live, we 
are proud to mention the name which appears at 
the head of this paragraph, a man who was born in 
Moultrie County, and has made it his home through- 
out his life and who feels that its welfare is identi- 
cal with that of himself and his family. 

Thomas A. Roberts, the father of our subject was 
a Marvlandcr. lioin May 1. 1822, and. his mother 
was Lovicy G. Hendricks, who was born in Ken- 
tucky. August 13, L833. This excellent couple 
were united in Moultrie County and made their 
home in East Nelson Township, where they lived 
in domestic happiness and prosperity until I860, 
when they removed to Whitley Township, where 
the faithful wife passed from earth April 29, 1868. 
The bereaved husband died in shelly County. 
November 11. 1883. They had three children, of 
whom their son Joseph is the eldest. 

lie of whom we write was born June 22, L854, in 
East Nelson Township. He resided in Moultrie 
County throughout all his youth and manhood 
and was educated in the common schools of Whit- 
lev. His happy marriage took place October 30, 
1879, in Whitley Township, at the residence of 
W. II. Garrett, Cynthia I!.. the daughter of this 
gentleman being the bride. for farther details 
in regard to this prominent family, into which 
our subject married our readers will please consult 
the sketch of W.H.Garrett on another page of 
this Record. 

At the time of her marriage Airs. Roberts was a 

[OVelv VOUHg woman of ni e . a- she was horn 



in Whitley Township. August .">. L860. She cheer- 
fully and efficiently undertook the responsibilities 
of a home and became the happy mother of eight 
children, namely: Carrie L., Europe II.. Mabel, 
John 1-'.. Hoy. Pearl, Clarence and Edith. All are 
living except John and Roy who are passed to 
the better world. 

After marriage this wedded pair set up their 
household gods in Whitley Township. Locating "ii 
section I. There they now own a beautiful estate 
of two hundred and nineteen acres, and upon this 
tract Mr. Roberts has successfully carried on his-ag- 
cultural pursuits, devoting himself to general farm- 
ing. He is an influential man in his community 
and an earnest worker for the prosperity and 
supremacy of the Republican party. Both he and 
his wife are conscientious members of the Christian 
Church and in its communion and service they 
find spiritual strength and an abundant opportu- 
nity for labor. Both of them desire to see Whitley 
Township rank first in every desirable point among 
the townships of Moultrie County and are earnest 
promoters of every movement which tends toils 
progress, socially and industrially. 



' ACOB E. EBY. Illinois in its early settle- 
ment gathered within its bounds represent- 
atives from every State in the Mast anil 
South, and to its rich and fertile prairies 
there have [locked, even unto the present time, rep- 
resentatives of the older civilization in various 
parts of the country. Many l'ennsylvanians by 
birth are among its sound and sensible residents 
and have brought from the old Keystone State 
those principles and habits of thrift which mark 
that Commonwealth. Our subject who is a native 
of that Slate and who makes his home on section 
31, Okaw Township, dates his residence in Shelby 
County from 1882. 

Mr. Kby was born in Lebanon County. Pa., 
March L0, 1852, and was thus a man of mature 
years when he removed to the West. Hishonored 
parents were Jacob and Eliza (Shank) Kby. and 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



635 



thc\ gave in him >n g 1 a common -school educa- 
tion as tu tit him to take a position at the teacher's 
desk, which he filled for eighl terms. Thej also 
gave him the best of home training and a thorough 
drill in the work of the farm. 

The marriage of Jacob Eby with Miss Kate Sclt- 
zer was solemnized at Washington, I), ('..in April, 
1*77. This happy occasion was the beginning of 
a married life of true congeniality and harmony, 
and the foundation of one of those families which 
are the strength and glory of America, in that their 
quiet and useful home lives form the basis for the 
success of our Republican institutions. Mrs. Eby 
is the daughter of Daniel and Sarah (Martin) Selt- 
zer, and like her husband, was bora in Lebanon 
County, l J a., but at the date of her marriage was 
residing in Maryland. 

As we have said, it was the year 1882 when our 
subject first came to Illinois, and being favorably 
impressed with the value of the land and the envi- 
ronments of this section, he purchased the farm 
upon which he now resides and made his home 
upon it. in the spring of 1883. Since that time he 
has devoted himself indefatigably to the cultiva- 
tion and improvement Of the seventy-six and one- 
half acres which he owns. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Eby have had the pleasure of wel- 
coming to their home three interesting and lovelj 
children, but one of them they were called upon to 
lay in the grave in early infancy. The two who are 
living are named Sarah and John 1).. and t lie traits 
Of character which they have already shown give 
a fair promise of their future usefulness which will, 
as it should, prove an honor to their parents. 

The Democratic party for many years held the 
allegiance of Mr. Eby, hut for some time past he 
has been independent in his political views and 
feels that by being free from the trammels of party 
he can more effectually serve his State and country. 
This independence does not at all interfere with 
his popularity anionic his neighbors anil he is at 
present the efficient Supervisor of Okaw Township. 
He is an earnest believer in the Christian religion, 
having been reared in the faith of the Reformed 
Church. The interests of the agricultural t inut- 
ility appeal very strongly to this gentleman and it 
is his aim to assist both himself and others in pro- 



moting the commercial and industrial prosperity of 
this class. Willi this cud in view he has identified 
himself with the farmers' Mutual Benefit Associa- 
tion, in which he believes there is help forthediffl- 

CUltieS which have StOOd in the way of the progress 

of agriculturists. 



EMUEL PARKER. Among the farmers of 

Shelby County who have materially added 
to its prosperity by developing its rich 
agricultural resources, and at the same time have 
accumulated a handsome private property, Mr. 
Lemuel Parker is well worthy of mention in this 
volume. For many years he has carried on farm- 
ing in Moweaqua Township, and as the result of 
his persistent and well-directed labors has a farm 
that is equal in improvements and cultivation to 
the best in its vicinity. 

September 6, 1*27. is the date of the birth of our 
subject in Cayuga County. N. Y. Mathias Parker 
was the name of his father, and he was a native of 
Canada. He in turn was a son of one Lemuel 
Parker, who was a pioneer of the town of Xiles. 
and was thereafter engaged at his occupation as a 
farmer in Cayuga County until death closed his 
mortal career. The maiden name of his wife was 
Tacy Nilcs. and she too died on the ('arm in Niles 
Township. His son. Mathias. though born in 
Canada was reared on the family homestead, and 
he followed farming in New York Slate until his 
demise in 1830, while yet in life's prime. His 
widow, whose maiden name was Susanna Arm- 
strong, is still living, making her home with her 
son. our subject, and retain- to a remarkable de- 
gree her mind and memory and physical faculties", 
although she has reached the ninety-first milestone 
that marks a long life, having been born April 28, 
L 800, in Genoa, Cayuga County, N. Y. she was 
married a second time in 1833 to Owen Dewitl. 
who came to [Uinois with his family in 1853. He 
lived in Like County for a time, and linn came to 
this county to spend his remaining days, dying 
here in 1866. 

His maternal grandfather of our subject. Andrew 



636 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Armstrong, was one of the lirst settlers of Cayuga 
County, \. Y. He boughl a trad of timber land 
in the township <>f ' !enoa, and established a liome 
in the primeval forest, building a log cabin for 
shelter. Much of the great Empire State was then 
in a wild, sparsely settled condition, and there 
were no railways or canals for years to facilitati 
communication with the outside world. There 
were no mill> near where Mr. Armstrong settled. 

.•iinl he anil his fellow-pioneers hail to reduce their 

grain in iron mortars. They lived off the products 

of their land and from wild game, which was 
abundant. The grandfather of cur subject cleared 
a farm, and dwell thereon until death deprived 
him of the companionship of his wife in 1818. lie 
then sold his place, and the few years that re- 
mained tn luni boarded until he was called t < > his 
long home in 1K22. His wife bore the maiden 
name of Polly Bowker. She was born on the 
banks of the Susquehanna River, and was a daugh- 
ter of Sila^ and Esther (Ibiblis) Bowker. Her 
father and three of her brothers served in the 
Revolution. She was carefully trained in all that 
went to make a good housewife ill the olden days, 
and was an adept in carding, spinning and weav- 
ing, she imparted those arts to her daughter, the 
mother of our subject, who for many years after 
her marriage made all the cloth in use in her 
family, coloring thai which she made into garmi nts 
with the simple vegetable dyes formerly used, and 
she -pun her own thread. 

After his father's death, the subject of this bio- 
graphical notice weul to live with his grandpar- 
ents, lull they died when he was in his eighth year. 
and from thai lime his home was with strangers 
until he established one of his own. and he hail to 
earn his living, getting his board and clothes in re- 
payment for his work as a chore-bo,) and farm 
hand for a farmer, with whom he lived for several 
years. When he was seventeen years old he began 
to receive wages, earning the sum of *7 a 
month. lie continued to work out by the month 
in his native State until 1849. In that year he 

took aii importanl step in life wherebj hi- worldly 
prospects were much advanced, a- he then came to 
Illinois to tr\ farming on the fertile -oil of the 
Prairie State, and in due lime became an independ- 



ent farmer. In coming hither he journeyed by Erie 
(anal lo Buffalo, from there by the lakes to Chi- 
cago, and then on the canal and Illinois River lo 
Pike County, where he tarried a few years, finding 
employment as a farm laborer. In 1856 he came 
io Shelby County, and invested his hard-earned 
monej in one hundred and twenty acres of prairie 
land, a mile and a half from the village of Mowea- 
qua. He ha- -iuce bought other land, and at one 
time had three hundred and forty acres, of which 
he -lill retains two hundred and sixty acres, all of 
ii being finely improved. 

A measure of Mr. Parker's good fortune is at- 
tributable to the devoted assistance of his good 
wife, who has ever been to him a cheerful helper. 
has given him wise counsel when needed, and has 
contributed to his comfort and well-being, as well 
as lo his financial prosperity by her careful guid- 
ance of household matters. Her maiden name was 
Cena A. Parker, she was a native of the same 
county as her husband, and they were wedded in 
1855. They have three children — Willis 1-'... 
Charles M. and Lydia A. Mrs. Parker is aconsist- 
ent Christian and a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church. 

Mr. Parker is a sensible man. with sound view- 
on all subjects in which he is interested, especially 
in regard to politics, and we find him to be a stead- 
fast Republican. As a farmer he stand- high in 
the community, and he bears an unsullied reputa- 
tion as a man and a citizen. 



4€f 



-; — 



i — 7 RED A. PAU CHERT, a retired merchant 
of shclliy villc. Shelby ( kmnty, is connected 
with the agricultural interests of this 
COlinty as the proprietor of two line farms. lie 
ha- held prominent public posit ions, and whether 
:i- :i civic officer, a business man. or as a private 
citizen, he has always manifested a deep interest in 
all that concerns I he welfare of the city ami county. 
and has materially aided in their advancement 
He was born near Daadcn. in the Rhenish Province 
of Eriedenwald, Prussia. His father and paternal 
grandfather, both of whom bore the given name of 



PORTRAIT AND Bi(>< iRAl'IUt AJ RECORD. 



i;:;; 



Engelbert, were also natives of the same town a^ 
himself, the tatter spending bis entire life there, he 
having been a farmer and the keeper of a public 
house. 

The father of our subjed learned the trade of a 
haker when he was young, and carried on that 
business and conducted a grocery store in connec- 
tion with it in his native town for many years. 
1 le now lives ret i red at the venerable age of eighty - 
six years. His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Catherine Held, and who was born at Daailen. died 
iii January, 1887, at an advanced age. They 
reared a family of seven children, of whom the 
followingare the names: Fred A., (aniline. Henry, 
Gustaf, Louis, Robert and Julia. Fred A.. Gustaf, 
Louis and Robert are the only members of the 
family that ever came to this country. Gustaf 
reared a family and spent his last, years in Shelby - 
ville. Louis, who never married, died at st. Louis. 
Robert, a resident of Shelbyville, has a family. 

( )nr subject had the advantages of a good edu- 
cation in the excellent schools of his native land, 
which he attended steadily until he was fourteen 
years old. At that age he began to work at the 
trade of a baker with his father, and also assisted 
in the labors of his father's farm, lie was of an 
ambitious, stirring temperament, and desirous to 
make the liest of life lie decided to emigrate to 
this country, the goal of so many of his compa- 
triots, where he hoped to better his fortunes. In 
the spring of 1852 he started out on his ever 
memorable journey, setting sail from Antwerp, and 
after lifty-lwo days on the ocean, landing in New 
York. lie proceeded directly to Sehenectadj 

( omit v. in the same State, and was there employed 
by an American-born citizen to work on a farm. 
He found himself a stranger among a people with 
whose habits and customs he was unacquainted, 
and he could not understand their speech, as lie 
knew not a word of the English language. He 
was an apt scholar, however, and during the two 
months that he worked there, he learned rapidly, 
and soon caught the meaning Of what was said I" 
him. and in time mastered English. 

From that part of the country Mr. l'aiicherl 
made his way to St. Louis, going by rail to Buffalo, 
thence by lake to Detroit, from then 1 by rail to 



Chicago, where he embarked on the Illinois and 

Michigan (anal for LaSalle. from which town he 

went by tlie Illinois t Mississippi Rivers to SI. 

Louis, which was I hen hut a small city. There he 
found employment at various kinds of work the 
ensuing two years, and then was engaged in the 
Office of the Terre Haute Railway Company three 
years. After that he established himself in the 
grocery business, which he carried on there until 
1861. In that Near he took up his resilience ill 

Shelbyville, and for two years was variously em- 
ployed. At the expiration of that time he ac- 
cepted a position as clerk in a Store, at which he 
was engaged three years. His next move was to 

open a store at Moultoll which is now included 
within the city limits, and he carried on business 
there upwards of twenty years. He then traded 
for a farm. which is still in his possession, and since 
has lived retired from active business. Besides 
that farm, which is situated in Rose Township, he 
has another in Dry Point Township, and has Hue 
property adjoining the city of Shelbyville, upon 
which he makes his home, the grounds about his 
residence comprising ten acres of land, well laid 
out. and adding to the attractiveness of the local- 
ity. 

Mr. Paucherl was lirst married in March. 1857, 
to Miss Elizabeth Schneider, a native of Hesse- 
Cassel, Germany, who came to this country with a 
brother at the age of eighteen years. She died in 
January, 1874, leaving five children: Robert, Fred, 
Gust, Julia ami Annie. Mr. Pauchert's marriage 
w ith his present wife, formerly Miss Rosena Maurer. 
took place in November, 1 s 7 1 . Mrs. Pauchert was 
horn in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, September 12. 
Is is. and is a daughter of Jacob and Barbara 
(Mayers) .Maurer. natives of Wurtemberg. Her 
marriage with our subjeel has brought them seven 
children, whom they have named Kate. Rosa. John, 
Amelia, Carrie, Albert and Harry. 

A man of Mr. Pauchert's mental calibre, sound 
common-sense, and clear judgment in regard to 
business is necessarily influential in the regulation 
of public affairs, and we lind that he has held var- 
ious important offices. He has served six years as 
a member of the ( its ( louncil, two terms as Just ice 
of the Peace. and has I wice represented Rose Town- 



638 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ship on the County Hoard of Supervisors. In pol- 
ities he steadily upholds the Republican parly. Re- 
ligiously he is one of the leading members of the 
Lutheran Church, to which his wife and children 
also belong. 



■>w>*t-»-» ' r *• r * ■ 



^«T*- 



T OIIX FRF. K.MAN, capitalist, residing in 
Moweaqua Township, is one of Shelby 
County's best known and most prominent 
citizens, who has long been concerned in its 
financial interests, has been a potent agent in its 
material advancement, has had a hand in the 
management of its public affairs, and is closely 
identified with its social and political life, lie is 
a descendant of fine old New England and Revol- 
utionary stock, and his ancestors were among the 
early settlers of Massachusetts, his native State, 
Edmund Freeman, of English birth, being the first 
of the family to come to America, the " Abigail," 
bringing him hither on her second trip across the 
Atlantic in L635. lie first located at SaugUS, 
Mass., but subsequently went to the town of Sand- 
wich. Barnstable County, where he secured a large 
tract of hind, including Sagamore Hill, the greater 
portion of the land being still owned by his de- 
scendants. 

Our subject was born on Purchase Street, Boston, 
Mass;, January II. 1831. Ilis father, Benjamin 
Freeman, was born in that city December 31. 
1803, and was a son of Watson Freeman, who was 
also a native of Boston. The grandfather of our 
subject was fourteen years old when the Revolu- 
tionary War broke out. Patriotic blood ran in his 
veins, and notwithstanding his youth, two years 
later he enlisted April 7. 1777. in the Fourth Con- 
tinental Regiment, lie was present at Burgoyne's 
defeat in 1778, and was afterward honorably dis- 
charged from the army. But the youthful patriot 
was still anxious to help secure the freedom of his 
country, and he soon entered tin- naval service as 
a privateer. In I7XL' lie was wounded in a battle 
at sea. and with ship and crew was captured by the 
British, lie was taken to the hospital at Ports- 
mouth, England, and later discharged from there. 



He returned to his native country, and in 1800 
engaged in the mercantile business with another 
gentleman under the firm name of Freeman & 
Baty.and subsequently with Mr. dishing, as Free- 
man A- Cushing. They were heavy importers of 
china, crockery ware, etc., and the grandfather of 
our subject continued in the business a number of 
years until his retirement with a handsome compe- 
tency, lie died at Sandwich April 10, 1813. The 
maiden name of his second wife, grandmother of 
our subject, was Experience Freeman, and she was 
abo a native of Boston. 

Benjamin Freeman was reared and educated in 
the city of his birth. lie commenced life on Ilis 
own account as a sailor, but he did not long pur- 
Sue that vocation, as he preferred following in the 
footsteps of his father as a merchant. lie con- 
tinued in business in Boston until 1839, when lie 
came to Illinois and invested in several thousand 
acres of land, destined some day. as he shrewdly 
foresaw, to be very valuable. In 1S4I he removed 
his family to this State. the journey being performed 
bysteamer from Fall River to New Fork, thence by 
canal and rail through Philadelphia to Pittsburg, 
from there by the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to 
St. Louis, and thence overland to their destination 
in Hillsboro, Montgomery County. Mr. Freeman 
did not live to enjoy his new home very long, as 
in .Inly of the same year his life was brought to 
an untimely end by his death while yet in his 
prime, and the county was deprived of the services 
of one of its most able pioneers, who. if he had 
lived, would undoubtedly have done much to 
develop its resources and promote its growth. 
His wife bore the maiden name of Sallie Shaw 
Shurtleff. She was likewise a native of Boston, 
.Mass., a descendant of some of the old families Of 
that city, and a daughter of Dr. Benjamin and 
Sallie (Shaw) Shurtleff. She was married a second 
time to llenr\ R. Child, who died in 1848. she 
returned to Boston in 1849, and died in that city 
in 1876. she had ten children by her first mar- 
riage, and one by the second. 

John Freeman was ten years old when he came 
to Illinois with his parents. lie was given good 
educational advantages, and was a student al 
Shurtleff College in Alton when the discoven of 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



63!) 



gold in California created such profound excite- 
im'iit iii all parts of the world, and in 1849 he 
threw aside his books and bade farewell to college 
1 it't- to join the seekers after the precious metal on 
the Pacific coast. He, with others, made the entire 
journey across the plains and mountains with ox- 
tcams, :i long and weary way over whal was then 
known as " Greal American Desert," and after 
they left the Missouri River they saw no while 
settlements, except that of the Mormons, until 
they arrived in California, while buffalo, deer, 
antelopes and other wild animals were encounter 
i'il in large numbers. Arriving at VVeaverville, 
September IT. after many months' travel, our sub- 
ject al once took a job ai scoring logs receiving 
* 1 I a day, and in that way lie earned money 
to buy provisions to lake to the mountains, 
where cornmeal and bacon, the chief articles of 
food, were n dollar a pound each. He engaged in 
mining in Maraposa County until December, 1851, 
and then started for the Ka.-i with his gains, and 
traveling by the way of the Isthmus and Havana, 
joined his family at Boston. His health bad suf- 
fered from the privations and hardships thai he 
had had to endure in the rough frontier life of the 
two preceding years, and he did uol immediately 
engage in an\ active business, but traveled while 
recuperating, and during the time of the Crimean 
War visited Crimea. He was away from home 
about nine months, and then returned to Boston, 
where he remained until 1857. Iii that year lie 
came back to Shelby County, intending to dispose of 

hi- landed interests here, but he liked the country 
SO well that he decided to improve hi- real estate, 

and built, and has ever since had a home here, 
though making his residence' here only a portion 
of the time. For three years he lived at Shelby- 
ville, and in 1879 went to Decatur, where he be- 
came interested in the mercantile and hotel busi- 
ness, and for a time managed the new •• Deming." 

lie -till retain- hi- interest in the mercantile hu-i- 

ii i — there, and i- connected with a hotel else- 
where. 

Mr. Freeman was married in 1859 to Miss Ellen 
A., daughter of A. F. and Louisa t WTieadon i Wil- 
son, and a native of Jacksonville, III. Their home 
is attract i ve in it- appointments and surroundings, 



and its pleasing comforts as presided over bj the 
gracious, considerate hostess and the kindly, court- 
eous host arc held in grateful remembrance by 
those who have enjoyed them, whether as a 
"stranger within the gates," or as friends, of 
whom our subject and his amiable wife have many. 
Four children have been horn to them, two of 
whom are now living; Alice !■".. wife of Oscar F. 
Spaulding, and John 1!. 

Not only has Mr. Freeman helped to advance 
the financial standing of this count} by his judic- 
ious investments and by his business qualifications, 
but he has been of invaluable service as a civic 
official. He has represented Moweaqua Township 
on the Count} lioard of Supervisors several terms, 
and while holding that important office always 

looked closely after the interests of the public, and 

his intelligent and generous advocacy of various 
enterprises for the benefit of the community at 
large has often contributed to their success. Ib- 
is an ardent Republican in his political views, and 
his parly ha- in him an earnest champion of its 
policy. In his social relation- lie is connected 
with the Masonic fraternity and also with the 
Independent Order of odd Fellows. He has been 
a member of the former since 1859, when he join- 
ed the Dewitt Clinton Lodge al Sandwich. .Mas-. 

lie identified himself with the Odd fellow- hy 

joining the Winnissimete Lodge at Chelsea, Mass.. 
and he is a member of the Shelby ville Lodge. K. 

of II. 



-^Mlt' 



□ 




J1LLIAM W. JAMES. One of the stanch, 
Substantial men. both in character and so- 
cial standing, is he whose name is at the 
head of this -ketch. He resides on section 3, of 

Ridge Township. His residence in the county dales 
from the fall of 1831, at which time he was brought 
to the Mate l>\ hi- parent-. lie was horn in Nich- 
ols County, Ivy., December 22, 1829, and was a -on 
of Alexander C. and Mary Ann (Robinson) James, 
natives respectively of Marx land and Delaware. 
The\ met and married, however, in Kentucky. and 
in 1831, when our subject was hut two year- of age 



i;in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the family came to Illinois, their journey hither 
being made in u >vagon, and with a eamp outfit. 
Of course our subject can remember nothing of 
of the journey, but it take- bul small imagination 
to picture the delights and adventures of an over- 
land journey through the beautiful States of Ken- 
tucky, Ohio and Indiana, into Illinois. 

After coming hither, our subjed 's parents settled 
at once in Ridge Township, where they rented a 
small place for a space of three years. In 1835, 
they entered a tract of land on section ■">. and also 
purchased a claim which was but very little im- 
proved, but which boasted a log cabin and fences 
about seventeen acres being fenced. For this 
t In- \ paid 140. In those days it was necessary to 
drive hogs to St. Louis in order to find market for 
them. This was one hundred miles distant from 
their home. The wheat, also, had to be hauled 
thither and then sold for twenty-five cents a 
bushel. Wecannol but wonder how the pioneers 
managed to support their families with the neces- 
sities of life, and lay aside as nearly all of them 
did, money enough to invest in land, when their 
products broughl so little return. Our subject's 
family were obliged to go to Springfield in order 
to have their corn and wheal ground into Sour, 
and other commodities were equally difficult to 
tret. But Mr. James was industrious and economi- 
cal and in time became the owner of four hundred 
acres of good land. He erected good buildings 
upon his place and improved it well. In 1870, he 
(lied at the age Of seventy year-. N'ei-on James. 
a brother of our subject, came to this count} in 
1836, but later went to Missouri. Our subject's 
father was a Democrat in his political preferences. 
His wife is still living and resides with the origi- 
nal of our sketch, she was born March 30, 1805. 
For many years she has been a member of the Bap- 
tist Church. 

There was hut one child in i he family of Alex- 
ander James, that being our subject. He still re- 
sides on the homestead, ami lias been a witness of 
the changes which Shelby County has undergone 
foi 1 1 1 : 1 1 1 \ years. 1 1 is «:n I \ education was obtained 

under difficulties, having to go lour miles in order 
to attend school, which was held in a log Cabin. 
There were no window- in the building, and an 



ingenious device was resorted to supply the defi- 
ciency. A lot;- was left out in the side of the build- 
ing and the -pace was covered with greased paper, 
which admitted an opaque light that would send 
the school reformer- of to-day to an insane asylum. 
A split sapling with pet;- put in the end. furnished 
the scat- for the pupils, and the building was 
heated by a huge lireplacc that scorched the little 
faces, while their hack,- were freezing. His school 
life began when he was eight years of age at which 
lime he could read and spell word- of one syllable. 
He attended the first school taught in the town- 
ship, the teacher being .lames Khoad-. 

The Original of our sketch is as old a settler as 
any in the town-hip. although two others. William 
and Daniel Smith, came here the same fall in which 
his part ills located. At that time the larder was 
easily supplied with various kinds of game, there 
being plenty of deer, wild turkeys, hears, and also 
wild cat- and panthers. against which the earlv set- 
tlers were obliged to be on their guard. The In- 
dians had been driven farther West and the coun- 
try was a good place for a p ' man. because of the 

abundance of game, and the early crops were ex- 
traordinarily good. There was but little sickness 
excepting ague, which the earlj settlers accepted 

as one of the Conditions of their pioneer exist- 
ence. 

Mr. .lames was married January 'I'l. 1852, to 
Cordelia Small, a daughter of John and Elizabeth 
Small, she was horn in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
and during her life was a tender, loving wife and 
true mother. She died August, 1862, leaving five 
children to mourn with their father, her loss. The 
children arc John A.. Mary K.. Tarcy .1.. William 
I), ami Cordelia. Mary is now the wife of ('. W. 
Steward; Tarcy was united to John W*. Vantis.and 
died in 1881, leaving two children; William I). 
died at the age of twenty-three years; Cordelia be- 
came the' w i fe of John W . , l a lit is. 

Iii 1864, our subjeel married for a second time 
taking to wife Leah Killam, a daughter of Isaac 
Killam. she was a native of Shelby County. Two 
children arc the fruit of this union. They are 
Isaac L. and Laura, who is the wile of Julius ( hrist- 
uian. Mr. James is the owner of live hundred and 
foit\ acres of well improved land. He has made 



PORTRAIT ANIi lilOGRAPIIH \l. RECORD. 



fi41 



stock-raising :i specialty and has bred some bf the 
puresl blooded stock in the county, lie now rents 
the greater part of his land, retaining only enough 
to keep 1 1 i 1 11 pleasantly employed. Politically. 
Mr. James favors the Democratic party. He has 
never been ambitious to accept office, feeling thai 
his private affairs would not admit of a divided 
attention. Mrs. James, who is an estimable lady, 
is a member of the Christian Church. Her hus- 
band is not connected with any church, although 
he i- a believer in Christianity, and a liberal sup- 
porter of the churches in his vicinity. 



Mfe<I 







i ■- 



KSl.KV II. GARRETT. This worthy and 
prominent gentleman whose sterling char- 
VV acter and many attractive personal quali- 
ties. ni\c him an exceptional standing in the com- 
munity, resides upon section 9, Whitley Township. 
lli> honored father. William Garrett, was born in 
Montgomery County, Ky„ about the year 1798. 
and is the son of .lames Garrett who was probably 
bora in Virginia, and was proud to claim his 
ancestry from the rugged lands of the Highlands 
and bagpipes. James Garrett died in Montgomery 
Country Ky„ having lived to the remarkable age 
of one hundred years and six month-. 

Polly Kcid was the maiden name of the mother 
of our subject, and she was horn in Montgomery 
County. Ky., in 1801. llei lather. Joseph Reid, 
the son of William Reid, died in that county, as 
<lhl aiso his father William, whom our subject dis- 
tinctly remembers as visiting their home when he 

was nineteen veal.- old. The famih i- thus 01) 

both sides notable for longevity and endurance. 

William II. Garretl was married in Kentucky 
and so< m after removed to Indiana, but resided 
therefor only a short time, a,- within a year he 
returned to Montgomery County and continued 
to live in that and (lark and Harrison Counties 
for some years. He finally came to Illinois ami 
-pent a year in Whitley Township. Moultrie County, 
hut on account of sickness the family returned 
again to their native State, and made their home 
in Harrison County, where the father died about 



1857, and tin' mother passed away in 1886. Their 

-i\ children arc Wesley II.. I.ililiy. Susan. Sarah. 
Joseph and .lames. 

Our subject, who i- the oldest in the parental 
holm-, was horn during their sojourn in Indiana. 

near the White River the 22d of .Inly. L820. 

lie was hut an infant when hi- parent- returned to 

Kentucky, and the greater part of his boyhood 
was spent in Harrison County, that State He 
received the early training and education of an 
ordinary Kentucky hoy of that period, and made 

his home with his parents until he was able to 

establish a home of his own. 

Wesley Garrett's marriage with Miss Mary E. 
Baker, look place in Harrison County, her native 
place, August 23, is pi. This lady was bora 
August 29, 1817, and her wedded life, although 
ii opened with the brightesl prospects, soon faded 
into darkness, as she died .Inly 27. 1841. The 
second marriage of Mr. Garrett took place in Har- 
rison County, Ivy., July 28, 1842, and he was then 
united with Miss Kliza .1. Evans, daughter of 
David and Mary (Baker) Evans, both natives of 
Kentucky. Both Mr. and Mrs. Evans died in 
Harrison County, having been the parent- of three 
children. Eliza -I.. Cynthia and John. Eliza was 
born in Harrison County, April II. 1817. 

Eight living children have been bora to Wesley 
II. and Eliza .1. Garrett, viz: .lames 1'. who mar- 
ried Anna (ox. and resides in Sullivan Township: 
William I), who took to wife Melissa Armentrout. 
and resides in Whitley Town-hip; Green B. who 
married Eudora Rose, anil make- his home in 
Moultrie County : Solomon I". who was united in 

marriage with Anna Harrison, and lives in Whit- 
ley Town-hip; Mary S. who i- the wife Of lieal 

Marsh, of Moultrie County ; Robert M. who died 
in infancy; McArthur, who married Xancy Ar- 
mentrout, and reside- iii Whitley Township ; Rich- 
ard ( ). who took to wife Delia Lanham. and make- 
In- home in East Nelson 'Town-hip. and Cynthia 
R.. who is now Mrs. Joseph Roberts, and lives in 

Whitley Township. 

Mr. Garretl came to Moultrie County in 1850, 
and settled in Whitley Township, where he has 
since been one of it- most respected and useful 
residents. There were, however, -ix months of that 



642 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



time when he lived in East Nelson Township, bu1 
soon returned to his first choice. The Christian 
church is the religious body with which Mr. and 
Mrs. Garret) are actively connected, and in it they 
rejoice to find abroad fieldfor laborand influence. 
The political views with which Mr. Garretl 
finds himself in sympathy are most fully expressed 
in tHe platform of the Democratic party, and 
although he is no office seeker yet lie has been 
compelled by the suffrages of his fellow citizens to 
accept a number of offices of trusl and influence. 

For fourteen year- he held the office of School 
Trustee, and has taken an active part in promot- 
ing the educational intere-t of the township and 
county. Upon hi.- splendid farm of three hundred 
and fifteen acres, he ha- placed excellent improve- 
ments, and it is all ill a first-class condition. His 
beautiful home and well-kept hams testify, not 
only to his enterprise, but his intelligence and 
culture. 










i AMUEL II. BROWNBACK. All our re- 
lations in life are more or less of a social 
nature and these are circles within circles. 
The domestic life is the inner circle, or huh 

of the wheel from which radiate out ward t he man \ 
lines or spokes thai hind it to the outer circle. 01' 

the social verge. These spokes are of various 
natures arising from relationship, affinity or con- 
sanguinity. Each circle within the life of our 
subject has been well rounded. His home life, while 
simple, i- full of affection and tender consideration. 
liis residence which i- located on section 2. of 

Rural Township, is the dwelling place of peace and 

harmony. He ha- resided in Shelby County since 
1868. 

Mr. Brownback was born in Pickaway County, 
Ohio, January 21, 1843. lie is a -on of William 
and Sarah (Shutt ) Brownback, natives of Penn- 
sylvania, where they were married and began the 
journey of life together. Aboul 1835 they removed 
to Ohio and settled in Pickawaj County. There 
they pa— eil the remaining years of their lives, tin 
father passing awa} from this life at the age of 



fifty years, the mother surviving him for a number 
of years, heing sixty-three year- of age at the time 
of her decease. They were the parent- of -i\ 
children, four of whom lived to be grown. Their 

name- arc' a- follow.-: Joseph, Melinda. Kli/.a. Sarah. 
Knieline and Samuel. Joseph died while young; 
Melinda married Aimer Settle- and died in Pickaway 
County, leaving an interesting family of children; 
Eliza married John Breutigan. she died in 
Pickawaj County; Sarah died while yet a young 
woman, being only twenty years of age. Knieline 
also died early in life: our subjecf is the youngesl 
of his family and now the only one surviving. He 
was reared on a farm andattended, in hoy hood, the 
common schools, which were very good, and lie 
feels that lie owe- much to the masters under whom 
he studied when a lad. He remained in his native 
State until he arrived at manhood anil in 1867, he 
was an attendant upon the last sad rites paid to 
the memory of the last member of his family. 
Feeling that all bonds that held him to hi.- native 

State had been severed, in 1868 he -old out and 
emigrated to this stale, settling in Shelby County. 
where be purchased a farm upon which he at presenl 
resides. 

When Mr. Brownback purchased his farm it was 
but very little improved and he began at once the 
work of putting it in such order as should realize 
his ideal of a modern farm, lie gave his attention 
chiefly to stock raising, in which he was very 
successful. ()n first coming to the county he 
purchased one hundred ami -i\t\ acres, hut from 
time to time has added to this until his farm now 
aggregates two hundred and twenty acres. It is 
located on sections 2 and 1 1. and boasts many fine 
improvements. Welllocated in the bottom land-, it 
is plentifully watered ami drained. 

Our subject has been twice married. In 1870, he 
was united to Mary Y. Smith, a daughter of Daniel 
and Sarah Smith, of whom a sketch may he found 
in another part of this volume. Mrs. Brownback 

died in 1*72. leaving one son wh w re-ides with 

his grandfather, Daniel Smith. In 1874, our subject 
married Elizabeth A. Cochoran. a daughter of 
Robert ( ochoran. she was horn in Tennessee ill Is Is. 
Our subject by his present wife is the father of one 
daughter, by name Mary E. she i- a bright, in- 



PORTRAIT AND BIO GRAPHICAL RECORD. 



643 



telligenl young girl. The original of our sketch 

is a l><- -nil in his political preference and lias 

served in several capacities in public office under 
his party showing the confidence and estimation of 
his ability thai his fellow-townsmen have in him. 
He has served as School Trustee for nine years and 
two years asSupervisor of the township. Mr. and 
Mrs. Brownback arc. in their religious views. 
members of the Christian Church. They are kindly, 
intelligent people, in whom their fellow-townsmen 
repose tin- greatest confidence ami affection. 



\ 




DDISOIS W. M« PHEETERS, the efficient 
ami popular Postmaster of Sullivan, ami 
one of the leading citizens of thai place, 
where he has resided for eight years, is 
numbered among the early settlers (if Moultrie 
County, of 1852. lie lias the honor of being a 
native-bora citizen of Illinois, hi- birth having oc- 
curred in Morgan County,on the 1-t of July, I : 
His parent-. Addison and Julia (Pogue) McPhee- 
ters. were native- of Kentucky, and after their 
marriage emigrated to Morgan County, III., in 
1833. Twelve years they spent in that county, 
and then returned to Fayette County, Ky.. but in 
1852 we again find them in Illinois, and the fol- 
lowing year the father purchased a g 1 farm in 

tin?- locality, mi which he made his I e until hi> 

death, which occurred in 1879, al the age of eighty- 
five 3 T ears. lie was a Whig and Republican in 
politics, and "as a member of the Presbyterian 
Church. His wife, who was bora aboul 1801, died 
during the winter of 1844, in Fayette County, 
Ky. she was a Presbyterian in religious belief, 

and like her husband was highly esteemed. The 

family numbered four children, but two are now 
deceased. The twin brothers, Addison and Ran- 
kin, are yet living. The latter is married and en- 
gages in farming in Nelson Township. 

Our subjeel returned with his parents to Ken- 
tucky, but was living in Moultrie County, 111., 
when he attained to mature years. A- before inti- 
mated, his residence here covers a period ol almost 



forty years. After arriving at man'- estate he led 
t<> the marriage altar Miss Margaret Lynn, a native 
of Jefferson County, Ky., born in 1848, and a 
daughter of .lame- and Belinda (Welch) Lynn. 
who were natives of Kentucky, having lived in 
Jefferson County, thai State. until 1855, when with 
their family thc\ came to Illinoi-. where both Mr. 
and Mrs. Lynn died when pasl sixty years of age. 
The\ lived the life of farming people, and iii re- 
ligious belief were Presbyterians, while in political 
faith .Mr. Lynn was a stanch Republican. In the 

family are three children, yet living — Mi's. Mr- 
Pheeters; George W., who is married and resides 
in Eureka Spring, Ark., where he is engaged in the 
real-estate business; and Martha, wife of John 
Williams, of Decatur, III. 

Among the firsl to enlisl in Moultrie County 
after tin- breaking out of the late war was our sul>- 
ject, who re-| ded to the call for troops and be- 
came a member of the Twenty-first Illinois Infantry. 
The regimen 1 was then commanded by Col. IT. S. 
Grant, and the company by Capt. John Love. 
Joining the Army of the Cumberland, the troops 
fought at Frederick-town. Mo.. Perry ville. Ky., 
( hampion Hill, and in the battle of Stone River, 
under (.en. McCook. Then came the Atlanta 
campaign, and the Twenty-first Regiment remained 
with Sherman until after tie battle at that city, 
when it was -cut back to fight Hood at Nashville. 
\i'tcr veteranizing and being assigned to the 

Fourth Army Corps, the troop- were -cut to 'Texas 

by way of New Orleans, camping for two weeks 
on the- battle ground, near the Crescent City. At 
San Antonio. Tex., the regiment wa- mustered out 
December 16, 1865, and on the 18th of January of 
the new year arrived at Camp Cutler, where the 
brave hoy- in blue were honorably discharged. Mr. 
McPheeters had enlisted as private, but during the 
firsl year of hi- service was mad. Sergeant, and 
held that office until his discharge. He was never 

wounded or captured, hut was a 1 way- found at hi- 

post, faithfully discharged every duty. 

< >n his return from the war, Mr. McPheeters 

again went to his farm in Nelson Town-hip. and 
i\i-\ oted his energies to it.- cultivation and improve- 
ment until 1880, when he was stricken with paral- 
ysis and lost tin use of hi- lower limbs, Shorth 



644 



PORTRAIT AM) BI< )( .RAP1IK AL RECORD. 



afterward he came to Sullivan, where he has since acres, living on it fur six or seven years. Two 

made his home and i> mm Ailing the position of years previous to his purchase of this last-named 

Postmaster with credit to himself and to the satis- tract he leased Mini ran the poor farm of the 

faction of all concerned. He and his family hold county. He came here from Pennsylvania, where 

a high position in social circles, and are widely lie had settled soon after his arrival in this eoun- 

known throughoul lids community. In politics try from Germany. 

Mr. McPheeters is a stalwart Republican and an He of whom we write is of German ancestry. 

earnest worker in the interests of the party. He Hi- parents were .Michael and Barbara (Crofft) 

holds membership with Hie Presbyterian Church, Schinzler, both uatives of Bavaria, where ihe\ 

and hi- wife belongs to the Methodist Church. lived and died aged respectively seven ty-t wo and 

Their familv numbers six interesting children — seventy years. Religiously their inclinations and 

Nettie I... George R.. Leroy, Addison P.. Frank membership were with the Catholic Church. Our 

and Julia I'. Miss Nettie, who is a graduate of the subject and a la-other. Lawrence, were the 011I3 

Sullivan High Scl 1. is now assisting her father members of the family that came to this country 



in the office. 






G 



and both are now farmers in this county. Mr. 
Schinzler left Germany in March. 1856, taking 
a sailing vessel from Havre de Grace. They 

^^3~->-- landed in New York City and came thence to llar- 
risburg, Pa., where they lived two and a half 
years. They then came to Illinois, where our sub- 

'.<)!>< iK SCHINZIjER. Our subject is one ject took the next important step in his life in 

of the many representatives of the Teutonic marrying Miss Mary K. Sprinkle. Their marriage 

race in this country who have broughl into was celebrated in March, 1864. she was horn in 

our American commercial and agricultural life a Richland County. Ohio. May It!. 1843, and is a 

new impetus of penetrating foresight that has daughter of Eli and Elizabeth (Jennings) Sprinkle, 

accumulated for it- possessors vast fortunes and natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio, and married in 

honorable positions. The German dement is hon- the latter state, where they were engaged in farm- 

oraliU represented in every branch of American ing. In 1849 they went to Indiana and spenl four 

life. In its government, its literary, social and years in Adams County. They then came to 

commercial and social relations, it has held the Shelby County, and here Mr. and Mrs. Sprinkle 

most responsible positions. A- his name would passed the remainder of their lives, dying at the 

indicate, our subjeel is a native of Bavaria, Ger- ages respectively of sixty-five and sixty-eighl 

many, where he was horn October "^7, 1826. lie years. They were members of the United Brethren 

i- now the owner of a tine farm located in Plat Church. 

Branch Township. Mr-. Schinzler, wife of our subject, "as onlj ten 

Mr. Schinzler is the proprietor of three hundred years of age when her parents came to this state 

and twenty acres of land, upon which he resides and -he ha- since lived in the couiitv wherein 

and which he devote- to general farming. This thev then settled. She is the mother of twelve 

tract bears all modern agricultural improvements children, three of whom are deceased. The de. 

and upon it i- a pleasant and attractive residence ceased children are: Eliza, aged live years, John. 

besides other farm buildings. He also has twenty aged six years. Mary I., who was the wife of I). K. 

acre- on another Section. Hi- purchase wa- made MiddlctOU, now also deceased. The living chil- 

in the tall of 1 si;:) anil he ha- -i nee changed the drcn are: Elizabeth, Joseph. George I... Grant, 

face of his land from a flower-spangled prairie to Anna. .lane. William. Pearl, Marion and Roy. 

acres vellow in the warm July -uu with waving Elizabeth is the wife of Harvey Tritt. They live 

grains. He came to this town-hip from Rose on a farm in Christian County, thisState. Joseph 

Township, where he owned and improved eighty i- a bachelor and the proprietor of a good farm in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



645 



this township. George L. Grant remains affhome 
and lie is his father's assistant in running the farm. 
The other children Lave nunc of them yet left the 
parental runt'. Mr. and Mrs. Schinzler attend the 
Presbyterian Church and are helpers and co-labor- 
ers in any good cause that promises to develop 
ami benefil 1 1 1 « ■ neighbi irhood. 



AMES l'»( >YS. The name at the head of our 
sketch is that of a highly respected and 
honored man who has watched the growth 
of this State for many years, having set- 
tled here mi section 26, of Ridge Township, Shelbj : 
County, in 1836. He was born in Dm-bin County, 
[nd., June 26, 1*27, and is a son of Alexander 
and Virginia (Bradley) Boys, natives respectively 
of Ohio and Virginia. The\ began life together 
as pioneers in Ohio, thence removed to Indiana. 
casting their lot with other pioneers in the Hoosier 
stati . and in 1833 they removed to Illinois, locat- 
ing in Vermillion County. 

After three years spent by our subject's parents 
in improving a farm in Vermilion ( ounty, they 
came to Shelby County and entered some land in 
Okaw Township, again casting their lot with pio- 
neer settlers. The father passed his remaining 
years in Shelby ( ounty and died in January, 
1881, his wife having passed away two days pre- 
vious to hi> own demise. The old people were in- 
terred at the same time and in one grave, and thus 
they were together in death. as they had been for 
so many years in life. Our subject's father was 

the owner of three hundred and twenty acre- of 
land, much of which he cultivated, and which. a1 
the time of his death, was well improved. Both 
he and his wife were for mam years ardent mem- 
bers of the Methodist Church. 

The original Of our sketch i> one of thirteen 

children, ten of whom lived to maturity; of these, 
our subject is the eldest. The others are: Mary. 
John W.. Sarah. George \\ '.. Lyda, Elizabeth, Will- 
iam, Bonaparte and Charlie. Of these, Mar\ be- 
came the wife of Henry .1. Bowen and resides in 
Shelbyville; John W. died in okaw Township, a 



victim of the cholera epidemic of 1855; Sarah 
married .lames Hillsbach and resides in Stewardson; 
George W. lives in Ridge Township. Lyda mar- 
ried Henry Hougtbough. Elizabeth became the 
wife of E. Hager. After becoming a widow she 
married Thomas Blackstone. Willliam died of 
typhoid fever when a young man. Bonaparte, 
like his brother John, and in the same year, was a 
victim of cholera, as was also his younger brother 
Charlie. 

Mr. Boys was reared on his father's farm and 
early learned the duties incident to a farmer's 
life. He received the educational advantages to 
lie had in the districl Schools, having attended the 
first school taught in Okaw Township. The teacher 
was Peter Parker, a man who was highly respected 
by all as much for his manliness as for his supe- 
riority in an intellectual way. When a young 
man the monotony of farm life was broken for our 
subjeel by trips made to markets and mill. For 

the former he went to St. Louis and Alton and 

carried his com to Springfield to he ground. 

October 15, 1849, Mr. Boys was united in mar- 
riage with Sarah Hardy, a daughter of Thomas 
Hardy, of whom a sketch may lie found under that 
of William Hardy, in another part of this volume. 
she was horn in Fairfield County, Ohio, and Octo- 
ber 7. Is27. was her natal day. After marriage 
Mr. Hoys purchased land which is now within the 
limits of Shelbyville. Two year- later he settled 
where he now resides, having purchased there 

eighty acres, and adding to it forty acres of tim- 
ber land, lie i- now (lie owner of over eighl hun- 
dred acres of land, five hundred acre.- of which is 
in one hoily and included ill the farm whereon 
he resides. All of Mr. Boys' land he has accumu- 
lated by his own effort-. At the time of his mar- 
riage he hail only a horse and a cow with which 
to set up housekeeping. His wife was the proud 

owner of a bed, and with $10 they commenced the 
serious business of life together. Doubtless thej 
were as happy, however, when with youth and 
vigor they start I'd out together with love and con- 
fidence in each other'- ability, as when years after, 
they could count their dollars by the thousands. 

inn subject ha- now retired from active agricul- 
tural pursuits, renting his land and living the de- 



lilii PORTRAIT AM) Bit )( 1RA1 IIK'AL RECORD. 



lightful life of a retired country "gentleman. He years after that important event in their lives thej 
and his wife are the parents of nine children, three removed to Lawrence County, [nd., where they 
of whom died young. One, Alexander, died No- settled on a farm. There they died, the father :it 
vember 25, 1834, »1 the age of thirty years, leaving the age-of fifty-five and the mother when sixty- 
si widow and four children. The five children seven years old. They welcomed the coming of 
still living are: John W., Mary J., James M., Thomas eight children to their home and fireside, six of 
II. and Charles F. Mary J. is tin wife of Robert whom lived to be grown. 

Weekly. The names of the children of whom our subject 
The breadth of platform of the Democratic party is one, are respectively: Sophia, David S., John A., 
is that which :ipj >«-:i l> most directly to Mr. Boys' James 1!.. Susan E. and Newton J. The survivors 
political intelligence, and with it he has <:i>t his of these have reached man's and woman's estate 
influence and vote for many years. He has held and have taken honorable positions in society. 
the office of Road Commissioner and School l)i- Sophia married Anderson Boadinghamer and 
rector, and although frequently having been urged resides in Lawrence, [nd., on a pari of the old 
to accept office, he fell that loyalty to his party homestead. David S. died in February. 1858, at 
did not necessitate thi relinquishing of his private Indianapolis, [nd. SusanE. is the wtfe of Thomas 
business for the duties of public office. He has. Ray and resides in Lawrence County, in her native 
however, ever been held in high esteem by his State. Newton .1. lives on the old homestead. 
fellow-townsmen. His ability in a business wa\ The subject of our sketch was reared on the 
lias been seconded bv a native good sense and home farm and received his education in the corn- 
practical view of affairs thai rarely allows of a mon schools of his district. He was a careful and 
mistake in judgment or action on his part. Mr. conscientious student and became well posted in 
and Mrs. Boys are members of the Methodist Epis- all the common branches of learning. In 1858 lie 
copal Church South, and our subjeel was one of the taught the school in his home district and soon 
largest contributors toward the erection of a church afterward came to this State and was engaged in 
near his home. Although having reached the age teaching in thi- county in East Nelson Township, 
when many people lose their sympathy with youth While there he formed the acquaintance of Ann 
and joyousness, and life seems but a threadbare E. Armentrout and in March. I860, she became his 
garment to be worn but a short time, our subject wife. She was a daughter of Philip Armentrout 
and his amiable wife have mellowed until the and was born in Whitley Township. Augusl I. 
kindly geniality of their natures lends a charm 1842. After marriage Mr. Kern rented a tract of 
thai is fascinating to each day of the serenity of land which he operated for four years and in 1865 
their lives. he purchased the land upon which heat present 

resides, which was at the time entirely new. never 
having been cut by the plow, lie is now the 
owner of two hundred and iift\ acres of land 
upon which lie has placed fine improvements, hav- 
ing a good residence and commodious barns and 

OlIN A. KERN, a prosperous farmer of out-buildings. 
Moultrie County, resides on section 21, Mr. Kern has been twice married. UN lii>t wife 

Whitlej Township. His residence in this died March I. 1884, having been the mother of 

COUnty dale- from 1858, at which lime his eiglll children, six of whom survived her. They 

advent here was made from Indiana. lie was arc all progressive men and women who have ap- 

liorn in Lawrence County, Ind.. November II. predated the advantages of education and in this 

1836, and his parents were Edward and l'olh Ann respect have made all efforts to obtain every acl- 

(Rice)Kern, natives of Gallatin County, Ky. In vantage. Ollie J. is Principal of a school at Cherry 

that couni\ ihe\ were married and aboul two Valley, this State; JamesR.isa farmer and resides 



PORTRAIT AM) 1!|()( . U.\ I'l 1 1( A.L RECORD. 



64: 



in [ndiana; Minnie M.. who is a teacher l>v pro- 
fession, is al present in Germany, where she has 
gone to complete her education in Hanover, desir- 
ing in give her attention to the teaching of the 
German language, linn ice P., who is also a teacher, 
lives al home, as do her brothers John !•". and 
Charles. 

On October 11, 1886, our subjed was again mar- 
ried, this union being with Miss Laura Pedro, a 
daughter <>f Bayless Pedro, a resident of Shelbj 
County. By her Mr. Kern is the father of two 
children, only one of whom, however, is living, a 
son, whose name is Vernon II. Politically our 
subjecl i- .-i Republican, having joined forces with 
that party on its formation and beuig loyal to ii 
in every respect, lie 1 1 .- 1 - been a member of the 
School Board, in which capacity he lias done >H i- 
cienl work, being a broad, liberal-minded and pro- 
gressive man in all liis ideas, and especially con- 
cerning education, lb- is a member of the Chris- 
tian Church, while his wife belongs to the Baptist 
Church. 



So~^- 



OBERT A. PATTON, Postmaster al Prairie 

Ionic, is a prominent citizen of this village, 
* \ who is closely associated with the leading 

nterests of this section of the count} as a 
general merchant and as the proprietor of a choice 
farm, lie is a native of Mifflin County, l'a. born 
November 12, 1842, the son of a prosperous far- 
mer of that State, James Patton. His father was 
horn iii Cecil County, Md., while his father, who 
bore the same name as himself, was horn in Count} 
Deny. Ireland, being a descendant of one of the 
old Scotch families that had settled in that region 
main years ago. lie came to this country and 
first located in Maryland, whence lie removed after 

awhile to Pennsylvania where he died in 1840. 

The father of our subject learned ill*- trade of a 
brick and stone mason in his youth, and engaged 
in that in connection with farming. In 1843 he 
bought the farm where his widow now resides in 
Mifflin County, lie died in August, 1891, aged 
seventy-five years. 1 1 i- good wife is living in a 



co/.y I e surrounded with all the desirable com- 
forts of life. Thc\ reared a family of seven chil- 
dren to lives Of usefulness. 'The maiden name of 
the mother was Eiiza l.owrie. and she is a native 
of Mifflin County, l'a.. a daughter of William and 

Polly l.owrie. 

Robert Patton passed his boyhood in his native 

county and was given excellent advantages lo oli- 
lain a sound education. He gained his first know- 
ledge of hooks at home and in the local district 
school, and later in life became a student at the 
Kishacoquillas Seminary, where he pursued a 
thorough course of study which gave him a good 
equipment as a teacher, lie entered the ranks of 
that profession in 1861, and the ensuing twelve 
years devoted the greater pari of his time lo thai 
vocation, and when not thus employed being en- 
gaged at the trade of a bricklayer. 

In 1870 our subject made a new departure, leav- 
ing his native Male to settle in Illinois, and giving 
his attention lo farming in Mai Branch Township, 
where he bought forty acres of land. He did not 
wholly abandon his profession, however, hut was a 
pari of the time employed in teaching as well as 
in cultivating the soil. In 1873 he went lo Mow- 
eaqua, where he carried on the drug business until 
1887, when he came to Prairie Home where lie has 
since conducted ageneral store. His establishment 
is fitted up in good style and is amply stocked 
with a lame supply of all soils of merchandise thai 
are in demand in such a village, including dry- 
g 1>. boots, shoes, crockery, glassware and gro- 
ceries, and the Customers have as vai'ied a selection 

as can he found in thestoresof many larger towns. 
Besides his mercantile interests Mr. Patton ha- a 
well-managed farm, advantageously located a quar- 
ter of a mile from his -lore, ami upon il he and 
his family have one of the pleasanlc-t homes in 
this vieiuil \ . 

Mr. Patton was Bret married November 12. 1867, 
Miss Sadie .1. siinc becoming his wife, she was 
horn in Mifflin County, l'a.. ami was a daughter of 
Samuel and Elizabeth st inc. Their wedded life 
was brought loan end by the death of Mis. l'a it on 
in March. 1882. She left live children, May, Cora, 
Robert s.. Lulu and Edith. The second marriage 
of our subject which took place in November, 1882, 



648 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



was with .Mrs. Minnie (Nims) Parker, a native of 
Lake County and a daughter of Charles Nims. 
Three children have been born of this marriage, 
Willie R., Grover Cleveland and Dada. 

Mr. Pattern is a man whose education, character 
and business equipment have made him a decided 
acquisition to the citizenship of this county, and 
he stands well in its financial and social circles. 
In him Hie Democratic party of this section has 
«me of its most sensible followers. In 1XK7 he was 
appointed Postmaster at Prairie Home and no 
Postoffice in the county is better managed than 
the one under his charge. Religiously Mr. Patton 
is of the Presbyterian faith, and both he and his 
wife are consistent members of the church of that 
denomination in this village. 



_=] 



^-H^ 



@ 



"SI 



(MIX SHARROCK. The life of Mr. Shar- 
rock has been a busy one and his personal 
efforts for advancement were begun at an 
early age. His experience has been a some- 
what checkered one. as continued success falls to 
the lot of very few. Init lie has on the whole Keen 
successful, and is now tin' owner of a good prop- 
erty in Shelby County. Some years since he re- 
tired from the more arduous duties of life, and is 
now living in quiet and comfort in the village of 
Tower Hill. He has the confidence of the com- 
munity as a man of sterling integrity, and all his 
acquaintances recognize the public spirit which he 
considers the duly of every loyal citizen. 

K vera id Sharrock, father of our subject, was horn 
in New York City, and married Amy Stevens, a 
native of Maryland. Ai a very early day he emi- 
grated from Richland County. Ohio, to what i> 
now Christian County, 111., and altera sojourn in 
this state of fifteen years, removed to Dallas 
County, Texas. There the faithful wife and de- 
voted mother died in 1848. After that -ad event 
the father went to Oregon, where he died in 1859. 
They had a family of thirteen children, our subject 
being the third. His birthplace was Marion County, 
Ohio, and his natal da\ December 12, 1819. His 
early youth was passed in the Buckeye State. 



whence he accompanied his parents to Illinois in 
L832. 

Our subject grew to manhood upon his father's 
farm in Christian County, and prior to his mar- 
riage he entered eighty acres of Government land 
in Christian County. On March 30, 1843, he was 
united in marriage with Miss Catherine, daughter 
of John and Elizabeth (Hanson) May. natives re- 
spectively of Pennsylvania and Indiana. The May 
family emigrated from Kentucky to Shelby County, 
[11., about 1831, and the following year .Mrs. May 
pa-sed from earth. Mr. May survived until 184SI. 
Mrs. sharrock was among the younger members of 
the family, which comprised ten children. She 
was horn in Floyd County, Ky., February 1<>. 1M->: J . 
and was at an early age deprived of a mother's 
care. She grew to a nolile womanhood, fitted to 
aid her husband in all his labors. 

Immediately after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. 
Sharrock settled in Christian County upon the 
farm which he had pre-empted. After sojourning 
there three years they removed to Shelbj County, 
locating in Tower Hill Township, of which they 
have since been residents. Upon his arrival here 
Mr. Sharrock entered upon active labor upon a 
farm, which he made his home until 1865. At that 
time lie retired from farming pursuits, and going 
to the village of Tower Hill, engaged in mercantile 
business until 1884. Having by his unceasing 
labor and good management acquired a comforta- 
ble competency for his declining years, he sold out 
his interests and now in the declining years of his 
life is resting from the arduous toil of his younger 
years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Sharrock art- the parents of eleven 
children, namely: Amos .1.. Francis M.. John F... 
Julia A.. Marquis L.. Amanda. I.eniotia. James II.. 
I.ovina. Abraham I... and Charlie. .Of these the 
following are deceased: John I-'... Julia A.. Leniotia. 
.lame- II.. and Charlie. Mr. Sharrock has held the 
office of Highway Commissioner for sixteen years, 
and also served as School Director and Trustee. 
At one time he received the nomination of County 
Clerk on the Greenback ticket, but declined to 

run. Politically he is an active Republican and 
formerly took an active part in political affairs. 

Hi' ami his estimable wife are active members of 



PORTRAIT AND BlniMJAlMIK Al. RECORD. 



649 



the Fkc Methodist ( hurch, where he lias fined 1 1 1 « - 
offices of Steward and Class-Leader. They have 
been identified with the church and church work 
for nearly fifty years and he has served as Sunday - 
school Superintendent. 

While operating as a farmer Mr. Sharrock en- 
gaged \i]\ largely in stock-raising, lie now owns 
eighty acres besides village property. In 1849 lie 
crossed the plains to California, driving an ox- 
team the entire distance — over three thousand 
miles from his home in Tower Hill Township. He 
was absent fifteen months and returned via the 
isthmus. During the Civil War lie served eleven 
months with efficiency in Company II. Ninth Illi- 
nois Infantry, and took part in the battles of Ft. 
Donelson. Pittsburg Landing, evacuation of ( or- 
intU and luka. He was discharged for disability. 
His sons, Amos and Francis, served three and two 
years respectively in Company 'i.. One Hundred 
and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry. 



i ' i ' i i i 



*M 



i i i . | i - r - « m t. 



M 




rll.LIAM Ii. BIVINS, a representative of 
one of the earliest pioneer families of 

VV Shelby County, was for manj years identi- 
fied with its leading interests as an agriculturist 
and as a merchant. He is now living in honor- 
able retirement from active business in one of the 
inan\ attractive homes of Shelbyville, where lie 
deservedly enjoys the confidence and esteem 
accorded to a life spent in well-doing. He was 
horn in Rutherford County, Tenn., March Id, 
1826. His father. Leonard Bivins, was a native 
of North Carolina, and was :i son of Fielder 
Bivins, who is supposed to have spent his entire 
life in thai state. 

The father of our subject passed his earh life 

in the State of Ids nativity,and was there married. 
taking Nancy Murdough as his wife, she was 
born in the north of Ireland June 15, 1795, and 
was of Scotch ancestry, shortly after marriage 
the parents of our subject removed to Tennessee, 
of which they thus became pioneers, and there the 
father followed his trade as a carpenter in Ruther- 
ford County. In 1829 he made another ve, and 



came to Illinois with a four-horse team, accom- 
panied by his wife and four children. bringing 
household goods, and camping bj the way-side at 
noon and night fall. He located on the presenl 
site of Shelbyville, which was""then bu1 a small 
hamlet with only a few pioneer dwellings, and the 
only communication with the outside world was 
by stage. The mail was received once each week, 
and Joseph Oliver who was the Postmaster for 
some time, used to carry the letters in the crown 
of his hat. The surrounding country was \^f) 
sparsely settled and deer, wild turkeys, wolves, and 
other wild animals still remained in their old 
haunts. 

Mr. I!i\ ins bought two or three lot- on the east 
side of the street north of the Courl House and 
liuilt a comfortable home. He carried on a good 

business in the village and in the surrounding 
country as a contractor ami builder until his 
premature death in 1849 deprived the county of 
a good citizen and a pioneer who had been very 
useful in promoting its growth. His widow sur- 
vived him many years and linallv died at a vener- 
able age in December 1*72. 

Our subject maj lie -aid to have grown up with 

this county where the inn-l of his life has been 
passed, a- he was only three years old when he was 
brought here by his parents, and this section was 

then also in it- infancy. His education was ob- 
tained in the pioneer school- of Shelbyville. The 
first that he attended was taught in a log school 
house with furniture of home manufacture, the 

scats being made h\ splitting logs and hewing one 

side smooth, inserting wooden pin- for legs, and 

lhe\ were without backs. At the aye of fifteen 

William, who was an active enterprising lad. be- 
gan to carry the mail. Starting forth on his jour- 
neys early Mondaj morning he wouldgo to Deca- 
tur and thence to Bloomington, arriving there Tues- 
day night, starting on his return home Wednesday 
morning. Arriving at Shelbyville Thursday night 

earh the next moming he would start ill another 

direction for Vandalia returning thence Saturday 
night, the-e journeys being made on horseback. 
lb- was thus employed nearh two years, and then 
learning the trade of a carpenter under his father's 
instructions, In- carried on business with him 



li.lll 



PORTRATT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



until his marriage in 1848. The discovery of 
gold in California led him to seek that El Dorado 
with a partyof friends, starting on that hm<j; jour- 
ney with an ox-team in ls4'.t. At that time there 
was scarcely .a white settler between the Missouri 
River and California, except at Salt Lake; buffalo 
were seen in great numbers, often lai'ge herds of 
deer and antelopes were encountered, and the 
howlings of the coyotes, or prairie wolves, often 
disturbed the slumbers of the little party. They 
Finally arrived at Sacramento safely in October. 
Our subject went to the mines and was engaged in 
digging gold until 1850. In October of that year 
he gathered together his gains and started for 
home, coming by the way of the Isthmus and 
Havana to New Orleans, thence up the Mississippi 
River to St. Louis and from there by stage through 
Springfield to Shelbyville. After his return Mr. 
Bivins invested some money in a fertile tract of 
land one mile north we-t of the city, which he im- 
proved into a farm, making it hi> home until 1872, 
and at the same lime working at his trade as a 
builder. In the year mentioned he rented his 
farm, and coming to Shelbyville, engaged in the 
grocery business in company with C. J. Kurtz, con- 
tinuing in that line until 1880. lie then had to 
give up active business on account of failing 
health, and has since lived retired in his pleasant 
home in the west part of the city, in the enjoy- 
ment of an income ample for all his wants. 

Mr. Bivins has been twice married. His first 
wife to whom he was wedded in 1848, was Sarah !■'. 
Warren, a native of Windsor Township and a 
daughter of the lion. Peter and Elizabeth Warren 
earlj pioneer- of that place. Mrs. Bivins departed 
i hi- life March 7. I. siln. leaving behind her a 
worthy record as a wife anil mother. There arc 
three children living of that marriage: Josephine, 
who married \V. I.'. Austin and has four chil- 
dren; franklin 1'.. a physician who is represented 
in this volume; and Ella, who married the Rev. 
\\ . lJ. Howard, a minister of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. Sarah Alice the second daughter of 
our subjeel by Ins firsl marriage married ('. .1. 
Kurtz, and died in August 1890, leaving three 
sons. William ( . a son of our subject by his RrsI 
wife, died at the age of fourteen \ ears, Mr. Bivins 



was married a second time January 29, 1MG9, to 
Martha .1. Brokaw, in whom he has found a good 
wife. Mrs. Bivins i.- a native of Hamilton County, 
Ohio, horn near Glendale and she is a daughter of 
Henry and Cordelia Brokaw. Her union with our 
subject has been blessed to them by the birth of 
two children. Charles H. and Harry L. 

.Mr. Bivins is a man of exemplary habits and of 
a sincere character who i> zealous in promoting the 
religious and moral interests of the community 
where he is held in high estimation by all who 
arc familiar with his daily life and conduct. For 
many years he was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church which he served long and faith- 
fully as Class-leader and Steward. In 1886 he 
Served his connection with that denomination in 
order to join the Free Methodist Church which 
was organized here largely through his instrument- 
ality, he contributing liberally towards the erection 
of it> house of worship. In his political senti- 
ment- Mr. Bivins was a Democrat until 1884, hut 
since that time hi' has been identified with the 
Prohibitionists. He has borne an honorable pari 
in the management of public affairs and has served 
as Assessor and ( Collector. 



-O 



EVJ SKASS. The publishers of this volume 
would fail in their purpose of recording 
the lives of those who have been useful 
and are worthy of note, were they to omit men- 
tion of the successful career of Mr. Seas-. lie is 
the owner of one of the best farms in Moultrie 
County, and was lor several year- engaged in the 
agricultural implement business in Arthur, repre- 
senting the I'itts Agricultural Company, of Buf- 
falo, N. V. lie al-o engaged in the grain busi- 
ness, and built a large elevator in Arthur. He 
handled all kinds of implements and farming oia- 

chineiy. and during the \ cars he was thus engaged 
only added to the reputation which he had already 
wiin -that of an honorable man. trustworthy in all 
business relation-. 

The father of our subject, Jacob Seass. was a 




PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



651 



native of PennS3 r lvania, bul lias passed the 
greater pari of his life in Moultrie County. Here 
he was married in October, L843, to Miss Jane 
Patterson, a native of Illinois, and an estimable 
woman, who still survives. They had a family of 
five children, who lived t • > maturity, our subject 
being the eldest. He was born in Moultrie County, 
[11., October 20, 1846, and was reared to manhood 
upon his father's farm. His earliest recollections 
are <>f the s< enes of pioneer life, and he has been a 
witness of the rapid growth of Illinois. During 
his youth schools were few and far between, edu- 
cational advantages proportionately limited, and 
he had few opportunities to gain an education. 
He gleaned the rudiments of knowledge from the 
old text-books then in VOgue, and at an eail\ age 
acquired a love for learning which has induced 
him to read the best of literature, and keep posted 
upon all current events, until be has now that best 

Of educations — the one gained in the scl 1 of 

which experience is the teacher. 

With the exception of four years passed in Ar- 
thur, our subjed has spent his entire life within 

the limits of Jonathan Creek Township, lie now 
owns five hundred and thirty-six acres on sections 
13, 1 1. 15 and 22. and is numbered among the 
most successful agriculturists of the county. He 
was married August 20, 1867, in Jonathan ('reek 
Township, to Miss Elizabeth A. Powell. This es- 
timable lady, who is the daughter of Nelson E. 
and Elvira (Henry) Powell, was born in Shelby 

County, this State. Ma\ 28, 1851. Mi's. Sea- is a 

lady of culture and refinement, which is manifested 
in her home and shown by the circle of friends she 
has gathered around her. people of the highest 
worth and intelligence. 

The family of Mr. and Mi's. Seass comprises six 
children, namely: Aurora L.. Elvira .1.. Llewellyn 
D., Bertha E., Nellie C. and Waverly W . The 
parent- have given tin' children the best possible 
educational advantages, and have endeavored in 
everj way to lit them for the duties of life await- 
ing them. Mr. Seass has served as supervisor of 
Jonathan Creek Township for two terms, and as 
Township Treasurer one term, discharging the 
duties of both positions in a manner creditable 
alike to himself and his constituents. He was ap- 



pointed Census Enumerator in 1800. In the fall 
of that year he was a candidate for the legislature 
on the Independent ticket, and polled a large vote, 
running ahead of his t icket. 

Upright ami honorable in all his dealings, the 
course in lite followed by Mr. Seass has been such 

a- to secure the confidence and warm friendship of 
all with whom lie is brought in contact. His deal- 
ings arc always marked with the strictest integrity 
and fairness, and he has gained a competency 
through his arduous and systematic exertions, lie 
is ;in honored citizen of this community, and it is 

with pleasure that we present this brief sketch of 
his life to our readers. 



SAAC HUDSON, of the law tirni of Spitler & 
Hudson, and Master in Chancery, was horn in 
Moultrie County. [11., January 8, 1867, and is 
the son of .1. .1. and Susan (Souther) Hudson. Tin' 
parents, who were natives respectively of Virginia 
and Kentucky were quite young when they came 
to Illinois and -ettled in what is now Moultrie 
County. Jeremiah Souther, our subject's maternal 
grandfather, secured some Government land in 
Moultrie County, and after making extensive iin- 
pio\ ementsand becoming the owner of about eight 
hundred acres, died in March. 1889, at the age of 
eighty-seven years, lie was a man of great inllu- 
ence in his community, and his death, which oc- 
curred in Shelby County, was widely mourned, lie 
was twice married and hi- second wife, who still 
Survives, make- her home on the farm in Shelbj 
( omit \ . 

The father of our subject was horn in April. 1810, 
ami accompanied Mr. Souther to Illinois in the 
early 'SOs. He immediately set to work to gain a 
livelihood and so successful was he in hi- efforts 
that at the time of his death, January •">. 1875, he 

was the owner of alioul one thousand acre- of 
splendid land. His property wa- in Sullivan Town- 
Ship, Moultrie County, where he spent his active 
life. Politically he was a Democrat, and religiously 
a member of the Christian Church. He was ever a 
liberal contributor to charitable purposes and no 



652 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



man worthy of his confidence was ever unkindly 
turned away when lie sought a favor at the bands 
of J. J. I [udson. 

The wife of J.J. Hudson was the daughter of his 
benefactor with whom he had come to Illinois and 
afterward resided. This must estimable woman 
passed from the busy scenes of earth May 15, 1874, 
at the age of forty-six years, having been horn in 
1828. In her earlj girlhood she had united with 
th<- Christian Church and in that faith she died. 
For some years before her demise she had been an 
an invalid and passed away, the victim of con- 
sumption. A good and noble woman, and a true 
helpmate, she was mourned not only by those 
nearest to her. but by the neighbors and friends 
who still hold her memory dear. She was the 
mother of eleven children, six of whom died 
young. Laura died March •'!(>. 1891, the wife of 
J.H.Michael; Barbara is the wife of Isaac Horn, 
a well-to-do farmer and stock-raiser of this county; 
Jerry chose as his wife Addie Wheeler and is a suc- 
cessful farmer and stork-raiser of Lovington Town- 
ship: Sarah became the wife of Samuel Elder, a 
prominent farmer of Sullivan Township. 

Tinier careful influences at home our subject was 

reared and the g 1 common-school education 

which he obtained from the home schools was sup- 
plemented by a thorough course in the Christian 
College at Eureka, this state, an institution of 
prominence and influence. In 1888 he began the 
study of law with his present partner and after a 
thorough course of reading he was admitted to 

practice at the liar of Illinois. I le was appointed 
Master in Chancery in December, 1888, and lill> 
the office to the general satisfaction, lie owns a 
line property divided into three good farms and 
aggregating three hundred and twenty acres, lie 
also has invested some in eitj property in Sullivan 

and possessing g I judgment, will undoubtedly 

attain prominence in political and public affairs in 

the state. Hi- politieal conviction- are Strongly 

with the Republican party, and he is ever inter- 
ested in matters of public interest and is wide- 
awake to the progress of the town. 

.Mr. Hudson was married September '.». 189J to 
Miss Kate Evans of Sullivan who i.- also proud to 
claim Moultrie < ountj as her birthplace. Mrs. 



Hudson is the daughter of Benjamin Kvans, de- 
ceased, and possesses the nobility of mind and 
geniality of disposition which wins her friends 
wherever -he may be. The citizens of the com- 
munity, who are proud of the acquaintance of her- 
self and Mr. Hudson, wish them every happiness 
in the union upon which they have recently en- 
tered. 



EORGE SCHOCH. It is with pleasure that 

_- we incorporate in this RECORD a brief ac- 
count of the life of this respected citizen 
of Tower Hill Township, Shelby County, lie has 
borne a worthy part in the agricultural work of 
the county, and in that of social and benevolent 
circles, and to every position he has brought the 
energy and earnestness which arc his chief char- 
acteristics. As a farmer, he uses excellent judg- 
ment in the preparation of the -oil for crops, ill the 

character of the produce raised, and reaps a cor- 
responding harvest. Buildings suited to the vari- 
ous need- of the family and farm economy have 
been erected and everywhere the indications arc' of 

peace and plenty. The estate is pleasantly located 
on section 1 and comprises one hundred and 
twenty acres. 

.Mr. Schoch is one of our German-American citi- 
zen-, who have aided so materially in the develop- 
ment ol our country. lie was horn in Wurteni- 
berg, Germany, October 9, L840, and mew to 
manhood in his native laud. In the excellent pub- 
lic schools of the Fatherland he gleaned a good 

education and at the same time assisted his fathei 
in the farm work, for which he had a natural apti- 
tude. His parent- were Leonard and Magdelena 
(Knodler) Schoch, who passed their entire lives in 
Germany. George Schoch, the subjeel of this bio- 
graphical notice, remained in Germany until he 
was about twentj'-f our years old, and in September, 
1st;.'), took passage for America. 

Landing in New York Mr. Schoch proceeded di- 
rectly to Shelbyville, this county, where for about 
three years he worked out on a farm, lie then 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



653 



rented land for aboul three years, and by careful 
hoarding of his hard earned money he was enabled 
in 1871 to purchase a tracl of forty acres in Tower 
Hill Township. He afterward added to the acreage 
as suited his convenience and now owns one hun- 
dred and twenty acres, nearly all of which is in 
cultivation, lie erected a commodious residence 
On his farm, and in various ways embellished his 
property. Possessing good judgment and untir- 
ing energy he naturally ranks among the foremost 
farmers of the community. 

When prepared to establish domestic ties ,i|' his 
own. Mr. Schoch was married in Tower Hill Town- 
ship, to .Mary YVeidle. who was horn in Ohio April 
s. 1852. Unto them were horn six children, namely : 
Charlie F.. Lizzie 1!.. Rickey K.. Minnie A.. Will- 
iam G. and Emma C. Mrs. Schoch is the daughter 
of Frederickand Rickey (Reossler) Weidle, natives 
of Wurtemberg, Germany, who came to America 
in is.')2 and settled in Preble County, Ohio. In 
L857 they came to Illinois, settling in Rural Town- 
ship. Shelby County, where Mr. Weidle died in 
1859. Our subject and his wife are both faithful 

members of the Lutheran ( luirch. and are noted for 

their benevolent and kindlj dispositions. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Schoch is a Democrat, but has never 
soughl office, preferring domestic quiet to the tur- 
moil attached to a publie career. 



^§>*<I^ 



I). Tl 



g I 



■yj BRAM L. KELLAR, M. 

(■■/ I old doctor of pioneer days won his way 

j ' into the good graces of every family in 

Qj all the region round about, for his sturdy 

hut kindly character won the heartsof the mothers 
and children and his judgment ami skill compelled 
the respect of the hard-working pioneer men. Il 
i- possible that the position of a doctor who has 
long held sway in a community embodies an ideal 
life as far as influence and standing go. Such a 

life has been that of the well-known doctor and 

old settler whose home ha- Keen in this county 

most of the time since 1832 and whose name ap- 
peals at the head of this paragraph. 

Dr. Kellar was graduated from the medical de- 



partment of the university at Louisville. Ky.. and 
began active practice in 1852 al Decatur, hut foui 
years later made Sullivan his permanent home, 
with tln j exception of the decade 1865-1875, 
which he spent at Shelhy ville. He i- a physician 

of the regular school and has been one of the lead- 
ing men of the county since his settlement here. 
His parents were pioneers in Macon County when 
he was a little hoy at a time when that county was 
all an unbroken wilderness. 

The Doctor was horn in Oldham County. Ky.. 
December Hi. 1827, and is the youngest member of 
his father'- family. His father Abraham 11. Kellar. 
was a native of Ten nessee ami a son of William 
Kellar. a l'enn-y 1 vanian by birth who grew Up 
among the Dutch farmers and when he had reached 
manhood removed to Tennessee and then' married 
Miss Rebecca Netherton, who came of a prominenl 
family in that region. After their marriage and 
the birth of some of their children William Kellar 
and wife removed to Oldham County. Ivy., and 
there became pioneers, for thej made their loca- 
tion in that State in the last decade of the eigh- 
teenth century. In that county they -pent the 
remainder of their days living to an extreme old 
aye. Mrs. Kellar especially, as she died at the age 
of ninety-four. Ilia' husband had been a preacher 
in the old school Baptisl Church for years and for 
generations the family adhered to that church in 
religion and to the Democratic party in politic-. 

Abraham II. Kellar. who came with his parents 
when three years old to Oldham County, Ky.. was 
there married to Nancy .1. llitt. who was horn in 

lie Line Grass regions of Fayette County, Ky. 
This couple with their children emigrated in 1832 

to what is now Moultrie County. 111., locating near 
the present site of the village of Lovington, al- 
though there was not then a town in the county 
and only Ave families within its present limit. 
They came with wagons, o\-tea nis and a horse and 
camped out upon the way. passing through a 
sparsely settled country. 

The parent- took I .o\ eminent land and here 

began life in Illinois about the time that the In- 
dians left this region. The county wa- thickly 
inhabited by wild game and last hut not least, as 
the Doctor says, there were then great numbers of 



654 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPIIK AL RECORD. 



rattlesnakes upon the prairies. He at one time 
killed one hundred and thirty-two sizable snakes in 
breaking ten acres of land. Before the death of 
Abram II. Kellar, which occurred when he was 
sixty-tive year- old, he had secured a comfortable 
home and life had grown easier for the farming 
community. His widow returned to Kentucky and 
her days ended under the roof of her daughter, 
Mrs. Paulina Hikes near Louisville, Ky.. after she 
had reached the age of four-score years and four. 
Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Kellar were formerly 
Baptists, bul in 1828 they joined the Reformation 
and became active members of the Christian 
Church in whose communion they continued 
through life. Mr. Kellar was familiarly known for 
many years as "Hickory" Kellar on account of his 
Jacksonian faith which was Democracy of the 
deepest dye. The two brothers of our subject an- 
il. Y. Kellar, a Christian minister at Effingham, 
III., and Joel II.. who lives in Scotland County, 
Mo. The sisters who are living are Elizabeth, 
wife of Albert G. Snyder of Elk County, Kan., 
and Paulina, wife of Edward J. Hikes living near 
Louisville. 

The subject of our -ketch was married in Decatur 
to Miss Jane E. (antrill. daughter of William and 
Elizabeth (Hall) Cantrill, natives of Kentucky. 
whose daughter was born in Illinois. They resided 
in this State until death and passed away at the 
ages of eighty-one and fifty-eight years respect- 
ively, being much mourned and deeply respected 
for their true Christian faith. Mrs. Kellar is the 
mother of Ave children, \ i/: ( lharles H.,who married 
Sarah Dilsaver, an d is a painter by trade in Beatrice, 
Neb.: Addie i- the wife of Dr. J. W. Goodwin, 
City Treasurer of Pomona. Cal.; Edgar II.. married 
Lyda Stewart and is a minister in the Christian 
Church in St. Louis, Mo.: Lizzie M. and N. Pen I 
reside at home and are receiving at the hands of 
their parent- a liberal education. 

The Doctor and his wife are prominent mem- 
bers of the Christian Church and the ability, in- 
telligence and zeal of this gentleman ha- fitted 
1 1 i tn to do excellent work in t he church and he fre- 
quently Mil.- the pulpit with profit, and acceptably. 

lie is known as :i lluent Speaker and a natural ora- 

tor and ha- a reputation a- a logician, and he is 



frequently called upon to make speeches on vari- 
ous subjects and is never at a loss for forcible 
thought and expression. He was formerly an ac- 
tive worker in the Democratic party but is now 
alive to the interests of prohibition and votes to 
put down the saloon. He is a member of Blue 

Lodge No. 7fi t Of the Masonic order, and for four 

years was Master Mason in the old lodge before the 
re-organization. He is a man of somewhal portly 
figure, striking appearance and has an excellent 
voice which stands him in good stead in hi- public 
addresses. 



a-i-fr-Mv 







IIII.IP ROESSLER. The readers of this 

volume will lie interested to pursue still 

farther the history of the Boessler family. 

one of the most prominent and respected 

circle- of Uo.-e Township. Shelby County. The 

representative whose name we give here i> one of 

the most thorough-going farmers and intelligent 
and representative citizens of his section of the 
county. His parents are spoken of moreal length 
in the history of his brother, Edward Roesslcr. 

six children gathered about the parental fireside 
and among these our subject was the youngest son 
and next to the youngest child, lie wa- horn in 
Eairfield County, Ohio, near Lancaster, July 7. 

1837. Here he spent his lioyhood day- and came 

with hi- father to shelly County in 1849, growing 
to maturity in Hose Township. He remained at 
home until he was married, and then settled upon 
the old home farm where he ha- -incc resided. Ili> 

bride was Sarah P.. Barringer, who was bora in 
Montgomery County, 111., in 1837. Their wedding 
took place in Rose Township, in October, I860. 

This wife bore him two children. Stephen A. and 
M.i i \ s.. the daughter dying when fifteen years 
old, and the mother being called away in ( (ctober, 
1864. 

The second larriage of our subject took place in 
Rose Township. Eebruarj 22, 1870, his wife being 
Mary E. Gcarhart, who was born in Pennsylvania. 
She became themotherof four children: Theodore 
.1.. Arthur IT. Nellie M. and Kmma P. Mr-. Man 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



fi :.;, 



E. Roessler died in September, 1*7*. His third wife 
was Florence M. Gearhart, who died in June, 1880. 
The 1 : i < 1 \ who now presides so graciously over the 
household of Mr. Roessler, bore tin- maiden name 
of Mary M. Kull and was born in Shelby County. 
Five children have crowned this union, namely : 
Ralph I'... Luther M., Charles A.. Ira I', and Will- 
iam ( ). 

Agricultural pursuits have always claimed the 
attention of Mr. Roessler and he i> now the owner 
of two hundred acres of rich and fertile soil which 
bears upon it excellent improvements, and com- 
fortable and commodious buildings. IIi> neighbors 
have placed him in several offices of responsibility 
and trust. He has been Collector for four terms, 
Assessor for one term and School Director for 
several years. He has taken quite an active part 
in political affairs, is in sympathy with the Labor 
I'nion movement and a member of the Farmers' 
Mutual Benefit Association. His religious training 
and associations have led him to unite himself 
with the Lutheran Church in which his wifeisalso 
an active mem her. He has contributed liberally both 
to the support and building of the church, and is 
a man of broad intelligence and one of the efficient 
promoters of all movements designed to forward 

the best interests of the community. His g 1 

wife bears a high reputation for housewifely skill 
anil management and her hospitality and geniality 
make her a decided favorite in the -( K-i.-i I circles of 
Rose Township. 



\( OB \. JONES, who is the head of the 

linn of Jones ami son>. merchants in Wind- 
sor, Hhelbj County, this State, was born in 
' Muskingum County, Ohio, March -_'7. 1828. 

He was reared on a farm where he remained until 

seventeen years of age, at which time he left home 

and started out t ake a fortunj for himself. 

When he was but three years of age his father re- 
moved to Clermont County. Ohio, and there they 
lived until our subject left the home roof. With the 
sanguineness of youth he felt that the world lay be- 



fore him to conquer as he would, and he wa- eager 
to tr\ his strength with it> difficulties and hard- 
ships. 

On leaving home, he went to Cincinnati, Ohio. 
and learned to make counter scales, lie served a 
short apprenticeship to this business and then 

worked at it for about two years, and for SOme 

time after he was engaged in daguerreotyping. 
and in 1854, came to Stark County, this state, and 
at once launched into farming on hi- own account. 
This he continued for ten years being successful in 
his chosen calling. In the latter part of 1863, how- 
ever, he removed to Moultrie County, this State, 
and purchased a farm which he was engaged in im- 
proving for a period of less than one year. He 
then removed to Windsor and wa- employed as 
clerk in a store. From that time he launched into 
mercantile business for himself, and since then he 
has been in partnership with different persons. In 
1881 he founded his present partnership, by admit- 
ting hi- -on. Wilbur II. into tin' business, and in 
1890, his son Jacob wa- added to the firm. Thc\ 

carr\ on an extensive business both in the town 

ami in the neighboring agricultural region. 

Mr. . I ones was married in Clermont County, Ohio. 
to Mary Myser, who wa- also a native of the 

county in which -he was married. Their marriage 

was celebrated June I. 1857, and Mr-. Jones died 
October I. 1887. They were the patents of five 
children whose names areas follow-: Wilbur II.. 
Susan P>.. Willie. Jacob and Frank. The young 
men arc all ambitious and energetic, and their en- 
trance into their father'- business ha- been to the 

advantage both of themselves and the linn. 

Our subjed is a Democrat in hi- political prefer- 
ence. Religiously he isamemberof theMethodist 
I'.pi-copal Church, and has filled the office of Trus- 
tee for some time Mr. Jones i- the owner of con- 
siderable property in various part- of the county. 
lie own- one hundred and seventy-two acre- of 
land in Windsor Township, and valuable property 

in the village of Windsor. Our subject's father 
was John C. .lone-, who was born in Jefferson 
County, Ohio. His mother's maiden name wa- Isa- 
bella Williams, a native of Washington ( oimlv. 
Fa., and was bora near Brownsville. She died in 
Stark County, 111., when about sixtv-three vears of 



656 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



age. Her husband passed away in Windsor, 111., at 
theadvanced age of eighty-five years. They were 
tlic parents of twelve children, seven sons and live 
daughters. Of these our subjecl was the second in 
order of birth. 

The young men who have been taken into part- 
nership with their father, have made homes Cor 
themselves. Wilbur II. lias placed over his domes- 
tic life. .Miss Mollie Moberly. They were married 
October lit. 1881, and have a pleasant home in the 
village. Jacob married .Miss Caddie Russel, and 
makes a model husband. Our subject is a thor- 
ough business man. and his credit has never been 
impaired by carelessness or misjudgment. He has 
a good store with a carefully and well selected 
stock of goods. Their residence is a comfortable 
and commodious place, not too good for the en- 
joyment of everything in and around it, by the 
members of the family. 




IIILIP A. MAUTZ. One of the German- 

American citizens in Tower Hill Town- 
ship who emigrated to America that, under 
the star-spangled banner, he might reap 
the benefits to lie derived from an unlimited free- 
dom, is the gentleman who resides on the farm 
which he has made conspicuous for its nicety of 
cultivation, on section II. of Tower Hill Township. 
On coming to the United States, he proceeded at 

once to Shelby County, this State, where he arriv- 
ed October 13, 1856. 

Philip Mautz is a son of George G. and Mar- 
garet C. (Anger) Mautz. Our subject was born in 
Wurtemberg, Germany, September 27, 1850. In 
1856, the family emigrated to the United stales 
and soon settled in Shelby County. They remov- 
ed, however, to Ridge Township, where the father 
died June 8, 1856, at the age of forty years. The 
mother is still living ami resides with our subject, 
having attained the threescore years and ten allot- 
ted in script ure. she is i he mother of eight child- 
ren born, with the exception of one child, in llic 

Fatherland, of the eight children above men- 
tioned, only three lived in years of maturity. Thej 



are Elizabeth ('.. Barbara M. and our subject. Eliz- 
abeth is the wife of Jacob Galster, of Rural Town- 
ship. Barbara married Jacob Doll, and resides in 
Tower Hill; our subject is the only living son. 
I lis education was acquired for the most part in 
the United States, having here attended the dis- 
trict schools. With his mother he removed to the 
place where they now live in September. 1866, at 
which time his mother purchased ninety-four acres 
of new prairie land, which our subject has impro- 
ved and of which he has made a most desirable 
home. He also owns one hundred and sixty acres 
of land in Dallas County. Mo. 

February 11. 1878, he of whom we write, invited 
to be mistress of his home Mary S. C. Luepke. She 
was a daughter of Charles and Dora Luepke. She 
was born in Prussia and came to the United States 
with her parents when but seven years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. Mautz are members of the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church. Our subject gives special atten- 
tion to the breeding of tine Clydesdale horses, and 
i> the owner of the well known stallion, " Colonel 
Mill-." No. 1057, also "Heirloom" No. 8691, regis- 
tered in Vol. 13, of the Clydesdale Stud Hook of 
Great Britain and Ireland. No. (11121 of the Amer- 
ican Clydesdale stud Book. 



'ep ' • ^ • "•• ^^^ •••^m^-^=^ir 




El'REN TERRY. Prominent in agricult- 
ural and church circles is the family repre- 
sented by our subject, who resides on sec- 
*'^ tioii 22. Okaw Township. Shelby County, 
lie was born in Bourbon County. K\ .. December 
10, l s:>2. being a son of Reuben and Elizabeth 
(Dazey) Terry, who in 1833 when this son was in 
his early infamy came to Illinois and settled in 
( tkaw Township. 

Reuben Terry. Si\. made his first home in Illinois 
for a short time with his father-in-law Lemuel 
Dazey and somewhat later made a settlement on the 
section which is now the family home, and where 

he resided until his death which occurred April 2. 
1881. He was bereaved of his beloved ami faith- 
ful companion September 5, 1851. She had been 
the mother of eleven children, two of whom died 



PORTRAIT AM) BI0GRAPI1ICA] RECORD. 



dot 



in infancy and nine grew to the age of maturity. 
They were a- follows: Mary, now Mrs. Allen 
Francisco, of Oka vt Township; John, who died in 
Mississippi while traveling for hi- health; Sarah, 
whip married Alfred Doddy and died in Okaw 
Township; Vincent, deceased; Reuben, our subject; 
Lemuel, deceased; Elizabeth, the wife of John A. 
Fearman; William, who died ai the aye of sixteen 
years and George, wlni lives in Shelbyville. Their 
mother was an earnest member of the Christian 
Church and gave t<> all her children a thorough 
training in the doctrines and duties of religion. 
Our subject, who is the oldest of the living mem- 
bers of his father's family, was reared upon the 
farm and attended the pioneer schools which weir 
held in the old log cabins, ventilated by large lire 
places and furnished with rough hewn scats and 

benches. In August, 1854, he was married to 
Martha E. Shanks, daughter of John K. and Mild- 
red (Johnson) Shanks. This lady was horn in 
Okaw Township, May 25, I*:i7. and was of South- 
ern parentage, her father being a native of Del- 
aware and her mother of Virginia. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shanks were married in Kentucky 
in 1831, and came to Illinois aboul 1835. [nearly 
life he had been a shoemaker, but after coming to 
okaw Township, he pursued farming as his life 
work. lie was called from earth, July 20. 1855, 
Imt his bereaved widow survived until the fall of 
1K77. Of their six children. Mary Ann married 
Jacob Jackson and died near Jefferson City. Mo.. 
wlile removing to Kansas. Elizabeth -I. married 
Smith li. Chapman and resides in Okaw Town- 
ship. Martha E. is the wife of Mr. Terry. John 
1'. reside- in Okaw Township; Lucy ( '. married I). 
I). Anders ami has lieeii for many years a wid- 
ow of the Civil War. residenl in Shelbyville; Da- 
vid II.. who was a member of the Seventh Ill- 
inois (avaln was killed near Nashville, December 
15, 1864. 

After marriage Mr. Terry purchased forty acres 
of line land from his lather, upon which he began 
the independent life of a farmer which he has pur- 
sued to the present day. He now own- one hun- 
dred and forty acres, on which he has erected good 
buildings. He and his worthy wife have reared a 
family of five children : Mary E.. wife of Lawson 



Hendricks; John W., George R., Ella A., wife of 
William Price; Sue -I.. wile of .1. li. Warthman. 
During the war Mr. Terr j was a I nion man and 
in I860 he cast his ballot for Stephen A. Douglas. 
lie is now independent in hi- political views and 
ha- served as Super* isor, Justice of the Peace and 
Road Commissioner. Witn hi- excellent wife he 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 



> , b , i > > » >- >> ■■ 



IIAK1.KS sill MAN. Sullivan, Moultrie 
County, is happj in having among it- list 

of citizens a numberof nun who aredeeply 
interested in educational affairs, and sufficiently 
capable of being intelligent guides of it- public 
school-. Among such we count Mr. Shuman, a 
practical and successful fanner living in Sullivan, 
and managing a farm upon sections 7 and 18, Easl 
Nelson Township. 1 le t here has a splendid prop- 
erty of four hundred and forty-two acres, which is 
well stocked, and most of it handsomely improved. 
lie is a thrifty and practical farmer ami stock- 
raiser and handle- line breeds of stock. 

Besides his agricultural pursuits he has been for 
some live years associated with the Sullivan Pro- 
gress a- he removed to Sullivan from East Nelson 
Township several years ago. lb' was elected in 
1HK2 by the Democracy of the county to the office 
of County Clerk, which position he Idled with 
much satisfaction for eight years, his second term 
closing in 1890. for a number of years he was a 
member of the Board of Supervisors while living 
in East Nelson, and has been in the county since 
1861. lie was educated for a teacher at Lebanon, 

111., where he was graduated at McKeiidrec ( ollege 
in the Class of '72. and afterward taught in St. 
(lair County for some four winters, lie had be< n 
a -indent in the cit\ schools of Shelbyville before 
entering college, lie began to teach in the public 
schools in 1x72. and then engaged in farming tor 
a number of years. Mr. Shuman was horn in Phil- 
adelphia, Pa,, February 21. 1843, hi.- father, Charles 
(.. Shuman, having come to thclTnted states from 
Germany when a young man, and having learned 

there the trade of a shoemaker. In that city he 



fi58 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



married his wife, Mary Eberhart, who was also a 
native of Germany, and who bad come to this 
country when young. After the birth of two chil- 
dren this worthy couple removed to Louisville, 
Ivy., and there the father started a shop and con- 
ducted a prosperous business until 1847. when lie 
removed with his wife and family to Edgar County, 
111., and there buill \i]i a trade at Dudley. In that 
village Charles G. Shuman passed away in 1877. 
having reached the limits of three-score years and 
ten. lie was a Lutheran in religion and a Demo- 
crat in polities. In his religious principles his wife 
sympathized most cordially, and she is still con- 
nected with the Lutheran Church, and'is living in 
Edgar County, at a ripe old age. 

Five sons and two daughters of this family are 
now living and are self-sustaining.' He of whom 
we write was married in East Nelson Township, to 
Miss Mary McPheeters, who was born in Fayette 
County, Ky., January 25, L848. she is adaughter 
of Maj. Addison McPheeters. for whose fuller his- 
tory our reader is referred to the biography id' Mr. 
A. W. McPheeters. Mrs. Shuman was quite young 
when her parents came to Illinois, and here she re- 
ceived he]- education and made her home until 
marriage. She is now tin mother of four children, 
all of whom are still under the parental roof except 
one son. who has passed to the better world. Those 
who are at home are Bertha, Bliss and Irving. Mrs. 
Shuman is an earnest and active member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where the entire 
family attend service. Mr. Shuman is prominently 
identified with the Blue Lodge of Masons. No. 764 
of Sullivan, and i.- at present the Treasurer of the 
Lodge. He is a great lover of education and one 
of the most useful members of the School Board. 



/p^EORGE A. DURKEE. The original of our 

11 <^*7 s ^ c '''''' ' s •'' worthy representative of an old 
\^5) and well-known family of the New Eng- 
land state.-. From them lie lias inherited a strong 
mentality, which ha.- been intelligently directed 
and he i> now recognized as being one of the 
intellectual. Iho.mi1 thinking men of this section. 



His superior mental caliber is recognized by his 
townsmen, and he has been appointed to some 
positions of honor and trust. Several limes he 
has been sent as a Republican delegate to the 
State Conventions and is the proud possessor of a 
souvenir of one of these mission-, in the shape of 
a gavel made out of a rail which Abraham Lincoln 
hewed out with his own hands. This he received 
as Chairman of the County Central Committee. 

George A. Durkee is a grandson of Dr. John 
Durkee. a native of Vermont, who came of Ameri- 
can parentage, although very likely of French ex- 
traction. He studied to become a physician and 
followed his profession for many years, although 
he was at the same time proprietor id' a large farm 
which he continued to manage until the end of his 

life. 

He married his wife in Vermont. Tin' lady's 
maiden name was Corinna Winters. She was horn 
and reared in the (Ween Mountain State, and 
after the birth of their first son. David, who was 
the father of our subject. Dr. Durkee anil wife 
removed to the Genesee Valley, New York, 
when that section was new. After ten or twelve 
years, the family continued Westward and settled 
in Indiana, in the same year in which the Stale 
was admitted to the Union, L816. They settled in 
\ igo County, near Terre Haute. The country was 
quite wild at the time. They had proceeded thither 
down the Ohio and up the Wabash Livers, in an 
old style keel Imai. The State was just beginning 
to he settled when they came. They procured a 
trad of Governmenl land upon which they began 
to make a home. It was there that David F. was 
married to l-'rcclove Frink. about 1820. The lady 
was born and reared in New York, and was a 
young woman when she came West with -ome of 

her neighbors. 

After the marriage of David F. and his young 
wife, they began life as farmers near Terre Haute, 
and there our suhjeet was born April 1. I*"2.'>. In 

the spring of L825, David I-'., wife and children 
moved to Tippecanoe County. Ind.. and there 
secured a tract of Governmenl land, upon which 
they made many improvements, and they secured 
a comfortable home. Dr. John Durkee and wife 
had also gone to that country, and there they 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



659 



died, the Doctor aged sixty-three. His wife sur- 
vived him f or some years and passed away at four- 
score years. They were members and adherents of 
the Presbyterian Church and were well knownand 
highly respected pioneers of Indiana. 

In L 848, David F. Durkee, wife and children, 
emigrated to this State, making the journey by the 
overland route and bringing their worldly posses- 
sions with them by trams. They made a settlc- 
ment mi good land in Pickaway Township, Shelby 
County, and here they made a home and some 
progress toward improving the farm. They later 
retired \<> Shelbyville, and there David F. died 
December 28, 1871, being then seventy years <>l 
age. His wife died at the home of her daughter in 
Wells County, this State in 1881. she was born 
in 1798, and was a member of the Presbyterian 
Church. Mr. Durkee was an old line Whig in 
politics and an active local politician, though nut 
an office seeker. 

Oursubjeet is the eldest of a family of eight 
children, three of whom are yet living. A brother 
.lames is a banker in Eureka, Kan., and a sister, 
who i> now Mrs. William Tackit, of whom a bio- 
graphical sketch may In- found in another pail of 
this volume. He of whom we write became of 
age in Tippecanoe County, lie remained with his 
father until his marriage, working in his mill and 
factory. He married Miss Salome Ellis, their 
nuptials being celebrated March 5, 1846. The lad\ 
was horn in Ohio, near Dayton. August 7. 1826. 
she was quite young when her parents. James 1'. 
and Elizabeth (Swyhart) Ellis made a settlement 

in Tippecanoe County, lad. There her (her 

died in middle life. Later Mr. Ellis removed to 
Illinois, and died at the age of eighty years, in 
Iroquois County. He and his wife were pioneers 
iii Indiana. Mr. Fllis was broughl up under the 
Quaker persuasion, but in later years neglected to 
follow the customs of that church. Mrs. Durkee 
was one of a large family, being chiefly reared in 
Tippecanoe County. For many years >he has been 
a true and loving wife to her husband, ever study- 
ing his interests, and presiding over his home with 
grace and dignity. She has been his intelligent 
helpmate in securing and improving the three 
hundred and forty acres, which theii fini farm 



comprises. Our subject secured his first one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land from the Govern- 
ment. He has improved the whole of what he 
now owns. 

Mrs. Durkee has presented her husband with six 

children, two of whom were taken away while 
babes. The living children arc Walter !'>.. Fannie. 
James Edward, besides one daughter who died in 
IsM. Walter took to wife Bell Kelley, and is a 
farmer in Holland Township. Fannie is the wife 
of Allien White and lives in Shelbyville. .lames 
Edward lives On a farm in this township and made 
Jennie French, his wife. The daughter who died 
was the wife of S. A. Martin, and passed away in 
her thirty-first year. Mr. and Mrs. Durkee are 
kind and hospitable people and have a host of 

friends in this county. Mr. Durkee is one of the 
leading Republicans of the country, hut not an 
office seeker. He is an ex-President of the Agri- 
cultural Society of the county, having occupied 
this position for a great main years. He has been 
Vice President and Director from the second year 
of its organization. 



DWARD LEWIS SHEPHERD is a resident 
of Sullivan, Moultrie County, being for 
many years a merchant and saloonist on 
Main Street. He came here firsl in 1861, and be- 
gan lirst a- a restaurant keeper, merging this estab- 
lishment finally into a general store until 1871. 
when he opemd a bar on the west side of the square 

where he has been engaged for several years. lie 

has been a very careful man in hi- business. He 
allows no game of chance to uo on within the walls 
of his house, and no loafing or carousing and keeps 
strictly within the hounds of the law. 

Mr. Shepherd was horn in Scott County. Ivy., 

August II. 1832. His father. William Shepherd. 

was a native of Virginia, ami the grandfather n 
Frenchman, who died in the old Dominion. In 

that State Wiiliam shepherd grew to mauh land 

took part a- a private soldier in the War of 1812. 
Ute, seeing much hard fighting in that conflict, he 



660 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



came to Woodford County, Ky., and was there | with other outbuildings thai bespeak the care and 

united in marriage with Evaline Ball, a native of attention bestowed by the owner. 

Virginia, who came to Kentucky before her mar- Our subject began his successful financial career 

riage. William Shepherd and his wife lived in in 1874, since which time he has accomplished all 

Kentucky until their children had all grown to ma- that so evidently marks him to be a man with 

turity, and in 1 s."i I they came as a family to Sulli- practical ideas of agriculture, lie has not only im- 

\ an. and here the father died March 15, 1871, ha v- proved his place and erected the buildings thereon, 

ing reached the age of seventy-six years. His wife lint has also freed it from debt and Stocked it with 

survived liim, but passed away April "_".». hs7.">. flue grades of horses, sheep, swine and cattle. Vet 

They were members of the Christian Church, and young, his energy and ambition destine him to he 

in politics Mr. William Shepherd was formerly a i a rich man and a prominent figure in his commu- 

Whig, and later a Democrat. nily. 

Our subject was the third child and second son The original of our sketch lias spent his entire 

in a family of five children. The two daughters , life in this county, with the exception of four years 

arc deceased, viz: Ann. formerly the wife of S. 1'. during which he was in the Golden State, and on 

Alexander; and Belle who passed away in infancy ; the shores of the Pacific Ocean, lie was not. how- 

.lohn I!, took to wife Sarah Ilaydon, and now lives ever, engaged there as amine]-, although he was an 

in Texarkana. Ark.; and M. T.. a banker who re- eager searcher for the precious metal bearing the 

sides in Lovington, this county. His wife bore the Government stamp, and this he acquired by hon- 

inaidcn name <»f Jenny Mullikin. Our subject was est labor, being variously engaged, but spending 

married in Franklin County, Ky., to .Mis- Ann M. the greater part of his time in teaming, which com- 

Ilawkins. who was born in Kentucky in |S4'_'. on nianded at that ti the best prices. lie went 

June 30, and died in Sullivan, December 16, ISH'.t. West in the fall of 1869, and returned four years 

her death being caused li\ a cancer. She was a later; his journey out was made l>\ the overland 

woman of kindly impulses and had a host of friends route, and while the privations and discomfort of 

among the good women o£ Sullivan, and was an traveling in that way, were many, it offered unsur- 

earnest member of the Baptisl Church, she was j passed opportunity of seeing the country and ob- 

thc mother of one child. Laura I!.. who died in serving its various features. 

early childhood, in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd Mr. Iloush was born May 25, l849,on the farm 

have been foster parents to two children. Maggie. which he now owns, and near where his own 

who is now married to Walter Craig and lives in house now -lands. As he grew up be earh 

Sullivan, and Etta, the wife of George B. Holding. learned the necessity of hard labor, and realized the 

who is a jeweler in Versailles, Morgan County. Mo. truth in the expression, the "survival of the lit- 

test" and thus determined to show himself as strong 
as any in the struggle lor a livelihood. As soon 
as he developed into manhood he began to better 

his condition. lie i- the second son of John and 

M. Ilolsll. living on a beautiful farm of Elizabeth I Armstrong) Housh, the former having 
me hundred si\ acres on section l. Flat died near Hastings, Neb., in l***. at the age of 
Branch Township, Shelby County, is one of seventy-four years, lie was a native of Virginia, 
the thrifty and prominent general farm- and came to Illinois while young, being then ashl- 
ers and breeders of stock of this township. The g-le man. lie first located in Shelby County', and 

properly of which he i- the happy possessor, was was one of the early seltlers in Flat Branch Tow n- 

accumulated by his own efforts and industry . lie ship, helping with the general improvements al the 

ha- great I- beautified the place by keeping il in same time, making a good farm and home for him- 

pcrfect order and erecting thereon an attractive self, and was fairly successful in his career. Hi- 

home and a line ami modemly constructed ham. wife was a native of this State, having been horn 



|>-o --::^=-> 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



661 



111 .Madison County, although reared from child- 
hood in Shelbj County, near Pickaway Township. 
she is yet living and owns a neat little farm of her 
own on section 1. Flat Branch Township, and at 
the age of sixty-seven, her faculties are undimned, 
and she is as bright and energetic as ever. She is 
now recognized as the oldest settler of Pickaway 

Township now living. She has a large circle of 
friends who are the comfort and pleasure she prom- 
ises her declining years. For many years she has 
been a prominent member of the Old School Bap- 
tist Church. 

Our subject was married in 1K7I to Miss Rebecca 
Lord, who was horn in Macon County. 111., in lKaT. 
There she was reared to womanhood. She was a 
daughter of Andrew and Mary Lord, hoth still liv- 
ing and prominent fanners id' Macon County. Of 
the seven children horn to Mr. and Mrs. Housh, 
one. the first horn, died young. The little one had 
been christened Nora N. The living children are: 
Lottie N., Gid., Nellie. Earl. Luella and Jessie. All 
of the children live at home, and are at the same 
time the joy and care of their devoted parents. 






i,"5"S* ■8"S , fc 



(« 



A. LINYII.L. In these days of evolution 
in every branch of industry it seems that 
every man who has an\ originality is in 
himself a centrifugal force, attracting to 
himself new ideas and methods that go to make the 
system of his small work and interests complete. 
While we know more of the world at large than 

ever before, in our specialties we are all specialists 
and egotists. Mr. I -in \ ill. who devotes himself to 
the work of preparing flour for the use and con- 
sumption of mankind, is a specialist in his branch 
and bends every energy and power to bringing to 
his work all improvements and advantages that can 
give him the best results, lie is the proprietor of 
the New Era Roller Process Mill.-, in Windsor, this 
State, and under his able management the mills 
turn out an immense quantity of the farinaceous 
product. 

He of whom we write was horn in Fayette ( ounty. 
Ind. March 1 7. 1837. He was reared on a farm until 



he attained his nineteenth year; at that time In- made 
his first journey out into the world and went into the 
eastern part of Kansas where he look iipsoineland 
claims and dealt in stock to some extent. The 
young man remained in the then perfectly new 
-tale t'or two Years, during which he had man\ 

exciting and strange adventures. However, at the 
end of that time he came to Moultrie County, this 
State, and purchased a farm in Whitley Township, 
where he Settled and remained for six or seven 
months, being there engaged in fanning. He eanu 

fr this farm to Windsor and engaged in the drug 

business with Dr. C.H. Brunk, the linn name under 
which they conducted their business, being Brunk 
A- Linvill. They continued this partnership for a 
period of about ten or twelve year-, and then our 
subjeel sold out his interest and contined his 
attention to the operating of his farm and dealing 
in slock. He bought the flouring mill of which he 
is proprietor in May. 1890. It ha- a capacity for 
turning out fifty barrels of Hour daily. 

The Original of our sketch while in Moultrie 
County, took upon himself the duties and obli- 
gations of marital life. In October 30, I860, he 
wa- married to Miss Mary .1. Reed, who was horn 
in Shelby (ounty. 111. Three bright children have 
come to gladden their home and brighten, by their 
intelligence and beautiful merriment, the daily 
lives of our subject and hi- amiable wife. Their 
name- are Elizabeth .1.. John F. and Mary B. Mr-. 
Linvill is a charming, matronly little woman ami 

LS devoted to her children, although one of the 

favorites iii Windsor society, her home is the first 
and most important object in her estimation. 

Our SUbjeel owns three hundred and fort\--i\ 
acres of land which is located partially in Shelby 
(ounty a id partially in Moultrie County. This i- 
weli cultivated and highlj productive and yields 
a handsome income to its owner. Mr. Linvill i- a 
member of the Democratic party, lie "as elected 
under his party as first Collector of Whitlej Town- 
ship, which was also the first Town-hip Collector 
iii that county. Both our subjeel and his wife an 
members and attendants of the Christian Church 
of which Mr. Linvill i- Deacon. 

The parents of him of whom we write were John 
and Elizabeth ( Donelson i l.in\ ill. The former was 



662 



PORTRAIT AM: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



probably a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of 
Virginia. They were, however, both reared in 
Kentucky, near Lexington, » here they were married 
and first settled. From there they removed to 
Fayette County, hid., whore they spent the re- 
mainder of their lives. Our subject's father was 
at one time a Methodist preacher but about 1*1:5 
he espoused the doctrines of the Christian Church, 
and died in thai faith. They were the parents of 
eleven children, of whom our subject was the tenth. 
Mr. Linvill is a public spirited man. whose 
generous impulses are governed by a linn and steady 
intelligence. He and hi- wife aie associated with 
the best people <>f the place. 



-^-f^ 



-~-E3 



THOMAS T. TOWN LEY. Men of strict in- 
tegrity, whose lives are governed by pru- 
dence and principle, are the real backbone 
of any community. The reliance which theii fel- 
low-men are able to place upon them strengthens 

every commercial transaction and reinforce.- that 

confidence in human nature which is the prime es- 
santial in all dealings between man and man. This 
necessary help in the upbuilding of a community 
is given by such men as Mr. Town ley, an old set- 
tler of Easl Nelson Township, whose active life has 
brought li i in into relation- with many of the men 
in Moultrie County, and whose public-spirited 

course ha- e\ er commended him to those who have 

hail dealings with him. 

Our subject i- of English parentage, hi- father, 
William, having l>een horn in Manchester and his 
mother. Sarah (Acton) Town ley, being also a native 
of England. They were married August ■">. 1815. 
The\ were both l)om iii Manchester. This worthy 
and intelligent family came to America aboul the 
yeat 1*27. although the father had come to this 
f 'ii 11 1 1\ one year previous, lie was a machinist 
ami found employment in the manufacture of cot- 
ton thread at Manayunk, and located hi- famih 

in that city - • eight mile- from the city 

of Philadelphia. He remained there for aboul 

eight year-, alter which he luck charge of a 
machine -hop on Brandy » iue ( nek lor about 



a year and later of another shop on the Schuylkill 
River. His work while in the vicinity of Philadel- 
phia was in the line of making machinery for these 
different factories. He had Imilt a factory in Eng- 
land, on German Street, Manchester, for a man 
named Duck. 

About the year 1837, one year after the close of 
the Black Hawk War. the father of our subject 
Came to Illinois and secured one hundred and sixty' 
acres of line land in Shelby County and in the fall 
of that year he brought his family on from the 
East and settled down upon his land and devoted 
himself entirely to agricultural pursuits. After- 
ward he added to it by purchase till he had six 
hundred acres. Both he and hi- g 1 wife 

finally passed away in Shelby County, she died 
April 12, 1853, and he May 28, I860. They had 
six living children, of whom Thomas '1'. was the 
eldest. 

Manchester, England, Thomas Street, was the 

native home of Thomas Townley. and July 23i 
l*l<l. was the date of hi- birth. lie came to Amer- 
ica with hi- father's family, and remaining with 
them, did not come Wesf until the fall of 1837- 
Ilis marriage took place June 12, 1839, in what i- 
now Hickory Town-hip. and hi- bride, who was 
known in her maidenhood a- Emily I). Apple, was 
horn iii Philadelphia. They settled iii Whitley 
Town-hip and there established a happy home. 

This wife became the mother of two children, who 
lived to years of maturity , namely : Thomas W. and 
Francis, but she herself passed away, leaving her 
husband and children to mourn her loss. Her 
dentil occurred February 2ii. 1850. 

The second marriage of Mr. Townley took place 
March II. 1851, in Edgar County, 111., and he was 
then united with a lady of unusual amiability' and 
character, who was known in her maidenhood as 
M:ir\ Barnes and was horn in Ohio February a, 
1828. she brought to the arduous and onerous 

duties Of her position all the power- of her line 

character and warm-hearted devotion, and was suc- 
cessful in the training, not only of her three chil- 
dren — George, Lucy and Josie — hut of the two 
whom she found in her husband's home. 

When Mr. Townley removed from Whitle\ 

Township he came to East Nelson Township and 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



663 



settled upon section 35, where he Las since been a 
resident. Upon his splendid farm of five hundred 
acres he has erected good buildings, which are an 
ornamenl i" the township. In his encumbency of 
the office of Highway Commissioner he has greatli 
benefited the traveling community. He has a 
good blacksmith shop upon his farm, which he uses 
to advantage, as he has worked at that business for 
some thirty years, in connection with hi- farm. 



K\ . NATHANIEL CORLEY, is an old 
settler and prominenl farmer of Pickaway 

Township, who has ever been known for 

hi- good words and works among the people. 
lie is a resident on section 34, where he has our 
hundred and sixty acres, less one acre given by him 
for the use of the Separate Baptist Church, lit- 
procured this land from tin- Government in 1*17. 
and has ever since owned the place ami lias put it 
in its present well cultivated and productive eondi- 
dition. It is a well cared for place, every particu- 
lar being kept up in the best of order, lie secured 
the land on a land warrant issued to him by the 
(rOvernmenl for services rendered in the Mexican 
War. in which he had enlisted when nineteen 

years of age, in the year 1846, joining the Third 
Illinois Regiment, Col. Forman ami (apt. Free- 
man, of Company I!, commanding. 

Mr. ( oile\ went with his regimenl lo Mexico as 
Sergeant and after serving for about seven months 
was discharged on account of disability, having 
contracted Mine— during his service, lie was in 
no active engagements, but saw much of the 
treachery and vindictiveness of the Mexicans. < >n 
his return home, and when he recovered his 
health he located his warrant on the land which he 
HOW owns and has ever since made it his home 
his grant being admitted during President Polk's 
administration. 

Our subject was born on Robinson (reek. Ridge 
Township, this county. June 13, 1*27. His 
father was Bryant Corley, a native of Virginia, 
and <>f Scotch-Irish parentage and ancestry. He 



was only two years old when hi- parents. Jonathan 
('.and Delilah (Smith) Corley came to Kentucky, 
and eighteen year- of age when his parents and 
family proceeded to Illinois and made settlement 
on Robinson Creek. There they began life in the 
early '20s and were the firsl pioneers of the 
county and'for many \ ears were in a sparsely settled 
country. At the time of their advent here, the 
Indians were their most frequent visitors and wild 
game was to he procured in abundance. Jonathan 
( '. and his wife after some years improved a farm 
in Cold Spring Township, this county, and there 
died. Mr. Corley being a victim to paralysis ami 
passing away at the age of seventy-eight, October 
.">. 1861. lie had been a very strong and rugged 
man. and was noted for his wonderful strength and 
enduring capacity. His wife was, a1 the time of 

her death in 1*4*. three-score and ten years of age. 
They belonged to the Methodist Church, when the 
primitive followers of Weslej believed it wrong to 
weai a ribbon or flower, or to beautify in anj way, 
the exterior person. 

Bryant Corley was one of quite a large family, 
the children being thirteen in number. All lived 
lo In- married and have families, but al the present 
lime only six of the family survive, and they arc 
all (piite advanced in years. liyrant Corley, soon 
after reaching manhood, married Elizabeth Lee, a 
native of Kentucky, and a daughter of John and 
Sarah (Hill) Lee, both natives of this country, but 
of German ancestry. The lady's family came to 
Illinois in 1*1*. and settled on Robinson Creek. 
Shelby County, a short time later, and like the 
Robinsons and Corleys. were among the earliest 
-clllcr- ill the county . and there John Lee and his 
wife spent the remainder of their lives, with the 
exception of the la-l fe» months, which they 
passed in Texas, "here they died. Mr. Lee had 
served for three months in the War of 1*12. 

After the marriage of our subject's parent- the\ 

purchased a raw prairie farm and there lived for 
some time. Later they secured another farm, and 
improved it afterward moving to Rose Township. 
where they settled in a comfortable home, and 
there died. The father passed away Januarj 13, 
1*71. lie was horn December 8, 1805. His wife 
died some years later at the home of her son, our 



i;<;i 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



subject, her decease occurring March 3, 1K81. She 
and her husband were four years identified with 
the Methodist Church. 

Our subject was the first born of ten children. 
six sons and four daughters. Four of the children 
are yet living, two sons and two daughters, and 
all are married. Our subject acquired his educa- 
tion in the primitive log school house, hut is an 
intelligent and well informed man. lie was mar- 
ried in Ridge Township, this county, in 1847. to 
Miss ChloeCasey. She was born and reared on the 
farm in Ridge Township, where she celebrated her 
marriage and was the youngest daughter, of Levi 
Casey, a well-known pioneer and frontiersman of 
this county, where he lived and died. Mrs. Corley 
was well reared by good parents. She is the sister 
of .fudge John Casey, a prominent man in his 
county and State in the early days. Mrs. Corley 
was an earnest Christian and a kind neighbor and 
loving wife. She died at her home in this town- 
ship April 19, 1862. she was a member of the 
United Brethren Church. She bore her husband 
two children, namely: Levi 15. and Bryant. The 
former took as wife Catherine Mattox. They live 
on the farm owned by our subject and operate the 
same. Bryant took as wife Nancy Brinker. They 
also live on the home farm. The old house is full 
of the merry voices of children who make the rooms 
re-echo with their gay laughter and merry play. 
Levi has four children who are Addie, the wife of 
Rich R. Bryant, who resides in (old Spring Town- 
ship, this county. Chloe, Mary .1. and Emma M. 
Bryant's children arc Mary F., Naomi, Lydia E., 
Nelson 0.,Ettir M. and Edith N. 

After the death of hi- first wife, our Subject was 

a sec 1 time married to Mis- Rebecca R. Whitten. 

Their marriage was solemnized January 15, 1863. 
The lady was born in Kentucky. October 23, isl's, 
and is a daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Rector) 
Whitten, natives of South Carolina and Virginia, 
respectively, although married in Tennessee, and 
after a short residence in Kentuckj emigrating to 
Illinois in 1846, where they settled in Montgom- 
ery County, and here lived, passing away at the 
ages of ninety-four and eighty-two, respectively. 
They were farmers and members of the Baptist 
Church, Mrs. Corlev was twenty years old when 



her parents came to Illinois, and she lived in 
Montgomery County until her marriage* Loth 
she and her husband are active members of the 
Baptist Church in which body Mr. Corley has 
been ordained a preacher and in which capacity he 
has served for twenty-four years, his ordination 
taking place in the month when he was forty years 
old. The Klders officiating were Revs. Willis 
Whitfield. Francis and Randolph, George W. 
Carter and John Turner. He has been in active 
service in the church ever since, until within four 
years. During that time he has done much travel- 
ling through the State and has been a faithful and 
devoted worker. 






OIIX W. HOMRIGHOUS. The original of 
this sketch is a farmer residing On section 
30, of Prairie Township. He settled in 
(c/ Shelby County in the fall of 1860, and is 
now numbered among the large and prominent 
agriculturists of Shelbj' County, lie was born in 
Fairfield County. June 15, 1834, and is a son of 
John and Magdeleine (Wagner) llomrighous, for 
whose further biography sec sketch of Ervin 
llomrighous. Our subject was educated ill the 
common schools of the district in which he lived. 
When a boy he worked with his father, who was a 
cabinet maker, and thus learned the use of tools. 
and t'i handle them with delicate nicety. At the 
age of seventeen he worked on the farm owned by 
his father, residing at home meantime. 

December 31, 1857, our subject was married to 
Mary Ann Reber, a daughter of Thomas Reber and 
Rachael (Allen) Reber, for whose further history 
see sketch of John Reber. Mrs. Homrighous waa 
born in Fairfield County, Ohio, February 7. 1836, 
In I860, our subjeel and family removed to Shelby 
County, and in the spring of 1861 settled on the 

farm where he now resides, ha villi: purchased three 
hundred and twentj acres of land which at the 
time bore but little improvement, lie has since 
pursued farming and has become the owner of nine 
hundred and >ixty acres of land, eighty acres Of 
which he has given his -on. 



PORTRAIT AND P.lOOR.milCAL RECORD. 



665 



Our subject and his wife are the parents of eight 
children. They are Charles, Rachel, Reber, Jennie, 
Carrie, Hattie, Lucj and Clay. Of these the eldesl 
daughter is the wife of Doris Miller. Jennie is the 
wife of Robert ( ecil. 

( lur subject formerlj was an advocate of Demo- 
cratic policy and principles, but he has now trans- 
ferred his allegiance to the independent party, He 
has been the incumbent of several offices in the 
township, having been Supervisor, Road Commis- 
sioner and Township Treasurer. Mr. and Mrs. 
Homrighous are members of the Methodist Episco- 
pal Church, of which our subject has been Class- 
Leader for a long time, lie of whom we write is 
a member of the Farmers' Mutual Benefit Associa- 
tion. His pecuniary success lias been attained 
largely by dealing in stock and also m raising the 
same, lie is a breeder of Norman horses, finding 
a ready market tor the same in the metropolitan 
cities. He also has a large number of Short-horn 
cattle of the finest breeding. The family residence 
is a brick house, commodkms and comfortable, and 

bearing evidence of taste and culture in its exter- 
nal appearance and inner arrangement. Mrs. 
Homrighous is a lady of unusual attainments, and 
is the personification of amiability and kind- 
heartedness. Many valuable improvements have 
been made on the place. 



-fcah 



"r^i* 



AMES H.JONES. It has often been ob 
served that while our foreign-born residents 
do not always readily accommodate them- 
selves to the genius of our country, that 
their descendants in the immediately following 
generation possess peculiar qualities of intellect and 
executive ability, which bring them into prominenl 
places in our American civilization. It seems that 
the vigor acquired during many generations of 
quiet, settled lite in the Old World, stimulated by 
the unprecedented activity of the American atmos- 
phere and institutions, produced most valuable re- 
sults. The subject of our sketch, who resides in 
Lowe Township. Moultrie County, has this peculiar 



advantage, a- his father. William .lone.-, was a 
native of Wales, while he was horn and reared in 
this country . 

The mother of our subject bore the maiden name 
of Martha Keyes and was a native of Virginia, al- 
though she was living in Highland County, Ohio, 
when she met and married William Jones. The\ 
spent together more than a golden half-cent urv in 
wedded life, most of this time being passed in Fair- 
field County, whence they removed in their later 
years to Attica. Seneca County. Ohio. Eleven 
children blessed this happy union, five sons and sis 
daughters, and our subject was tin- youngest son 
and ninth child, being born in Madison Town-hip. 
Fairfield County. Ohio, December 5, 1836. 

• lames II. Jones spent his early years much after 
the fashion of that day with farmer boys and re- 
ceived the best education which the advantages of 
the neighborhood afforded. His father owned and 
managed a -mall farm, although he wasalsoa Pres- 
byterian minister. Hi- son grew to manhood in 
Fairfield County and remained there until the fall 

of 1856, when he decided tO seek the 1'rairie State 
and came to Coles County, where he resided about 
:i year and then returned to his old home in Ohio. 

One \ear later he returned to Coles Countj and 
was living there when the war broke out. and with 
Lin a- with thousands of young men. this import- 
ant epoch in our country's history changed the 
whole current of his life. 

It seemed the most natural thing in the world to 
this young man. who had thoroughly enjoyed the 
blessings of freedom ami who had lieen trained in 
h patriotic love tor his country's Bag and honor, 
that he should spring to defend that flag when re- 
bellious hands had trailed it in the dust, and in 
August, 1862, he enlisted in ( ompany A. Eighty- 
eighth Illinois Infantry, and served until June '.'. 
1865. when he was mustered out of the service. 
His record in the army is one of participation in 
numerous conflicts and weary marches and he -aw 

the- ke.it hattie at Perryville, Kj r ., Stone River, 

( bickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, 
Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain. Peach Tree Creek and 
at Atlanta, besides others of less note. His arnvj 

experience i- a part of his life of which he ha- just 
reason to he proud and hi' cherishes the memory of 



666 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



those days with ardor and enthusiasm. Heisprom- 
inently identified with Post No. 194, G. A. II.. al 
Arthur. 

When "the piping times of peace" returned this 
young man came again to Coles County and re- 
sided there for some two years, but in the spring 
of 1K68 removed to Moultrie County and made his 
home on section .">. Lowe Township, where he has 
since been so useful and prominent a citizen. He 
had learned the carpenter's trade in Ohio when a 
young man and followed it in connection with 
farming for some time after coming to Moultrie 
County. Of late years he has given np his trade 
and devoted his attention entirely to fanning, hav- 
ing the management of his farm, a tract of eighty 
acres. 

Previous to the war Mr. Jones had been married to 
Miss Mary Ann Miller, who was born near Colum- 
bus, Ohio. January 27. 1842. Their wedding oc- 
curred in Moultrie County. May 9, 1859, and to 
them were granted eight children. Their lir-t- 
liorn, who bore the name of the martyred Presi- 
dent, Lincoln, died in infancy and the following 
remained to them: Charles W., John N., Lucy ('.• 
James K.. Sherman, Frank and Ida M. The mother 
of these sons and daughters died in Lowe Town- 
ship, February 7. 1880. 

The present Mrs. Jones, who is an earnest and 
active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church 
and a woman of sterling character and high intel- 
ligence, became the wife of our subjecl in Moultrie 
County, June 15, 1884, being at the time of her 
marriage to this gentleman the widow of Mr. John 
Rigg. Her maiden name was Diantha Brabham, 
being a daughter of John 1". Brabham, whose bio- 
graphical sketch will lie found elsewhere in this 
I>'i i ord. By hei firsl marriage she became the 
mother of four children : Vesta J., Norton M.. Ar- 
thur and one who died in infancy, she was born 
in Washington County, Ohio, March 13, 1842, and 
has made her home through life in Ohio and Illi- 
nois. 

The high intelligence and genuine Interest which 

Mr. Jones takes in matters of public importance 
hav< secured to him the confidence ami esteem of 
the residents of this township and he has occupied 
the position of Supervisor of Lowe Township, firsl 



by appointment and afterward by election, for 
more than two terms. He has also served two 
terms as Township Assessor, and his twelve 
years of service as Highway Commissioner and 
School Director have been year.- of progress in the 
direction of education and convenience to tin' 
traveling public. He is well read on political 
themes and take- his stand with the Republican 
party, being active in its support and having great 
faith in its possibilities. 



t i ' i ' \*-< \ < 



c 



ECIL J. RAWLINGS is a general farmer 
and the owner of a fine tract of land com- 
prising one hundred acre- on section 27. of 
Pickaway Township. Shelby County. His place is 
highly improved and every aid that science has 
brought to bear upon agriculture, ha- been made 
to favor the impi'ovement of his property, lie has 
erected a good class of buildings upon his place, 
the most important and central being his residence, 
which is attractive from without and comfortable 
and convenient within. Prior to hi- becoming 
proprietor of this farm he was engaged in fanning 
in this county, in which work he has been devoted 
since hi- majority. 

Our subject came to Pickaway Township with 
his parents in 1865. His advent here was made 
from Maryland, where he was born in Cecil County 
March II, 1853. His father was John Pawling-, a 
native of Maryland, who came of Scotch-Irish an- 
cestry, and a cousin on the maternal side, to 
George B. McClellan. his mother having been an 

aunt to the honorable gentleman. John Rawlings 
lo.-t his father when very young and was reared h\ 
his mother until he became of age. About that 
time he learned the wagon-maker'- trade, but as 
the work did not agree with him physically he left 
it to become clerk in a -tore, in which position lie 
continued for a time, after which he went to 
Guernsey ( ounty, Ohio. lie there lived until 1865 

when he removed with his family to this State. 

purchasing a large farm in Ridge Township upon 
which he made some improvements. Later, in 1883. 
he came to Pickaway Township and ured i 



PORTRAIT AND 1M< (GRAPHICAL RIX'ORD. 



667 



hundred and sixty acres on section 34, and<lhere 
made valuable improvements, purchasing other 
hind ami owning in this county nut far fromseven 
hundred acres, lit' made and improved his prop- 
erty entirely by liis own efforts, being a prac- 
tical and thrifty farmer, and was so fortunate as to 
make the proper investments such a time as to re- 
turnlarge profits to himself, lie died at his home 
in this township, September 29, 1**7. being then 
past sixty-nine years of age. 

Our subject is tin- eldest of six children yet liv- 
ing — two children having passed away. He of 
whom we write acquired a practical education in 
the common Schools Of the district. He had the 

advantages of a beautiful home life and an exam- 
ple in both parents of uprightness, honor and in- 
tegrity, and an ideal being constantly before him 
of gentleness and patience, which are the leading 
characteristics that the sect to which his father be- 
longed endeavor to cultivate. He became of age 
in Ridge Township, and there married his wife. 
in April, 1K7S. Her maiden name was Amelia T. 
Robinson. She was horn in Kentucky. February 
8, 1856. Slu- came to this State and located in Shelby 
County, when hut a nirl. in 1867, coming hither 
with her parents, .lames .1. and Margaret (Gaines) 
Robinson, who arc now successful farmers in Todd 
Point Township, this county. Mrs. Rawlingsisof 
good family having been reared most tenderly. She 
has taken advantage of every opportunity to add 
to her native attractions by making the most of all 
educational opportunities, and is the possessor of 
many accomplishments. For some seven years he- 
fore her marriage she was engaged a- a teacher. 

and as teachers generally do. she make- a delight- 
ful home for her husband. 

Mrs. RawlingS is the mother of five children. 
Two of these are deceased, namely: Mabel M. who 
was ten years of age at the time of her death, and 
l.orcn who was but five months old when called 
away. The living children are Adrian ('.. Zena 1',. 
and Ethel s. Our subject is a member of the Pres- 
byterian Church. His wife belongs to the Christian 
Church, and although by force of habit and edu- 
cation tiny go their different ways in church mat- 
ters, they are one in their Christian life, striving 
to do unto others as they would he done by. As 



was his father before him, Mr. Rawlings isa Demo- 
crat, believing those principles to he the ones most 
favoring freedom in the sense that a- a Republic, 

we desire. 




I.I.F.X CLORE. A man who has taken an 
active part in the upbuilding of his town- 
ship ami has given to it an example in the 
way of patient industry, speculative inves- 
tigation, and ".Teat attention to the minutia of 
agricultural work. Mr. (lore, of whom here we 
shall attempt to give a sketch, has well earned the 
rest from active labor that he now enjoys. He 
now from the richness Of his own experience, can 

advise and instruct theyoungmen whoare coming 
up and following in his footsteps, and while they, 
in the light of new and practical sciences applied 
to the common act of farming, can give him many 
new lines of thought, he. in return can pass opinion 
upon the feasibility of their investigations in the 
light of actual experience. 

Mr. ('lore is one of the oldest settlers in Moultrie 
County, and his friends hope for him still many 
years of agreeable existence, and as he belongs to a 
long lived family, doubtless their wish will be 
gratified. His parents were Benjamin and Ann 
(Christopher) (lore, both of whom were natives of 
Virginia. There they were married and removed 
to Kentucky at a very early day. settling in what 
was then Jefferson County, but since divided, and 
that part of the county in which they lived is now 
called Oldham County. There both parents died, 
the father being ninety-four years of age, and the 
mother about eighty. They had eleven children, 
all of whom lived to be grown. Our subject was 
one of the youngest members of the flock and he 
was born in what is now Oldham County, Ky. 
November 27. 1810, SO that the patriarchal snows 
may now lie seen upon his reverend and venerable 
head. 

Oui subject was reared on a farm in his native 
county and there he grew to manhood and con- 
tinued to live until he came to this county and 



668 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



state in L833, and settled on section 2.s. of Lov- 
ington Township, a short distance west from where 
the village of Lovington now stands, and covering 
a portion of the presenl site of the town, he having 
sold four acres of his farm for the use of the village. 
Tints la- has lived to see spring up around him, 
families and children 's families, with the newcomers 
thai are inevitably attracted to a place with a 
vigorous growth, and one having such local ad- 
vantages a> has Lovington. 

Just previous to coming to this State, the original 
of our sketch was married in Oldham County. Ky.. 
July 2*. 1833, to one of the Kentucky women who 
are so uotahle for beauty and housewifely skill. 
The lady's name was Ann E. Hardin. Her parents 
were Jonathan and Lucy (Wilhoite) Hat-den. Their 
deeease oecured in her native county and State and 
at an advanced age. Mrs. (lore's natal day was 
October 20, 1813. A little brood of children soon 
gathered around the family hearth and board. The\ 
were seven in number and were by name. I.uey A., 
John II.. William S., Mary E., James W., ZacharyT. 
and Susan E. The eldest daughter became the wife 
of Stanton Adkins. while the eldest son is engaged in 
farming in Missouri. William s. wasa soldier in the 
One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Illinois Regiment 
and died at Tine Bluff, October 20, 1864, while in 
the discharge of his duty: Mary E. married Jacob 
Jones; .lame- W. is a farmer in Moultrie County; 
Zaeharv T. resides in Lovington, and for a further 
history of his lite see sketch ill another part of this 
volume; Susan K. became the wife of si>^el Boggs 

and died in Bement, 111.; her death was the result 

of burns. While sweeping, her dress caught fire 
and. running across the street before help could lie 
brought, she was so severely burned that she died 
from theeffects, February, 1*72. 

Mrs. Ann E. (lore, our subject '.- wife died March 
*. 1H77. she was an admirable Christian character, 
performing her duties about the domestic realm so 
conscientiously and sweetly, never impatienl or 
fretful, that her example in itself did much tOCOU- 
vince a careless person of the beauty of Christian 
life. A tender, loving wife, a devoted mother and 
a good neighbor, her car was ever ready and her 
hear! sympathetic to the troubles or interests of 

others. She wasa devoted member of the Christian 



Church and had been so since fifteen years of age. 
During the war. Mr. (lore was President of the 
I'liioii League in .Moultrie County, and he is proud 
of the fact that since the organization of the Re- 
publican party, he has been one of its most loyal 
and stanch supporters. In hi- church relation, he 
has been a member and communicant of the 
Christian Church since he was twenty-three year- 
old. Personally, in his younger days our subject 

was a man of ureal physical strength, and of well 
proportioned, though Herculean mold. When but 
fourteen years of age he gathered twenty-two 
barrels of apples in a single day. jumping from the 
Outreaching branches of one tree to those of an- 
other; the trunks of the trees were forty feet apart. 
When sixteen years old. he was able to stand 
in a half bu-hel basket anil shoulder three bu-hel- 
of wheat, and when thirteen years old he made 
a full hand in the harvest Held for eleven days. In 
these day-, few men outside of t rained athlete-, 
could perform such feats. Mr. Clore's experience 
has not been devoid of adventure and incident. 
although he has devoted his life to tin' peaceful 
pursuit of bucolic labor. The romance and tragedy, 
however, that is nearest and dearest to him. is not 
the subject for general reading, nor for prying' 
eyes to look into. Every man ha- hi- secret- that 
go down into the grave with him. and that are only 
read in the bright white light of the other world. 



: <l 



■ @ • 



1 AMES VV. SANDERS, M. I). The young 
physician whose early success it is our pleas- 
ure here to chronicle, is a native of this 
state, and a- such he should receive the en- 
couragement and recognition thai his ability and 
standing in the profession merit-. He was born in 
Pawnee. Sangamon County, this State. I''chruar\ 
21. 1864, and up to the age of eighteen wa- reared 
on a farm. lie early felt a sympathy with nature 
and the botany of the wood- and meadows became 
familiar to him. and in bis studies later hi- knowl- 
edge of simples wa- of great advantage to him. In 
-electing a Held for the excrci-e of hi- professional 
-kill, he felt that a voung man could not lind a 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



669 



better location than the thriving young town of 
Windsor and here he settled, and i- already highly 
regarded among the medical profession. 

In his boyhood, our subject attended the com- 
mon schools, pursuing his course there until eigh- 
teen year.- of age. lie then entered the Normal 
school at Valparaiso where he remained about mx 
months and then entered the Central Normal Col- 
lege at Danville, Ind.. after which he returned 
home and engaged in teaching for one and a half 
years. It is -aid that a teacher always learns more 
than his best j mj >i Is- and doubtless Dr. Sanders 
found the discipline to be of value and in teach- 
ing his pupils to be diligent in study and obedi- 
ent, the lesson was impressed upon his own mind 
that self-control is of all qualities the most desira- 
ble to a professional man. 

In the fall of 1886, the Original of our sketch 
entered the Chicago Medical College, pursuing his 
course there with great credit to himself. His life 
also in the great metropolis, was an education to 
the young man in itself, and he found many op- 
portunities of widening his intellectual horizon 
outside of lectures and clinics. He graduated in 
L889 with much honor to himself and the piece of 
parchment that he at that time received, bearing 
the signature of some of the finest physicians in 
the West, who attested that his course had been 
pursued with credit to himself, is a precious testi- 
monial to him of hours spent in preparing for the 
profession which was his choice. At once after 
graduating he began practice at Windsor, where he 
is so fortunate as already to have gained a line 
patronage, lie stand- as one of the liest physicians 
in the city. 

We feel that too much credit cannot he ac- 
corded to the man or woman who has had the grit 
and stamina not only to he unabashed by the diffi- 
culties of a chosen course, but also to work then 
way, sweeping aside any obstacle that may inter- 
vene between them and their purpose. It redounds 
greatly to the credit Of our subject, that at every 
spare moment anil during vacations, he was work- 
ing in order to gain a permanent foothold as a stu- 
dent, and this he accomplished by getting a posi- 
tion with the Chicago Ilan-om Cab Company. To 
him belongs the credit and honor of having organ- 



ized the Chicago .Medical Nurse Bureau, which is 
composed of senior students of the Chicago Medi- 
cal College. This also was of great help to him in 
a financial wa\ . 

Our subject was married near Paris, Edgar 
County, this State. March I 1. 1886, to Mi- Ida M. 
/ink. who is a native of Edgar County, III. One 
little hoy has come to brighten his parents' path- 
way, and is the pet and pride of both father and 
mother. Our subject's father was Robert E. San- 
der-, and his mother was Elizabeth (Bridges) 
Sanders. The latter passed away in 1865 in Paw- 
nee Town-hip. Sangamon County. The father still 
survives ami is a resident of Pawnee Township. 

Doubtless Dr. Sanders' success in Windsor, as a 
professional man. is owing, to a large extent, to 
the personal favor in which he is with the people, 
lie is an energetic, ambitious man, an d the progress 
of his profession will never leave him in the rear. 
He has a pleasant home, which is presided over 
l>\ hi- estimable wife. 



LINER P. KENDALL, who is connected with 
the farming interests of Todd 's Point Town- 
ship, is a veteran of the late war, in which. 
as a loyal and efficient soldier, he won a record of 
which he may well he proud. Tippecanoe County. 
Ind.. is the place of his birth, and November 2. 
1834, the .late thereof His. father, Joseph Kendall, 
was horn in Massachusetts, and went from there to 
Kentucky. I Ie lived in the « ihl- of that State for 
some time, and then removed to Darke County, 
Ohio,whence he went in 1825 to Tippecanoe* lounty, 
Ind.. and was one of the first settlers of Tippecanoe 
Township. He bought a tract of Government land 
in thai locality on the east hank of the Tippecanoe 
River, and in the log house that he built by the 
side of that stream his son. of whom we now write, 
was horn. He split clapboards for the roof and 
puncheon for the tloor. and made it. in fact, a typ- 
ical pioneer dwelling. For some time the country 
roundabout was hut sparsely settled, and deer 

roamed at will through the forest- and acrOSS the 



670 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



clearings that the pioneers had made. There were 
no railways, and for years Michigan City and Chi- 
cago were the nearest markets for grain. 

The father cleared a part of his land. Imt his work 
of improvement was closed by his death in 1838. 
The maiden name of his second wife, mother of 
Din subject, was Nancy Xunn, and she was a na- 
tive of South Carolina. She married a second 
time, becoming the wife of Martin Hermann, and 
he died in 1886 in Tippecanoe County, at a ven- 
erable age. 

Oliver Kendall attended the pioneer schools of 
Tippeconoe County, which were taught on thesub- 
scription plan, each family paying according to 
the number of scholars sent. The school-house was 
a primitive concern. Imili of logs, furnished with 
slab benches that were without backs or desks 
and were supported by wooden pins; ami the 
school room was lighted by taking out a section of 
a log and placing greased paper over the hole thus 
made. Our subject resided with his mother until 
he was fifteen years old. and then began the strug- 
gle for an independent existence with no other 
capital than strong muscles, a stout heart, and will- 
ing hands. At lirst he worked out by the month 
for $6 a month. He lived in Tippecanoe County 
until the fall oi I860, when he came to Illinois and 
rented a farm in .Macon County, tour miles south 
of Decatur, 

The war broke out and found him busy man- 
aging his farming interests, which he abandoned 
in the fall of that year to defense of the Union. 
Hi became a member of the Seventh Illinois ( 'avalry 
and alter a long term of service on many a hard- 
fought Southern battlefield, veteranized in March. 
1864, and remained with his regiment until he 
and his comrade- were honorably discharged in 
November, 1865. lie look pari in the battles of 
Farmington,Iuka,and ( !orinth,Miss.;in those Eought 
ai Soiucrvillc. ( otfeeville. plain Store, ( tolliersville, 
Byhalia and Moscow; encountered Forrest's forces 
al Memphis. Tenn.. in May. 1864, and with his 

brave comrades assisted in driving him fr the 

State. Ili^ regimen 1 also did g 1 worh in an en- 
gagement with the enemy al Hart's Cross Road, 
Tenn.. and December 13 and 11. 1864, bravely 
fough.1 Hood's forces between Franklin and Colum- 



bus, ami gallantly captured the works on Brent- 
wood's Hill. The Seventh Illinois Cavalry joined 
in pursuit of Hood's fleeing army, and drove the 
Confederates across the Tenneesse River. The 
regiment remained in Tennessee during the win- 
ter, and then went to Mississippi and did garrison 
duty in that State and Alabama until its final dis- 
charge several months after the Rebellion was 
brought to a close, when its -services were no longer 
needed by the Government. Our subject was com- 
missioned by order of Gen. Rosencrans in 1864 
as Second Lieutenant of Company I. Seventh Illi- 
nois Cavalry. 

After leaving the army our subject returned 
Northward and resumed farming in Macon County. 
He resided there until lKH'.l when he rented the 
farm which he now occupies in Todd's Point 
Township. He is carrying on his agricultural op- 
erations skilfully, derives a good income in repay- 
ment for hi> industry, and has already attained an 
honorable place among our most practical farmers. 
He is greatly esteemed by his neighbors, and i- 
known in social circles as a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, which joined in 1872; and for his con- 
nection with I. ( '. l'ugh Post, No. 181, O. A. R. 

Mr. Kendall was lirsl married in 1855 to Miss 
Savilla Shaw, a native of Tippecanoe County, Ind., 
and a daughter of Alfred and Emillia Shaw, she 
died July 21. 1861. Her father was born in Pick- 
away County, Ohio, and alter marriage removed 
to Tippecanoe ( ountv. Ind. I le cleared a farm from 
the wilderness in Tippecanoe Town-hip. and there 
death found him March. 1864. The maiden name of 
his wife was Emilia Marquess. Shewasbornin Vir- 
ginia, and was a daughter of Smith and Eve 
(Stingley) Marquess. Smith Marquess was oni of 

the earliest -ettlel's of Tippecanoe Township, where 

he cleared a farm, which remained his home until 
death ended his life. The mother of Mr. Kendall's 
1 1 1-1 wile now resides on her farm in Iroquois 
County. III. 

The second marriage of our subject was with 

Mrs. Jan e Ward, and it was solemnized December 
31, 1865. Mr-. Kendall was born in Pickaway 
County. Ohio, .lanuan I". 1836. Her father. 
Thomas Morris, was also a native of the Buckeye 
State, and in early manhood was there married to 



PORTRAIT AND !;!< >< . R A I'll K A 1. RECORD. 67 



Miss Nancy Be vington, a native of Virginia, who His decease occurred July 9. 1890, his wife pass- 
went to Ohio with her parents when she was four- ing away in I*?'.) or 1880. The father was born 
teen years old. Mr. Morris remained :i residenl of September 30, 1808. He was a Missionary Baptist 
Pickaway County until 1839, and then with his in his church following and the mother was united 
wife and eight children, he started with a team on with the Methodist Episcopal denomination. The\ 
an overland journey to Illinois. After his arrival have fourteen children, of whom our subject is the 
in this State he Located in Macon County, being second in order of birth and the oldest one now 
one of its pioneers. He entered :i tracl of Gov- living. 

eminent laud three miles south of Decatur, and George VV. Winn was reared on the home farm 
resided on it for some years, giving his attention in Ohio, and iu 1«.">1 he was united in marriage to 
to its improvement. lie then sold, and removing -Miss Malinda A. Bowden. she was born iu Salem 
to Decatur invested quite largely in city property Township. Muskingum County, Ohio, .Inly is. 
.•mil was a resident of that place until his death. 1K37. and is :i daughter of Daniel and Helen 
His wife died while they were living on the home (Adams) liowdeu. natives of New Jerseyaud Ohio 
Farm in .Macon County. respectively. Our subject came to Illinois in the 
Mrs. Kendall was firsl married to Larkin Ward. fall of 1857 and firsi settled in Edgar County, 
:i native of Macon County, and a son of William whence in 1862 lie came to Moultrie County and 
and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Ward, lie died in 1864. purchased eighty acres of land which was little 
Mrs. Kendall has three children living by that mar- improved at the time. He is now the owner of 
riage, — Henry. Marion and Martha. Her eldest- three hundred and twenty acres of land, whereon 
born. Bettie, is dead. By her union with our suli- he lives and besides owns the farm where lie was 
jeet Mrs. Kendall is the mother of four children. — born in Ohio. This last-mentioned property com- 
Charlie. George, Albert and Nettie. prises three hundred and eighty acre- of valuable 

land. 

. - wa jiv _sy^_ ■a't g^ Our subject and his wife have been the parents 



^ (^k ^v^, ^S(c Ti^-' will slinjeci ;uill ins Hiir na\c mccu uic ['.ucio- 

^^ of eight children, six of whom have been spared 

them to be their comfort and sustenance in their 

GEORGE W. WINN is a resident on aline declining years. They are, Charidota E., Cordelia 
farm located on section :>K. Lowe Town- M., George W., Clara B., Henrietta M., Sherman L. 
ship, and settled in the county of Shelby and llaltic li. Cordelia is the wife of Eli Smith 
December'.). 1862. Our subject was horn Feb. 2, and resides in Hal! County. Neb.: Clara died al 
1833, in Muskingum County, Ohio and is a son of the age of sixteen years: Henrietta is the wife of 
James and Louisa (Shaw) Winn, natives of the Lewis Smith of Moultrie County. 
state that is notable for its Presidents and stale- Politically. Mr. Winn fraternizes with the Demo- 
men and pretty girls. Our subject's parents with cratic party and his devotion_to the interests of his 
their respective families moved fr old Virginia party has been rewarded by appointment to vari- 

to Ohio when they were children and were among oils local positions. lie ha- been ( olleclor for t w o 

tin' first settlers of Muskingum County. The years and was elected Justice of the Peace but 

Winn family settled in Prairie Township and the resigned the office. In his religious belief he is an 

Shaw family in Adams Township. In their resp- attendant upon and member of the Methodist 

ective locations the parents of our subject were Kpiscopai Church. He has been a ( lass- Leader in 

reared and meeting, married, soon after settling thai denomination for many years. Iii early life 

upon a farm in Salem Township, where they pass- he was engaged as a teacher and continued so eni- 

ed their lives and were reasonably successful as ployed for three term- while yet iii Ohio and 

farmers. taught for three terms after coining to Illinois. 

Our subject's father became the owner of two Mr. Winn was made a Mason in 1854. 

hundred acres of land in Ohio before his death. .lames and Louisa Winn, the parents of our sub- 



IwL' 



POETRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



ject, have fourteen children, of whom the follow- 
ing grew to manhood and womanhood: George 
\\ .. our subject, i- the eldest, then follows John 
\\ .. Dolphin, Martha ( '.. Rosanna, Emeline, Hiram 
S., Henrietta C. and Franklin P. Dolphin died at 
Camp Denison, Ohio, soon after enlisting in the 
( ivil War; Emeline is the wife of Peter C.Sawyer 
and resides in Muskingum County, Ohio; Hiram 
served as a soldier in the Civil War and exper- 
ienced the horrors of Confederate prison life for 
fourteen months. Franklin resides in Adams- 
ville, Ohio, where lie is a merchant. 



—..J. .{..J. .5. 5 







l HS. ROSINA KULL, who resides on section 
I, Rose Township, isoncof the representa- 
1 tive women of Shelby County, and was 
born in Germany June 20. l«:3:3. Her 
maiden name was Rosina Walker and her marriage 
with the late Christian Knll took place in Fairfield 
County, Ohio. He was born in Lancaster, Ohio, 
January 13, lK-'i"-'. Their first settlement asa mar- 
ried couple was made in Hocking County, that 
state, and there they continued to make their 
home until 186 1. 

During the year just mentioned this young cou- 
ple removed to Shelby County. 111., and settled 
upon a farm where the widow now resides. Here 
Mr. K 1 1 1 1 was actively engaged in farming which 
he carries on successfully until his death which 
transpired October *. inm. Both he and liis wife 
early became identified with the Lutheran Church. 

in which they were devoted and hearty workers. 

.Mrs. Kull is the mother of seven children: Mag- 
dalen a who i> the wife of William Wendling; 
Helen who married Henry Fossler and died in 
.Nebraska. September 25, 1890; Alary; John, who 
married Miss Mar\ Bowman; Jacob F., who oper- 
ates the farm and was married in Rose Township, 
February L2, 1890, to Miss Julia Pauscherl who is 
the mother of one child — Rosa May; Mattie who 
is the wife of Augustus Pauschert and Drucilla. 

The quiet and unostentatious lives of this worthy 
mother and her excellent children arc of interest 
to all who understand that the best prosperity of 



the community, is derived from the homes within 
its borders which are not notable for public affairs, 

hut in which Is carried on au industrious and hon- 
orable cxistance tending to the preservation of 
society and the prosperity of the commonwealth. 



s^ IIRISTIAN II. ALTAG,the well-known and 
I efficient Commissioner of Highways of Prai- 

Vw/ ric Township. Shelby County, whose pleas- 
ant home is on section 9, dates his residence in the 
county from 1K(>7 when he removed here from 
Madison County, this State, where he was born 
November 19, 1854. 

The honored parents of our subject are Henry 
and Eliza (Sponeman) A I tag. who were born across 
the seas in Germany. Before their marriage, and 
indeed in early life, they came to the United States 
and both settling in Madison County there learned 
to know each other and were united in marriage. 
They resided in said county until 1867. when they 
came to Shelby County and making their home in 
Prairie Township felt that they had found a perm- 
anent place of abode. 

The father of our subject was twice married. 
three children being born by the first marriage, 
namely: Henry; Hannah, the wife of Charles Doch- 
nev. and Sophia, wife of Henry Buesking. By his 
marriage with Eliza Sponeman. Henry Altag has 
had four children, of whom Christian is the eldest. 
and following him came Eliza, the wife of Charles 
Ostemeier; Harmon and Fred who died at the age 
of twenty-two years. 

Thorough and systematic training upon the farm 
and the intellectual drill which may be received in 
tin' common schools were, in the case of Christian 
Altag, supplemented by attendance upon the old 
Shclhvvillc Academy, which proved so profitable 
as to lit him for teaching, which he pursued for 
one season only as he preferred to devote himself 
entirely to farming. 

April "ill. Is7<i. young Altag was united in mar- 
riage with Ida Junkey, daughter of Charles and 
Minnie .lunkcy. This lady was ol foreign birth, 
having first -ecu the light in Germany, but her 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



073 



training and education have made her a thdlough 
American, as her parents Left the old country for 
tlic New World when she was only six weeks old. 
Soon after marriage this young couple made their 
home where they now reside, purchasing eights 
acres of land to which they have added until they 
now own one hundred acres, upon which they have 
erected :i good residence, excellent barns and con- 
venient and commodious outbuildings necessary 
to carrying on farms with system and success. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Altag hare been born five chil- 
dren, in whom they take a just pride and for whom 
they cherishan honorable ambition. These promis- 
ing children bid fair to realize in the future all 
thai their devoted parents desire for them. They 
are by name Emma, Lizzie, [da, Clara and Bertha. 
The religion in which this family has been reared 
and which they have espoused is that of the Luth- 
eran Church, in which they are faithful unci de- 
devoted members. 

The political views of Mr. Altag have I »■< 1 him 
to ally himself with the Democratic party but he 
i- not in any sense :i politician, being content to 
quietly cast his vote in the direction which he be- 
lieves will be most useful to his neighborhood and 
state. He is now the incumbent of the office of 
Commissioner of Highways bu1 does not desire to 
lie among those who manage the .-it'tni ts of t lu- 
coiintv. 



»'()1IN WEEKS. This gentleman, the popu- 
lar Postmaster of Tower Hill. Shelby 
County, and Justice of the Peace, is known 
i^/ throughout Shelby County as an upright 
citizen and n reliable business man. Peaceful 
and law-abiding and n man of honor in the 
affairs of life, he lias the respect of his acquaint- 
ances and his friendly spirit has won a wanner 
feeling from his neighbors. A veteran of the late 
war. every loyal heart will feel a thrill of gratitude 
to him as one of those valiant soldiers to whom we 
owe the preservation of the Union. 

The father of our subject, whose name was 



George I... was a man of considerable prominence 
in his community. He was born in Princeton. 
Ivy., and in his early manhood married Nancy 
Smith, a native of Columbia County, s. c. They 
emigrated from Kentucky to Illinois in 1830, 
locating in Pond County, where they passed the 

remainder of their lives. The father served as 
Deputy Sheriff of Pond County for several years, 
held the office of Constable, and was Justice of the 
Peace for sixteen years. He discharged the duties 
of these various offices to tin- general satisfaction, 
and is remembered as a public-spirited citizen and 
one who in his business affairs was the soul of in- 
tegrity, [n his chosen calling of a fanner he was 
successful and acquired a competency, so that he 
wa> able to supply his family with every comfort. 
In a family of six children our subject was the 
second, and lie was horn. February 1. 1831, near 
Greenville, Pond County. 111. There he was reared 
to manl d and remained until lie was ahoul 

twenty-two vears old. In the meantime he ac- 
quired an excellent education, of which he made' 

use in teaching in Bond, Montg cry. Madison 

and Shelby Counties, this State. Later he attended 
school in Platteville. Wis., and also taught school 
for two terms in that State. He followed the pro- 
fession of a teacher thirty years consecutively, 
with the exception of the three years in which he 

served in the army. 

Mr, Weeks came to Shelby County in I860, and 
on August 1. 1862, he enlisted in Company P. One 
Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois Infantry. He was 
appointed Mist Sergeant and served until the 
close of the war. He took part in many important 
engagements, among them being the battles of 
Chickamauga, Dalton, Tunnel Hill. Resaca, and 
other smaller engagements, and altogether he was 
in action for sixty-seven days. During the fierce 
conflict at Chickamauga he was commanded by 
Gen. Stceilinan to carry the color-, which he did 
during the remainder of that day. proving himself 
a brave and valiant soldier. Of the five who wire 

in his mess, he alone escaped fatal injuries. 

At the close of the war Mr. Weeks returned to 

Shelbyville and was soon engaged in hi- profes- 
sion, occupying the position of Principal of the 
public schools in Windsor. III., for two vears. lie 



674 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



continued teaching until December, 1881, when he 
was appointed Postmaster :it Tower Hill, fillhis;- the 
position satisfactorily until lie was deposed under 
the administration ofGrover Cleveland. In April, 
1885, he was elected Justice of the Peace, was re- 
elected in April, 1889, and is now holding thai 
office. In April. 1889, be was re-appointed Post- 
master of Tower Hill ami assumed the duties of 
the position in the following June, lie has held 
other offices in the township, and holds a promin- 
ent rank among the Republicans of the county. In 
L884 he was a candidate for the office of County 
Surveyor on the Republican ticket, 1 ml was de- 
feated by his Democratic opponent. However, be 
ran ahead of his tieket in every township, with 
one exception, in the county. Nor i- he forgetful 
of things divine, for be has been a consistent mem- 
ber of the Method isl Church for many years, also 
acting as Sunday-school Superintendent for a long 
time. 

At the head of the household affairs in the 
pleasant home of Mr. Week- [s a refined and cult- 
ured lady, who prior to October 18, 1866, was 
known as Sevilla J. Sill. She was horn in Monroe 
County, Ohio, September 1, 1845, and the ceremony 
which united her for life with .Mr. Week- was per- 
formed in Hennepin, 111. Nine children came to 
hiess the home, viz: Kstella. the assistant Postmist- 
ress at Tower Hill; George D., Bertel, who died in 
infancy; John W.. Nellie II.. who died when two 
years old: Warren, Chase. Boyd and Lois A. The 
family are honored members of society and are de- 
servedly popular in the community. 



Jp* 



4^> 



' OHN II. MIKI.ToN. M. I). The professional 
reputation of l>r. Shelton is an enviable one. 
and his -kill and knowledge are held at 1 heir 
proper valuation. For many years a stu- 
dent, he has not been content with the wisdom 
which won him his diploma, hut has read and in- 
vestigated from time to time and increased his 
store of technical knowledge and ability to diag- 
nose and treat diseases. lie is known far and near, 
respected and loved, and numbered among the 



most worthy citizens of Shelby County, who are 
active in promoting its prosperity and elevating 
the status of its citizens. 

The birthplace of Dr. Shelton was Owen County. 
Ky.. and his natal day February 11. 1835. His 
parents were Austin and Emily (Callender) Shel- 
ton, natives of Virginia, who i - emoved to Kentucky 
at a very early das'. They located in Owen County. 
where after attaining to a good old age, they 
passed from earth. Our subject remained at home 
during his youth, receiving a limited education in 
the district schools and acquiring a thorough and 
practical knowledge of agricultural pursuits. Upon 
arriving at man's estate he began to operate as a 
farmer, and continued chiefly thus engaged until 
1873. We next liud him engaged in the drug 
business in Owenton, Ky.. for eight years. During 
that time he read medicine, for which he had a 
natural aptitude, and after selling out his interest 
in the drug business, he attended medical lectures 
in the hospital at Louisville, Ky.. during the winter 
of l*7*-7!t. 

In 1879, Dr. Shelton emigrated to Illinois, and 
coming to Shelby County, practiced medicine with 
Dr. O. W. Fringer untii the fall of 1881. Ilethen 
entered the Medical College at Keokuk. la., where 
he was graduated in February, 1882. After receiv- 
ing the diploma for which he hail toiled so ardu- 
ously, the Doctor returned to Tower Hill and has 
since resided here, wiih the exception of eight 
months in Hen ton. this county. He enjoys an ex- 
tensive and lucrative practice, aad as a citizen is 
public-spirited and interested in everything calcu- 
lated to elevate the Status of the community. 

The Doctor has an amiable and active helpmate 
in his wife, with whom he was united in marriage 
Ma\ 26, 1856, in Cincinnati. Ohio. The bride 
hole the maiden name of Marietta ( iarnett. and 
was horn and reared in Owen County, Ky. Her 
parents, Jamison and Lucinda Garnett, were na- 
tives of Kentucky: the father now lives in Ken- 
tucky, and the mother is deceased. Dr. Shelton 
and hi- estimable wife have become the parents of 
-ix children, only t wo of whom survive: Bettie G., 
and Nannie ('.. both of whom are at home. Dr. 
shelton has served the people in various capacities, 
and has been a member of the Township Board of 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RF.CORD. 



675 



Trustees, and also served as School Trustee?; He 
and his family are highly esteemed and arc among 
the prominent members or society in Tower Hill. 




t I I.I.I AM FANCHER The family of which 
our subject is a representative isa long es- 
tablished American family, descended 
from German stock. The father of this gentleman 
bought aboul one thousand acres of land in Hol- 
land Township, Shelby County. The father was 
born in Vermont and was a residenl of New York 
Mate thence he removed to Pennsylvania, thence 
to, Ohio, and finally located in Shelby County, 111., 
on a portion of which our subject now lives, hav- 
ing a farm of "Hi- hundred and eighty-one acres 
adjoining the town of Fancher, besides considera- 
ble land in the town. He is now a retired farmer, 
making his home in the village which was named 
for him by the railroad authorities in consideration 
of his liberality in donating land and money to 
aid in the construction of the Toledo, St. Louis & 
Kansas ( ity Railroad. 

He of "hum we write this brief sketch, Brsl saw 
the light of life in Delaware County, Ohio, July 
25, 1835. His parents Samuel and Polly (Dickson) 
Fancher, were natives of Luzerne County, Pa., and 
the luads of a truly patriarchal family. Only five 
nt their twelve children are now living, namely: 
John, Morris, William. Henrj and Juliana. .Munis 
lives in Kansas, Juliana in Zanesville, Ohio, and 
the others are residents of Illinois; Henry in this 
county, and John in Effingham County; Juliana 
has been twice married, her firsl husband being 
Jeremiah Rogers and hei present name being Mr-. 
Sine. 

Our subject came in Illinois with his parents 

when he Was 8 mere boy and uivu In manhood in 

Shelby County, having his training and education 
Upon the farm in the district schools. Here he 
found hi- wife, a native Of the same county, ami 
here he expects to spend the balance of his days in 
the pursuit of farming, which is with him a dearlj 
loved calling. Hi- wife's maiden name "a- Susan- 



nah Piper. Her parents were natives of Ohio and 
her grandparents were Pennsylvanians ami of 
German descent. Before marrying Mr. Fancher 

she was a widow, her first husband being Mr. 
shannon W. < rallagher. 

The little railroad station of Fancher which was 
established upon Mr. Fancher's farm ha- gathered 
about it a pleasant little village having two stores, 
a hotel and the usual -Imp-. It in i- the mid-t of 
a very line farming district and has an excellent 
community hack of it. Mr. Fancher has heen a 
life-long Republican in his political views and 
take- a lively interest in politics. He is not a 
member of any church hut gives liberally of his 

mean- to the support of churches, Sunday-scl Is 

and other objects of benevolence. Mrs. Fancher 
has three children by her former marriage: Nettie. 
Gertie and Nellie Gallagher. 



^m>^<m=^ 



OT LUTTRELL. Ii i- said that no people 
travel so extensive] \ as do the Americans. 

I A and hence their experience of different 

phases of life is correspondingly larger a- a rule. 
Our subjeel has had many advantages in this re- 
spect and ha- traveled in various ways, not only 

in the luxurious Pullman cars of the present day, 
lull also by prairie SCl ner aero— the plains, meet- 
ing frequentlj the red man on his territory. Mr. 
Luttrell i- now a retired fanner living in Sullivan, 
when- he located January, 1891, coming Inn from 
Whitley Town-hip where he had heen engaged for 
-ome years and where he -till own- two hundred 
and forty acres of line land. 

The Original of our sketch came to Shelby < ount\ 
from DeWitt County, ami while there living was 
engaged a- a grocer in Kinney, of that county. 
He was born iii Morgan County, 111.. December 21. 
1839, and was there reared and educated. \1-" 
after marriage he made that his home for several 
years. Mr. Luttrell is the son of John Luttrell, a 

native of Kentucky. Our subject i- named after 

his grandfather whowasalsoa nativeof Kentucky. 
being there reared on a farm. Mr. Luttrell 's pater- 
nal grandmothei was likewise a Kentuckian and a 



676 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



member of an old and highly respected family of teacher the calling of farming; heis now a residenl 

that State. They left their native State after the of Crawford County, Kan. 

birth of their first two children, of which our sub- Our subject was married in Ihe eastern part of 

ject's father John was the elder, having been born Morgan County to. Miss Sarah Cox. She was born 

in February, 1817, and moved to Illinois about in that county November 19, 1845, and is a daugh- 

1820. coming overland and bringing their house- ter of Condon and Mary (McGill) Cox. natives 

hold goods and children in a one-horse cart. The of Virginia, who came to Illinois with their respec- 

parents walked the greater part of the~way, and tive families at an early day. They were victims 

altera long and tedious trip in which they camped of the great cyclone that passed over the country 

out at intervals, they settled on what is now Sul- May \>. 1*>>(I. at which time Mr. Cox was injured, 

phur Springs Township, and there secured a tract Their servant was killed and also a daughter-in-law, 

of Government land. The neighboring village of and all moveable property was swept away. 
Jackson was not at that time thought of and there Our subject and his wife are the parents of four 

wen' very few people in the county, and for a few children. They are Mary. William A.. Ruf us and 

years they experienced the hardships incident to Corydon. They are all well educated, highly rc- 

pionccr life speeted men and women. William was for some 

( )n the farm which our subject's grandparents time a teacher. Our subject stands high in the 

procured on first c ing here they spent there- estimation of his townspeople and has been elected 

mainder of their lives. The grandfather's decease to various local offices. He isa Democrat in politics, 
occurred in 1863. His wife survived him by a 
number of years, her death occurring about IK.sti. 
She was born ill 1799 and was well known as one 
of the prominent pioneer women of thai county. 

l'or inan\ years prior to her death she was afflicted 

with blindness. In religion they were adherents 

of the Kaplist Church, and politics the Senior Mr. 

I.utt roll was a I )emocrat. 

The eldest of a large family, John Luttrell, the 
immediate progenitor of him of whom we write, 
was reared to manhood in Morgan Count v, grow - 







ANIEL M. PATTERSON. A popular 
young artist and writer of the present 
day has said that one never sees the pic- 
turesque until she has been roughly han- 
dled by man and has outlived the hard usage; 
that the picturesque quality comes only after the 
ax and the saw have let the sunlight into the 
ing up to the calling of a farmer. He was married dense tangle of the forest, and scattered the fall- 
in ,\li>- Tabithft Cross, a native of Kentucky, a ing timber, or Ihe water-wheel has divided the 
daughter of William and Lotta (Compton) Cross. rush of the brook. This is so in any condition of 
natives of Kentucky. After marriage they emi- nature, for in the constructive period there is al- 
grated t<> Illinois and settled in the Eastern part ways a crudeness that strikes the artistic sensibil- 
of Morgan ( ounty as pioneers. [ties unpleasantly. Hut in farming we do not 

Our subject's parents began life as farmers and care so much for the picturesque "tangle of vines 
the father pursued his calling until the time of hi> and darkness of forest." lie who most diligently 
death, which look place in 1X17. lie was then ill combats the encroachment of weeds, briars and 
straightened circumstances anil left a widow with stones, and smooths, enriches and makes produc- 
i < on children whose names were, Caroline, our sub- tive and fruitful the fields and orchards and gar- 

ject, William R. and .losiah. Our subject's mother den patch is the one whom we si admire in his 

some lime after the death of John l.uttrcil. was agricultural calling. Such an one is our subject, 

again married to the Rev. Peter Garfetl and the\ who is the owner of three hundred acres of finely 
later removed to DeWitl County, where Mrs. Gar- cultivated and fertile laud located on section 13, 



rett died June Hi. 1869. She was horn in 1816. 
Mr. Garretl united with hi- work a- a religious 



if Sullivan Township. 
Mr. Patterson knows no other State in actual ex- 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



677 



perience than that in 'which he now resides He 
was born in Moultrie Comity. November 9, 1839, 
and is a son of William and Margarel (Carriker) 
Patterson, natives of Union County, this State. 
( For a fuller sketch of William Patterson refer to 
another portion of this volume.) The father of 
our subject had two brothers and two sisters, also 
two half-brothers and one half-sister. His marriage 
took place in Southern Illinois, and his advent 
was made into this county when settlers were few 
and the land very little cultivated, coming hither 
about L836. 

Upon the farm above mentioned he of whom 
we write found the Alpha of life, and there he 
was reared, receiving what educational advantages 

when a hoy that the district scl Is afforded. Life 

was not, however, barren to the young man. In- 
deed, the writer questions if it is ever SO to youth 
in its sanguine, fresh young years — for there were 
recreations then as now — hay rides, nutting par- 
ties, barbecues, husking' bees and apple parties, 
and with work ami play, the young man was de- 
veloping in every direction to the perfection of 
manhood, and taught five terms of school. In 
1864 he was united in marriage with Ellen .1. 
Hoke, a daughter of Frederick Hoke, she was 
horn in Moultrie County. Soon after marriage 
the young couple settled where they now reside, 
his father having given him forty acres of timber 
land, and here he started to make a home about 
the year 1870. It was a new experience for the 
j'oung man. as for several years previous to this 
he had been engaged in clerking in a store in the 
town of Sullivan. He. however, bent his energies 
to the work in hand, and has been successful to a 
Battering degree, lie is now the owner of three 
hundred acres of land in an excellent condition 
and bearing good improvements. 

Mr. and Mrs. Patterson are the parents of four 
children. The eldest daughter, Orpha, is the wile 
of Oscar Rose. The three other children are Nora. 
Ezra and l.ura. All the political interests of the 
gentleman of whom we write are centered in the 
Democratic party, every plank of its platform hav- 
ing to him a good and logical reason for being. 
He has been an Assessor of the township. He and 
his wife are members of the Christian Church, of 



which they are genei'OUS and liberal supporters. 
Mr. Patterson has such qualities of character and 
mind as insure him success in whatever line of 
thought or action his judgment should direct him 
to become a participator in. Just and generous, 
broad-minded and liberal, all his aims and ambi- 
tions are for the upbuilding of the best tone, so- 
cially nientalh and morally of the locality in 
which he lives. 



E*=* 



OSEPH II. McGUIRE. Many families who 
reside in Illinois came to this section origi- 
nally from Kentucky and Tennessee, and 
those who came from the eastern or moun- 
tainous portion of the latter state belonged to a 
class of people, who. like other mountaineers, were 
lovers of liberty. They removed their families 
from their native and beloved State in order that 
they might take them out from under the blight- 
ing influence of the institution of human slavery, 
and in doing so they brought to their posterity 
not only a moral and spiritual blessing, but also 
in locating them in Illinois advanced their material 
interests. Mr. McGuire, the Postmaster in Beth- 
any, Moultrie County, belongs to such a family. 

Our subject was born in Jefferson, East Tennes- 
see, June 8. 1836, his worthy parents being Thomas 
and Rachel (Ashmore) McGuire, both of whom 
were natives of Tennessee. The family removed 
to Illinois in the fall of 1843, and made their first 
stop in (dies County, where the father was called 

from them by death, during the fall of thai year. 
In 1853 the family removed to Moultrie County, 

and somewhat later on Mrs. McGuire married a 
second time, taking as her husband Mr. William 
Knight 

Thomas and Rachel McGuire were blessed bj the 
birth of eight children, their offspring being equally 
divided between sons ami daughters, ami only one 
of those children being taken from them during 
childhood. Their family is as follows; James. 
who died in this County; William P., residing in 
Bethany; Elizabeth, wife of John Baukston, of 



678 PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



^^mia ® ^igui^^. 



Washington; Mary, who married D. A. Vaughn, for Christian work. Mr. McGuire is prominently 

ilic(l in tl»i — county; Joseph II.. our subject; connected with the Grand Army of the Republic, 

Michael, who died in childhood; Sarah, who is and us an old soldier he has a deep interest ill its 

now Mrs. Thomas Mitchell, of this county, and methods of procedure and loves to meet his old 

Maggie, who is the wife of John Han. comrades in it> enthusiastic gatherings. 

Tin' hardy life of a farmer's hoy proved a good 
preparation for the hardships of a soldier's exist- 
ence: and in IS(i| our subject, following the 
training of his early life and with the love of lib- 
erty in his heart, enlisted under the Union flag to sp^>ITUS T. SPRINGER, since loeating in 
help subdue the war of the rebellion. lie was Ao. .Moultrie County, the gentleman of whom 
mustered into service in Company E, Twenty-first v_y we write has been very successful in a busi- 
lllinois Volunteers, and served for four years. nessway. His friends characterize him as a manly 
six months and two days. lie first saw active man and a gentleman, one with keen business in- 
service at Fredericktown, Md., and took part in the stinct. who. although still young, lias had wide ex- 
siegc of Corinth, and in the battles of Perryville, perience, having been engaged in business forhim- 
l\\ .. Murfrcolioro. Teiin.. .loneshoro. ( ia.. Franklin. self at eighteen veal's of age. He is the senior 
Ten n., Nashville. Tenn., and numerous skirmishes member of the firm of Skinner A- Stocks, hardware 
in the Atlanta campaign. During all this long merchants at Lake City, who also deal in farm 
and arduous service he escaped both wounds and implements. 

imprisonment During the first part of hi.- ser- Mr. Springer became a resident of Moultrie 

vice he was Corporal, bu1 in 1864 was made Ser- County in 1876 and for the past eight years has 

-caul. been engaged as a merchant at Lake City. He has 

When the "piping times of. peace" had come hecn in his present business for only one year, but 
our young hero, having hecn mustered out of ser- already it promises to he a pecuniary success. Our 
vice, returned to Moultrie County and resumed subject was born in the town of Jackson, III, Jan- 
farming. In 1869 he removed to Bethany and nary I. 1852, and is the son of Lawson and Mar- 
engaged in the grocery trade, in which he con- garet (Hinson) Springer, natives of New York and 
ttnued for three years, lie was then elected Jus- Ohio respectively. The father of our subjed was 
t ice of the Peace, ami attended to the duties of a farmer. He died in .lackson County. Ohio, in 
that office for some sixteen years, during the latter [857 and left eight children, there being three sons 
part of which he engaged in the furniture imsi- ami five daughters. Two daughters, Jenny and 
which he sold oul in 1889, to accept the office of Lydia, died in early womanhood, and six members 
Postmaster. He is a loyal and stanch Republican of the family grew to years of maturity and be- 
in his political views and has ever adhered to that came heads of families of their own. Sarah mar- 
party, ried Ambrose Davis and is a resident of Ross 

Mr. Met. aire was married May 1.".. 1866, to Mrs. County, Ohio: Louisa married Joseph Ziegler. also 

Mary Crowder, nee Creltz, who was born in Ger- of Ross County, Ohio; Drusilla became the wife of 

many and came to the United States when a little Samuel Mulvana ami lives at Burlington, Iowa; 

girl of ten years, she ha- become the mother of Pleasanl is a resident of Jackson County. Ohio. 

m\ children, namely: Ella, liachel: Addie. who and Wheeler of Moultrie County. 

di<-d in the spring of 1890; Anna. Laura and The original of our sketch is the youngest of 

Dora. They have also an adopted son who hears his family. Reared on the home farm he received 

the name of Finis Ewing. The Cumberland Pres- n g 1 i non-school education. In 1H7h he 

hyterian Church is the religious body with which went to Richmondale, Ohio, and engaged in a gen- 
Mr. and Mr-. McGuire are connected, and in its eral mercantile business, continuing there until 
communion the.) find an abundanl opportunity 1876, at which time he came to Moultrie Country 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RFX'ORD. 



679 



and purchased a farm. For a time after coding 
here he engaged in the general merchandise busi- 
ness. Endowed with unusual financial and execu- 
tive ability Mr. Springer lias been successful in his 
business efforts, lie was only twenty years of age 
when he came to this county and at the present 
time, besides the business above mentioned, lie is 
the owner of a drug store at Lake City. lie also 
leals in grain, coal and groceries, and at Williams- 
burg carries on a general mercantile business, lie 
owns all the business hou>es in which he has stoek 
and other property comprising dwellings and store 
buildings. 

.Mr. Springer was married in 1870 when but 
eighteen years of age to .Miss Nancy Sinclair, a 
daughter of T. 1). Sinclair. She is a native of 
Jackson County, Ohio, and was born January 17, 
1851. Our subject and his wife have had six chil- 
dren. The oldest, Walter J., died in early boy- 
hood. Five are living a1 the present time. Law- 
son is in charge of a store at Williamsburg; the 
others are Lydia. William. Charles and Jessie. He 
is a man who may always lie depended upon in a 
politieal i-sue. being loyal to his county and sec- 
tion, lie is a Justice of the Peace and a Notary, 
also a member of the School Board. Mr. Springer 
socially belongs to the Knights Templar. 



• > , ■>• 



- r+ r> »r < — < i 



\f ss ^ ORACH L. MARTIN is prominent in the 
| literary, social and political life of his com- 
munity as editor and proprietor of the 
(G) Shelbyville Union, one of the best con- 
ducted and leading newspapers of this part of tin" 
state, which is distinguished as being the only 
daily journal, and the only organ of the lie-publi- 
can party published in Shelby County. Mr. Mar- 
tin is descended from the vigorous pioneer slock 
of Ohio, the State of his birth, he having been 

bom in the village of Jersey, Licking County, 

July 11. 1836. 

Mark 1). Martin, the father of our subject, was 
born in New Jersey, near the City of Newark, and 
was a SOD Of Lewis Martin, who was also a native 
of that State. The latter W8S among the e.-irl\ 



settlers of Licking County, Ohio, removing to that 

part of the country when Columbus was a Small 
village, and at that time wa- the nearest milling 
point for the settlers lor many miles around. lie 
secured a tract of limber land and developed it 
into a line farm, which was his place of residence 
until death terminated bis earthly career. His 
wife al.-o died on the home farm in Licking Coun- 
ty. Her maiden name was Catherine Osborne, and 
her parents were natives of Holland. 

The father of our subject was one of a family of 
seven sons and two daughters. He was young 
when his parents moved to Ohio. He worked ill 
hi- youth, in his father's smithy, and learned from 
him the trade of a blacksmith, which he followed 
for some \ ears in Licking County after he attained 
his manhood. Finally he abandoned that calling on 
account of failing health and turned his attention 
to farming, lie also dealt extensively in stock, 
and before the introduction of railways he drove 
hi- -lock to the Eastern market- of New York and 
Baltimore, lie continued to make his home in 
Licking Countj until 1858, when he came to 
Shelby County, and for two years was a resident 
of Shelbyville. At the expiration of that time he 
bought a farm in Hose Township, and for -(.me 
years devoted himself to its management. Return- 
ing to Shelbyville he kept a hotel here some years 
and then retired to Terre Haute. Indiana, where 
he i- no« passing away hi- declining years in a 
pleasant home, in the enjoyment of the respect 
due his honorable and well-spent life. Mr. Mar- 
tin has been twice married. His lirst wife, the 
mother of our subject, was Julia Ann Ward, a native 
of New Jersey, and a daughter of Josiab Ward. 
She died in March. IMC. Mr. Martin married for 
second wife Martha I., da-ton. a native of Dela- 
ware County, Ohio. There were five children 
born of the lirst marriage, all sons, and of the 
second marriage, six daughters and two sons were 
born. 

The subject of this biographical review received 

a substantial education in the excellent public 

Schools of hi- native county where wa- reaied to 
manhood. He resided with his parents until 1855, 
and then came to Shelbyville to accept a position 

as clerk in hi- uncle's dint;' -tore, making the trip 



680 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



in thirteen days with a horse and buggy. He 
clerked nearly two years, studying medicine dur- 
ing thai time, and he then attended a course of 
lectures at the Starling Medical College at Colum- 
bus, Ohio. After thai he made a thorough study 
of the water cure process at Granville, Licking 
County, Ohio, and then returning to Nhelhyville. 
lie began to practice as a physician with his uncle. 
Three months later he decided toabandon thatpro- 
fession and he again became a clerk. 1 icing thus 
employed in a dry-goods store the ensuing two 
years. At the expiration of that time lie formed 
a partnership with S. II. and I'. IJ. Webster, and 
carried on a general store the following twelve 
years, the latter pari of the time dealing in agri- 
cultural implements, and also buying and selling 
sti >ck. 

In 1«72. our subject gave up mercantile pur- 
suits to give his attention to journalism, buying 
an interest in the Shelbyville Union with his 
brothers, Park T. and Elgin II.. and the same year 
established a paper at Effingham, known as the 
Effingham Republican. In 1K7:S he bought the 
interest of his brothers in the 1'nioii. of which he 

has since been sole proprietor, and in January, 
1**7. he commenced the publication of a daily 

which he still issues in connection with the 

weekly. Mr. Martin has devoted his hest energies 
to his paper, and under his judicious and able 
management, it has taken its place among those 

journals that ha ve the most influence in molding 
public opinion, and in advancing the highesl in- 
terests of city and county. The high estimation 
in which it is held is denoted bj its extensive cir- 
culation as a sound, well-conducted family news- 
paper, replete with valuable information concern- 
ing current topic-, and the affairs of this and other 

countries, se1 forth in an attractive and interesting 
manner. Although ii i- the mouthpiece of the 

Republicans Of Shelby County, and in no uncer- 
tain tones voices the policy of the party, and 
vigorously upholds all measures emanating from 
it, it is by no means unjustlj aggressive towards 
political opponents, who are always accorded fair 
and courteous treatmenl in its columns. 

Mr. Martin ha- an attractive home, and to the 

lady who presides over it. and assists him in dis- 



pensing its pleasant hospitalities, he was united in 
marriage duly 4. 1H;j9. Mrs. Martin in her maiden 
days bore the name of Mary Armilla Jagger. She 
is a native of Summit County, < )hio, and a daugh- 
ter of ElmuS and Hannah M. ( Noah) dagger. Our 
subject and his wife have two children living. 
Etta M. and Lucy E. Etta married John E. 
Downs and has one child. Ferna Estelle. 

Mr. Martin has been a Republican since the for- 
mation of the party, and through hi- position as 
editor has exercised a wise influence in the politi- 
cal councils of his fellow-citizens in this section. 
lie has always manifested a deep interest in what- 
ever concerned the welfare of the city and county. 
and exerted himself to help forward all scheme- 
that will in any way benefit them. lie has been 
partly instrumental in building up the Laborers' 
Loan Association, of which he is a Director and 
Secretary, and his name is associated with various 
other enterprises that have been organized for the 
public good. 



.j..;..;.* <§gPw ****,- 




OLLAND S. GRIFFITH, was born in De- 
Witt County, 111., January 3,1867. His father 
was horn in Pickaway County. Ohio, was 
reared there, and married, from thence he 
came to Illinois in an early day, remaining for a 
time in Macon County, after which he removed to 
DeWitt County, lie took up a tract of Govern- 
ment land, living on the same for two years be- 
fore entering it. This land was located eight miles 
northeast of Clinton. He was a very enterprising 
man of good judgment and consequently was very 
successful. He also entered land in DeWitt County, 

besides going quite extensively into real estate 
in Kansas, owning one thousand acre- in Chase 
County. Mr. Griffith was also engaged in stock- 
raising there. In 1880, accompanied by his f am 
My. he -tailed West with a team for Kansas and 
traveled quite extensively, there living one year 
on hi- land in Chase Couuty. Afterward, in 1**2. 

he returned to his home in DeWitt. residing there 

until hi- death, which took place November Mi 
1890. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHK AL RECORD. 



68J 



Mr. Griffith was married a second time chapsing 
as his wife Miss Sarah Reed, of Steuben County, 
Ohio, and who became the mother of our subject. 
She has five children living: Byard, Dell, Hol- 
land, Nellie and Melvin, Our subjeel was reared 
in agricultural pursuits .'11111 was educated in the 
public schools of DeWitt County, and resided with 
his parents whom In- assisted on the farm, until he 
was twenty-three years of age when he settled on 
the farm where he now resides on section 21, 
Todd's Point It is a well-cultivated farm of one 
hundred and sixty broad and fertile acres. 



~s; 



c- 



>cs_ 






OIIX A. STEWART. The genial Supervisor 
of I'i'iiii Township, and who owns two hun- 
dred acres of fine land located on section 
36, is he whose name is found above. He 

was horn in Center County, Pa., in Shore (reek 

Valley, November 3, 1848. He is a son of John 
G. Stewart, who was born in the same state, and 
the father of John G., the grandfather of our sub- 
ject, was born in Scotland, and came to America at 
an earh day. and with his parents located in Penn- 
sylvania, settling in Huntington. He was there 
engaged in the mercantile business and passed the 
remainder of his life in that place. Our subject's 
father learned a trade hut did not follow it long, 
turning his attention to farming. He removed 
from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1867, and resided 
in Moweaqua until 1884, then wenf to Missouri 
and settled in DeKalb County, and there made hi- 
home until his death, which occured in 1888. 

The mother of our subjeel was in her girlhood 
Miss Mary Ann Elder: She was horn in Penn- 
sylvania and was a daughter of Abram Elder. 
She still survives, making her home in DeKalb 
County. Mo. She is the mother of nine children. 
Our Subjeel was reared anil educated in his native 
State, and coming to Illinois when quite young, 
with his parents, again located on the farm and 
there remained until his marriage, after which he 
came to Penn Township and bought eighty acres 
of land on section "27. 

Our subjeel did no1 occupy the farm that was 



his lirst purchase, hut rented other land and 

worked it until 1887, when he boughl the place he 
now occupies thai is located on section 36. It is 
well improved and bears striking evidence of the 
energy and industry Mr. Stewart has brought to 
bear on his work. Ii has a good class of buildings 
willi a plea-ant and comfortable residence and the 
mosl advanced idea- as regards agriculture arc 1 m- 
ployed in his care and cultivation of the place. 

In January, 1876, our subjeel quit the bachelor 
ranks and merged his life with that of Miss Mary 
E.Thompson. She was born in Pennsylvania and 
is a daughter oft Gardner and Eliza ( Baird ) Thomp- 
son. Five children have been vouchsafed to the 
care and guidance of our subject and his estimable 
wifi'. They an- by name Maude A.. FrankG., Har- 
vey, Edith, and Alary Belle. Mr. and Mrs. Stew- 
art are members of the Presbyterian Church and 
are consistent and noble Christians. lie of whom 
we write is a Republican in politics. He was 
eh-, ted a member of the Hoard of County Super- 
visors in tlic spring of 1891. Socially he belongs 



to the Prairie 1 1 : 

Knights "f I lonor. 



idge, No. 3574, of the 



^ 



f OIIN A. Ci;< IWDER lives on section I 5, 
Marrowbone Township, Moultrie County. 
and is a son of Roberl and Barbara 
(Prathci 1 ( louder. He \\;i- horn in Mar- 
rowbone Township. November II. 1847. He re- 
C< ived hi- early training on the home farm and in 
the common school-, anil in May. 1864, when in 
his seventeenth year, and weighing one hundred 
and nine pound-, he enlisted in the late war and 
was mustered oul with Company [, One Hundred 
ami Forty-third Illinois Infantry, October, 1864. 

on account of expiration of time, he having en- 
listed i"i' three months. In January, I860, he re- 
enlisted in Company A. and served until Septem- 
ber. In the spring of 1867 he was united in the 
liolj bonds of wedlock to Miss Emily E. Kennedy, 
a daughter of James ( . Kennedy, who was l>om 

in this county. lie then settled on a farm on sec- 



682 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



tion 14, where he resided for five years. He then 
purchased a portion of his present farm ami settled 
on the same. His wife died November 15, L888, 
Leaving nine children — Artie L., Oscar W., Leora A.. 
John R. C, Emily Edith. Athol S.. Ida M.. James 
G. and Cora M. August 8, 1889, Mr. Crowder 
was married a second time to Viola A. Roberts, 
daughter of Thomas A. and Louisa (l. Roberts, of 
Whitley Township. They have had one child, who 
is deceased. 

Mr. Cruwder owns two hundred and seventy- 
seven acres of land, on which lie lias very fine im- 
provements. His politics arc with the Republicans. 
lie lias held many local offices, in which he not 
only did credit to himself but his party. Reli- 
giously he is a consistent member of the Cumber- 
Land Presbyterian Church, and socially is a member 
of the Odd Fellows' society and the Grand Army 
of the Republic. Mr. Crowder is interested in 
stock-raising and is a dealer in live stock, lie is 
now giving a good deal of attention to horse- 
flesh, and has a number of imported horse- on his 
farm. 



r@h 



OUIS J. KIRCHER is a prominent dealer 
in dry goods, clothing and groceries, 
also hardware, stoves and farming imple- 
ments, in Strasburg, Shelby County. He keeps a 
large and well-assorted stock of goods thai is suit- 
able for the country trade of which he has almosl 
a monopoly. Our subject is a -on of Matthew and 
Catherine (String) Kircher. They were residents 
of Richland Township, and the parents of nine 
children, of whom he of whom we write is the 
eldest, lie was horn in Hocking County, Ohio, 
April •_>:;. L856. 

Our subject passed his boyhood days in his na- 
tive place, enjoying such educational advantages 

as were to lie obtained ill I lie district Schools Of the 

vicinity. When fourteen years old he came with 
,his father to Shelby County, and remained under 
the parental roof until reaching his majority, when 
he engaged in farming on his account in Richland 
Township, continuing on his firsl tract for two or 



three year.-. In 1 883 Mr. Kircher came to Stras- 
burg and engaged in the hardware business. He 

has since added a g 1 stock of merchandise and 

has a line store and enjoys a large and lucrative 
patronage. 

Our subject was married to Miss Clara Ruff. She 
was a daughter of John Ruff. Of three children 
born of this union only one is living at the pres- 
ent time. To him has been given the name of 
Edward G. Our subject has been honored by elec- 
tion to various township offices. He was Collector 
for two years, and has for some time been a mem- 
ber of the Village Board. lie with his wife is a 
member of the Lutheran Church. In politics our 
subject is an ardent Democrat, believing in the 
sovereign right of the individual. 



I"" - * DGAR ALLEN, who is numbered among 
the influential agriculturists of Shelby 
County, owns and operates a fine farm on 
section 2(1. Ridge Township. lie is a native of 
Ohio, born in Fairfield County. April is. 1854. 
His parents. George and Nancy (Carlisle) Allen, 
were natives of Maryland and Ohio respectively. 
and were married in the Buckeye State, where they 
owned a farm. In 1863 the father came to Illinois, 
and in Shelby County lie purchased two hundred 
and twenty acres of land but little improved, pay- 
ing for it 118 per acre lie returned to Ohio, 
where he died in the winter of 1863—64, Leaving 
eight children to mourn his untimely death. 

The following is the record of the brothers and 
sisters Of our subject: Sarah A., who became the 
wile of Anderson Hunter; William II.; Anetta. 
who married Milton Hunter and died in Shelby 
County; Angel ine, who was united in marriage 
with George N. Arnold, and also passed away in 
Shelby County; Thomas. Theodore, Edgar, and 
Alice, the wile of M. E. Moore. In the spring of 
L864, the widowed mother, accompanied by her 
children, came to Illinois and located on the land 
which had been purchased by lier late husband. 
she still survives at the age of seventy-five years, 



PORTRAIT AND BIO 1RAPHICAL RECORD. 



683 



and her declining years have been made happy by 
the love of her children and the affection of her 
Large circle of friends. 

.Mr. Allen passed a comparatively uneventful 
youth marked by no incidents Of note, lie aided 
his mother as much as possible in his childhood 
and alternated study at the neighboring district 
School with work n the home farm, where he re- 
ceived a practical training in agricultural affairs. 
When ready to establish a home of his own he 
was united in marriage, in February, 1884, with 
Mis- Allie Brandt, the daughter of Adam Brandt, 
who still resides in Fairfield County, Ohio. Mr. 
and Mrs. Allen mourn the loss of one child, and 
have three surviving members of their family — 
Bessie. Maud and Theodore. Politically Mr. Allen 
is a stanch supporter of Democratic principles 
and has served in various minor offices, among 
them that of Tax Collector. Socially he is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of America. 
His industry has been rewarded with success, ami 
he is now the owner of one hundred and twenty- 
live acres of fertile land, embellished with good 
improvements and bearing a first-class se1 of farm 
building's. 



— }- 



=^I>*<I 



(c T*~- 



sz--^ 




ANLIEUST. SHEPHERD. The Shepherds 
on the paternal side are of French ances- 
1 try. The grandfather of the subject of 
this sketch was one of the patriotic French- 
men who came with the distinguished Marquis de 
Lafayette to America, during the progress of the 
Revolutionary War. and participated with him in 
it. He was wounded in the battle of Yorktown. 
and rendered a cripple for the rest of his life. After 
the close of the Revolution, he married an Ameri- 
can young lady and settled in Orange County, \ a., 
where his three sons. Philip, Lewis and William 
were born and reared to maturity. William, the 
father of our subject was born in 1704, and moved 
to Kentucky in 1825. His profession was that of 
a school-teacher and a professor of vocal music. 
and was engaged in teaching' in Virginia, Kentucky 
and Ohio, crossing the mountains many times on 



horseback and alone. Highwaymen were at that 
time numerous and frequently for hours he car- 
ried his life, as it were in his hands. 

Our subject's father was married in Kentucky in 
1x27 to Miss Eveline H. Hall, whose parents had 
settled in -Jessamine County. Ky.. in 182.5. The 
father. John Ball was a wealthy land and slave 
owner, and his wife was an own cousin of the first 
President of the United states. Both side- of the 
family were highly connected with the best social 
element of the State of Virginia and had all the 
advantages of culture and education. William 
Shepherd remained in Kentucky until 1859 when 
he emigrated to Illinois, and settled in Sullivan, 
Moultrie County, where his decease took place ill 

1871. During the War of l.s 12 to 1814, he took 
an active part in the engagements as a private sol- 
dier. His wife, tin 1 mother of our subject, died in 
Sullivan. 111., in 1M71. There were bom to Will- 
iam and JCveline II. Shepherd, five children; the 
eldest daughter married S. P. Alexander in Ken- 
tucky, in January, 1846. Mr. Alexander resides 
in this county and State. His wife died, leaving 
two children, one of whom was named James "W. 
Ili> decease took place in Sullivan, this State, in 

1872. Louisa Bell, is the wife of W. W. Eden, 
County Clerk of Moultrie County. The family 
arc now residents of Fresno, Cal. John B. the eld- 
est son married Miss Sarah L. Hayden, of Shelby 
County, this State, and was at one time one of the 
business men of Sullivan, and is now a resident of 
Texarkana, Texas. Edwin L. married Miss Ann M. 
Hawkins, of Franklin County, Ky . and makes his 
home at Sullivan, this State. 

Manlieus T. the subject of this sketch, is tin 
youngest of the family, ami he was born in Frank- 
lin County, Ky., February 28, 1«:C>. IIi> early 
educational advantages were limited and what 

knowledge of I k» he possesses, has been attained 

by his own efforts outside of the school-room, as 
he spent but a short time in the district School of 
hi- native Slate. He is a man who possesses more 
than an ordinary amount of observation and in- 
dustry, and added to these qualities is a retentive 
memory. 

When young Shepherd was in his nineteenth 
year he left home to go out into the world. His 



684 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



first employment began in 1854 and 1855, when 
lie was engaged as guard a1 the Kentucky peniten- 
tiary al Frankfort At thai date there were but 
two hundred men imprisoned there. During :i 
great pari of Uie time, in which he was there occu- 
pied, he locked one oi the main rows of cells in 
which slept Calvin Fairbanks, and one Doyle, who 
were under long sentences for assisting slaves to 
leave their masters. Every evening the name of 
each prisoner was called and he was personally ac- 
quainted with every man in the institution. 

Our subject was next engaged as clerk in the 
Mansion House in Frankfort. Ky.. where he re- 
mained for some time, and by his industry and 
close attention to business lie gained the esteem 
and good will of his employers, and those with 
whom he came in contact, lie remembers well 
John ( '. Crittenden, John C. Breckinridge, Charles 
S. Morehead, and John M. Harlan, present United 
states Judge. He afterward went to the Capital 
Hotel iii the same city and remained there until 
1857, when he went to Versailles, in Woodford 
County. He was well acquainted with Hon. 
Thomas F. .Marshall, and also Buford. who killed 
Judge Elliot two years ago, (1889) at Frankfort, 
Ky., for deciding a greal suit against him. 

Mr. Shepherd continued as a hotel clerk until the 
spring of 1858, when he came to this State, stop- 
ping in Sullivan, this county, where he engaged 
with his brother, John 1!.. in the grocery and res- 
taurant business. He had about $200 and this he 
invested in the business which was necessarily 
commenced on a small scale bul gradually <jww to 
large proportions and gravitated into general 
merchandising. In that business the brothers con- 
tinued together until 1862, when our subjeel came 
to Lovington with pari of the -.lock, to which he 
made additions, and together they carried on an 
extensive business, and were the leading merchants 
of the two places lor a number of years. Tln\ 
continued in partnership until 1867, when the 
partner-hip was dissolved, the older brother taking 
the siock ami store-! se in Sullivan, and our sub- 
ject the Lovington store-house and stock. Mr. 
Shepherd continued the business in t hi- place with 
ureal success, and in \*lt\. he added private bank- 
ing to hi- business. This latter branch gradually 



ah-oil icd so much of his time that he began cur- 
tailing his merchandising, added the real estate 
business, and a tew years later, went out of the 
mercantile business entirely, since which time he 
has given his whole attention to his private bank- 
ing, and the care of his real estate, having about 
six hundred acres of land and being the owner of 
a large number of the besl dwelling and business 
houses in Lovington and Sullivan. 

On February 7, 1870, the subject of our sketch 
was united in marriage with Mis.- Maria J. Mulli- 
kin. a native of Johnson County, hid. This mar- 
riage has been blessed by the advent of seven chil- 
dren, .lu-tin M. has been a most progressive and 
ambitious student, and graduated from the Lov- 
ington High School at the age of sixteen years. 
receiving his diploma from Eureka College al the 
age of seventeen years. Ollie Jewel, Earl T.. Blos- 
som, and Paul T. died in infancy: Homer T.. and 
Flossie, complete the family circle. Mrs. Shepherd, 
who is an estimable woman, and a leader of society 
in Lovington, is in her church relations a member 
of the Christian denomination. Politically our 
subject affiliates with the Democratic party. 






< »II.I.IAM BECKETT. Among the promi- 
\ / ncnt farmers of Shelby County, noted for 
V V its rich agricultural products, is the sub- 
ject of this sketch, who is known and respected by 
all as an honest, uprighl and liberal citizen. lie 
resides on section 2. Rural Township, his residence 
in the county dating from December. 1886. lie 
was born in Brantbroughton, Lincolnshire. Eng- 
land, March 15, 1825. being a son of Thomas and 
Ann Beckett, who reared a family of seven boys 
and one girl, our subjeel being the only one who 

came to the United States, anil remained here. 

One brother, Thomas, came to this conntry but re- 
mained only a short time. 

Frank Beckett, a brother of our subject has two 

children in the luited States, Arthur ami Annie 
Mary, both of whom reside with our Subject. 
Ma\ 17. 1849, he was married lo Mary Ann Beck- 
ett at Skelling Thorp, England, she was born in 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



685 



Waddmgton, Lincolnshire, England, June 9, 1829. 
After the birth of two children they in 1854, 
concluded they would try their fortune in the 
United States, fir-si locating a1 Qtica, N. Y., where 
our subject worked for miiiic time in a soap and 
candle factory, later engaging in the express busi- 
ness. 

In the spring of 1859, Mr. Beckett migrated to 
Illinois, locating at Springfield, where he engaged 
in the dairy business becoming sole owner of the 
principal dairy of that city. From Springfield, be 
cametoShelby County and purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of railroad land, then all raw prairie 
which be paid Cor at the time but from the re- 
cording deeds having been misstated he was obliged 
to pay for one-half of it the second time. He 
still resides on the laud first purchased, having 
added new land, however, from time to time, and 
is at present the owner of three hundred and 
sixty-four acres of well-cultivated land, lie has 
been very successful in his business adding to his 
other agricultural pursuits the business of raising 
swine, in which he has been largely engaged. 

Mr. and Mrs. Beckett have been blessed by the 
birth of seven children who are named as follows: 
John was horn in Lincolnshire. England, March 7. 
L850; Thomas was also born in England, December 
1S.">2. but died in I'tiea after their removal there. 
September 5, 1859; Mary Ann. now the wife of 
Samuel Wilson, was born in Lftica, X. Y.. April 26, 
1H.")7; Fanny C, was born near Springfield, June 
lit. 1859, and is now the wife of William II. 
Thomas; Frank Grant was bom at Springfield, 
January 2!>. 1 M ( 1 1? : Abraham Lincoln was born near 
Springfield, March I. L865 and died May 5, 1888; 

Ada Matilda was bom in Shelby County, Septem- 
ber ."). INII7. and is now the wife of Willirm 
I lartmann. 

Mr. Beckett has always been very patriotic 
having been a strong [Jnionman during thestormy 
times of war. He is also an ardent advocate of 
temperance but never paid much attention to poli- 
tics in fact seldom voting. While our subject is a 
strong supportej of the cause of Christ, he is at 
present not a member of any church. Hi- carh 
training was in the Methodist Church and he slid 
adheres to that faith. His family arc members of 



the Church of God whose house of worship is 
located on land denoted bj him. He also paid 
two-thirds of the expenses necessary to building a 

church. Mr. Beckett is a man who is well-known 
and highly respected in the community in which 
he resides. lie i- the architect of his own fortune 
having but a few dollars in his pocket when he 

emigrated to America, but by industry and good 
management he ha- succeeded in accumulating a 
ci imuetence. 



V *==4 



/ *=-i 



OHN DIXON, Sr. The owner of the fine 
far. ii located on section 1. of Lovington 
Township. Moultrie County, is of Southern 
parentage, his father being Jacob Dixon, who 
was born in North Carolina, and his mother Ann 
Murrv (.Miller) Dixon, was bom in Virginia, the 
State that is so noted for pretty girls, statesmen and 
good cooking. Soon after marriage they settled 
in Ross County, Ohio, where our subject's father 
died; the mother survived and came to Moultrie 
County, when- -he finally passed away at the resi- 
dence of our subject. They were the parents of 
ten children, of whom oursubject was the third in 
order of birth. 

The original of our sketch was born in Ross 
County, Ohio, August 11. 1819. There he grew to 

manhood and was employed as were most of the 

young farmers of his age and day. Hi- boyhood 
\ear- were marked by his application to school 
duties and learning the routine of farm work. On 
reaching manhood he was married to I.ydia Kay. 
Their nuptials were solemnized November 11, 1844. 
The lady was born in Ohio, November 15, 1*22. 
They were the parents of nine children whose 
name- are a- follow-. — lacob, Mahala. Mary. Hach- 
ael I.. Charity. Moses, I.ydia E., John K. and Nancy 
1\. Of these Mahala and Charity are deceased. Mrs. 
Lydia Dixon died in Lovington Township, July 
is. L874. 

John Dixon was married the second time in Ross 
( .iimn.i ihio. April 8, ls77.to.Mr-. Margaret (Hen- 
son) Springer. Her parents were Henry and Sarah 



i;s.; 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



(Mum) Henson; they died in Ohio. By her first 
marriage she beame the wife of Alanson Springer, 
who died in Jackson County. Ohio. By that union 
she became the mother of eight children, whose 
names are respectively — Louisa. Sarah. Drusilla, 
Pleasant. Wheelen. Titus. Hester .1. and Lydia. 
Mrs. Margaret Dixon was born in Ross County, 
Ohio. March ■>! . 1817. 

Our subject in his young manhood worked in a 
saw and grist mill, and in a felling and cording 
mill, which he followed until he was thirty years 
old. beginning this work at the early age of twelve 
years. Since that lime, that is. at the age of thirty. 
he has followed farming and finds the peacful seren- 
ity of this life to he more suited to his tempera- 
ment than the business in which he was engaged 
in his youth. He is the owner of three hundred 
and fourteen acres of good farm land upon which he 
had placed good Improvements having expended 
large sums of money in the erection of buildings, 
conveyance of water, drainage, fencing, etc. lie 
also owns eighty acres in Buffalo County. Neb. 

Our subject is a follower of the Democratic 
party believing thoroughly in the superiority of 
principle and executive power as exerted by that 
form of government. He has rilled the office of 
Highway Commissioner most successfully in the 
township. Mrs. Dixon has been a member of the 
Method is 1 Episcopal Church since fifteen years of 
age. Her husband is liberal in his religious belief. 
I lis first wife was a member of the Christian Church 
from the time she was sixteen years of age until 
her death. Mr. Dixon's advent into this Slate 
and county was made in March 1868, and the fol- 
lowing February he settled on the farm where he 
now lives. lie lias somewhat dropped the active 
proprietorship of the place, and lives a semi-retired 
life, leaving the management of the place to one 
of his sons. All of Mr. Dixon's children who are 
Surviving, have homo and families ,,f their own. 
and are honored and respected members of the com- 
munities in which they live. Jacob Dixon mar- 
ried ( liilda 1'red, who died May. 1891. Mahala 
died when only about twenty-three years of age, 
at a time when life is so full of promise. Marv is 
the wife of Sylvester Arganbright. Rachael mar- 
ried 1-'. (I. Davis. Charity died when a younglady 



twenty-two years old. Moses was united to Miss 
Dora Ballard. Lydia E. is the wife of Harmon 
Hoffman. John R. is still in the bachelor ranks. 
Nancy E. is the wife of J.S.Fred; Louisa is the 
wife of Joseph Sigler; Sarah married Ambrose 
Davis. Drusilla was united to Samuel Mulvany. 
Pleasant married Caroline Leach. Wheelen made 
mistress of the domestic affairs of his household. 
Elizabeth steward. Titus married Nancy Sinclair. 
Hester J. and Lydia are deceased. 



~^«ii 



H.' 



H 



\&^ 



^=^)EORGE FERRE, the leading business man of 

||[ (— ; Dal ton City. Moultrie County, located in 
%J|( this town in April, 1872, which date is 
identical with the founding of Dalton City. He 
is the proprietor of two flourishing stores in one 
of which he carries a general stock and in the 
other hardware. He was bom in Perry, Pike County, 
111.. January fi. 1845, being the son of Lucian and 
Ann (Avars) Ferre, the former a native of Canada 
and the latter of England. 

The paternal grandfather of our subject. Daniel 
Ferre. was a native of Springfield, Mass., bul passed 
the last years of his life in Canada and thus the 
father of our subject had his nativity in that do- 
minion. There Lucian Ferre grew to manhood and 
was married. lie had taken the trade of a black- 
smith and concluded that in the newer regions of 
Illinois would he the lies! place to carry on his 
trade. I Ie therefore migrated here, becoming an 
early settler in Pike County, locating at Perry, 
where he engaged in the manufacture of plows. 
In that early day Illinois possessed but one short 
line of railway, that from Naples to Jacksonville, 
therefore he was compelled to journey in primitive 
fashion to the new home, coming in a w&gon ex- 
cept when crossing the lake. 

In September, 1 k ."» < > . he determined to give up 
the plow business and devote himself to agricul- 
tural pursuits, removing to Macon County, and 

settling on a farm in the vicinity of the city of 
Macon. There he lived until death called him 
hence in 1875, his age being sixty-four years. His 
faithful and beloved wife had preceded him to 



PORTRAIT AND BIoORAPIllCAl. RECORD. 



681 



the spirit world, three months previous to his de- 
mise," having passed away at the age of sixty-five 
They had a family of five children, namely: Lou- 
isa, who married II. II. Brengelman of Perry, Pike 
County, III.: William H. whodied in January,1875. 
leaving a family of two children: George, our sub- 
ject; Sarah, who married -I. II. Gibson of Macon. 
III.; Emily A. who resides at Perry. The father of 
this family was a man of ability and succeeded in 
accumulating a handsome property, and the later 
yea.rs.of himself and wife were prosperous and 
comfortable ones. They were held in high esteem 
by the people with whom they made their home 
and were active in church work, he beinga Deacon 
in the Baptist Church of Moweaqua. 

The boyhood of our subject was passed in Perry 
and later on the farm in Macon County, where he 
received thorough instruction and practice in the 
duties of farm life and took his schooling in the 
district schools. This education was further sup- 
plemented by a course of study at Shurtleff Col- 
lege, Upper Alton. III. He pursued farming until 
some twenty-five years of age and then came to 
Dalton City and entered upon the business of buy- 
ing and selling grain, and in the fall of 1872 
purchased an interest in a general store, and as a 
member .of the linn of Webb 61 Ferre, carried on 
business for five years-, after which he became the 
sole proprietor and in 1SH7 added a hardware 
More 10 the ii-t of his enterprises. His success has 
been marked and he is rapidly accumulating a 
handsome property. He now owns seven acres 
of land near Dalton. one hundred and sixty in 
Shelby County. 111., one hundred ami sixty in 
Macon County. III., and one hundred and sixty in 
Kansas. 

A happy and congenial marriage was contracted 
November 17. 1875, between George Ferre and 
Eleanor Dalton, daughter of James Dalton. This 
lady was horn in the North of England and as 
her mother died when she was quite a small child 
she was placed under the care of her uncle, Thomas 
Dalton. in whose honor Dalton City is named and 
was t)QUght li\ him to the Tinted States, and 
reared and educated under his fostering care. The 
following children have Keen horn to Mr. and Mrs. 
Ferre. Daisy 1... Mabel and Guy. They are being 



carefullj and judiciously reared ami educated and 
aie being conscientiously instructed by their parents 
in the Christian faith. For nine years Mr. Ferre 
was Postmaster at Dalton. In politics he i- a 
stanch and sturdj Republican ami i- also identi- 
fied with the Knights of I Iouoi . 



•*, • 



"• • ftgi 



LDER WILLIAM A. BATES. The divine 
command "Go ye into all the world and 
preach the gospel to every creature," has 
for more than eighteen hundred years been ac- 
cepted by a few who felt that they would accept the 
humble position of teacher to the people, for their 
dear Lord's sake. Every religion has its fanatics, 
but the purpose of none is so pure and unalloyed as 
that of the preacher to the simple agricultural 
classes of America. They are one with the people 
and no false notions of superiority can give them 
prestige over their Hock. They can preach the 
life of the Divine man in all its simplicity, because 
they themselves, in a degree, live the same life. 
Our subject resides on section 13, of Ridge 
Township, Shelby County, lie was born in Grant 
County, Ind., his natal day being December 4, 
1851. He is a son of David and Elizabeth ( Brad- 
shaw) Bates, both natives of Indiana. Both pater- 
nal and maternal grandparents were pioneer set- 
tlers of his native State. '1 he parents of our sub- 
ject died in Indiana, and of a family of eight 
children, only three attained their majority. They 
are. Rebecca, John Wislev and our subject. Re- 
becca married C. F. Lay, and resides in Miami 
County, Kan. John died in 1890 in Miami 
County, Kan. Our subject was only live years of 
age when his father passed away from this life. 
and one year later he lost his mother, and only 
those who have been orphans can appreciate the 
bereavement of the lad. Our subject had a guar- 
dian appointed with whom he lived for a time, 
after a previous residence with his relatives on the 
home farm. He attended the district schools and 
derived all the advantages to be had there. 

At the age of seventeen the original of our 
sketch came to Shelby County and purchased 



G88 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



eighty acres of land. In 1874. he was married to 
Arm in ta Bare, a daughter of Michael and Marga- 
ret I Dillinger) Hare. The lady was born in West- 
moreland County. Pa.. August 11, 1847. In 1848 
the family removed to Ohio and in 1872 came to 
Shelby County, where she and our subject met 
and married. After marriage, he of whom we 
write, with his wife, went to Kansas, where they 
resided for a time in Miami, and then went across 
the line into Missouri. While West, he purchased 
forty acres of land and operated land which he 
rented. 

In October, 1882, the family returned to Shelby 
County and our subject has since rented the land 
which he now occupies, operating two hundred 
and forty acres. Politically. Mr. Bates is a Pro- 
hibitionist, not only living, but teaching and 
preaching a total abstinence from all stimulants. 
Five little ones have come as buds of promise to 
cheer the home of our subject and wife. Of these, 
four are now living. They are Maggie. Cora, 
Bertha and John. Mr. Bates has been an earnest 
Christian and has officiated as minister over several 
congregations. He preached one year at Antioch, 
two years at Wilber Creek, two years at Union, 
and two years at Zion, at which place he is now 
preaching. He united with the Church of Christ 
when twenty one years of age, and had no special 
preparation for the pulpit, gleaning his theologi- 
cal training as best he could from books anil con- 
versations with learned, good men. During the 
time of his ministry with the churches above men- 
tioned, he at the same time pursued bis calling as a 
fanner, although he has given a portion of his 
time to his ministerial duties. He is a member 
of the church of Antioch, and occasionally 
preaches at that place. 






^ffAMES SLATER. Pioneer life in the Prairie 

State was not. perhaps, so full of hardships 
as in some of the more densely wooded sec- 
tions of our country, but those who came 
to this Slate in the early days can recount many 
tales of deprivation which sound strangely to the 



ears of the younger generation. In the days when 
the subject of this sketch first lived in Illinois, 
there was no Justice of the Peace nearer than 
Shelbyville, and for four years after his coming 
here no property was assessed for taxation. 

Mr. Slater was born near the city of Indian- 
opolis. Ind.. May 2. 1824. His parents were Wil- 
liam and Jane (Wilson) Slater, the father being a 
native of Yorkshire, England, and the mother being 
born in Kentucky. They were married in Indiana 
and resided there until 1832, when they came to 
Lawrence County, 111., and afterward to Mont- 
gomery County where the}' settled in 1844. 

The subject of this biographical sketch came to 
Shelby County in the year 1848 and for four years 
previous had lived just across the line and within 
sight of the village of Oconee. Farming was 
his occupation and he did much pioneer work 
in Montgomery and Shelby Counties. His first mar- 
riage which took place in Montgomery County. 111., 
prior to his coming to Shelby County, united him 
with a young lady of great loveliness of character, 
Miss Ann Morrell. Her married life was brief but 
full of cares and responsibilities, as was that of all 
early pioneer women. She died in 1853 after having 
become the mother of five children, one of whom 
died in early childhood; Jennie died in 1889. The 
two who survive are Horatio and Sidney, both of 
whom are energetic young farmers of character 
and enterprise, the eldest living in Fayette County 
and the younger in Oconee Township. 

In 1863 our subject assumed a second matri- 
monial alliance with Avy J. (Turner) Ishmael. 
Seven children were born of this marriage, five of 
whom were gathered to the arms of the Heavenly 
Shepherd in early childhood, and the two who are 
living are Otis, who resides at home and Alta, 
now Mrs. Ed. Morgan who lives on a farm in this 
township. 

Mr. Slater retired from the farm about nine 
years ago, and engaged in the business of mer- 
chandising. He owned and operated a store in 
Oconee, and there carried a full line of groceries, 
provisions, queensware, tinware, notions, etc., and 
enjoyed a lucrative trade. He always took an ac- 
tive interest ; n political affairs and worked with the 
Democratic party, believing that the principles 






PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



G89 



announced by the author of the Declaration of In- 
dependence are good enough for the guidance of 
the country in these modern days. He was Jus- 
tice of the Peace for eighteen years, in Mont- 
gomery County. He was elected Supervisor from 
his township when he lived in Audubon. Mont- 
gomery County, and had served as School Direc- 
tor, having always taken a deep and abiding interest 
in the public school system. During his forty- 
seven years' residence in this vicinity he witnessed 
the development of this county from a wilderness 
to its present state of high cultivation. 

The Oconee Lodge No. 392 A. F. & A. M.. is 
the social body with which Mr. Slater was formerly 
connected, but at the time of bis death he was non- 
affiliated He held no church membership but was 
interested in the progress of churches and schools 
and all institutions looking to the progress of Oco- 
nee. He was distinctively a pioneer of this region 
and a man who had the confidence and respect 
of all with whom he is acquainted. Mr. Slater 
died August 28. 1891, aged sixtj'-seven years 
eight months and six days. 



B*+£ 



k=> 



GEORGE W. BOYS. A member of a family 
highly respected and honored in the com- 
munity in which he resides our subject is 
one of the pioneers in the central part of the 
State. He was there growing to manhood while 
Lincoln was maturing and preparing for the 
career which has made his name immortal. Mr. 
lioys resides on section 26. of Ridge Township, 
Shelby County. He is a son of Alexander and 
Virginia Boys, of whom notice may be found 
under the sketch of James Boys, in another part of 
this volume. Our subject's father was horn in 
the beginning of the present century and when the 
War of 1812 occurred, he was old enough to re- 
member something regarding it. 

He of whom >ve write first saw the light of day 
in Vermilion County, this State, January 2:5. 
1834. When only two years of age his family re- 
moved from that county and located in Shelby 
County. Here he grew to manhood and assisted 



in the improvement of the farm, making his home 
under the paternal roof until he attained his ma- 
jority. When twenty one years of age, lie 
attended school for one winter, and the next year 
he was married to. Elizabeth (lardy, daughter 
of Thomas and Nellie Hardy. Their marriage 
was celebrated February 26, L856. The lady was 
born in Fairfield County. Ohio. For the further 
history of her family see sketch of William Hardy 
in another part of this Record. 

After marriage, Mr. Boys rented a tract of laad 
which he operated for two years. He then pur- 
chased eighty acres in Todd's Point Township, 
there lesiding for several years, engaged in plow- 
ing, planting and reaping, and the general im- 
provement of his place. They then removed to 
Ridge Township, and purchased a larger tract 
comprising one hundred and sixty acres, which 
was the nucleus of his present farm, which was at 
the time of purchase but a little improved. lb' 
is now the possessor of three hundred acres of 
finely cultivated and highly productive land, upon 
which he has expended large amounts in improve- 
ments. Although Mr. Boys follows general agri- 
culture as his calling, he particularly favors the 
branch of stock raising and has many fine animals 
that are noted throughout the county for the pur- 
ity of their breeding. For some years he devoted 
himself to wheat raising. 

Mr. Boys and his amiable and charming wife 
have been the parents of eight children, six of 
whom are living. They are ( > 1 lie Luella. Emma, 
Sarah, Cora and Hope. Of these, Emma is the 
wife of Lawson Killam. Sarah is the wife of Cy- 
rus Killam. Politically, our subject favors the 
Democratic party and although he is much inter- 
ested in local politics, desiring that the best man 
should receive the favors to be awarded, lie has 
never been prevailed upon to accept office. Re- 
ligiously. Mr. Boys is a believer in Christianity, 
but has never connected himself with any church, 
finding good in all. [lis daughter Ollie. however, 
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
in which she is an efficient worker. Our subject 
has felt that in being entrusted with the care of 
children, an almost sacred obligation is upon him 
to enrich their intelligence to the greatest possible 



t;:io 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



c\i nt, and he has never spared any means to give 
his children the best educational advantages. Two 
daughters, after finishing at the home school, at- 
tended the Wesleyan College, at Bloomington, 
and two others finished at St. Mary's, near Terre 
H'Mile. Ind. Their course in the Shelbyville 
schools prior to their college life, was thorough 
and practical. His children are cultivated and re- 
filled women, who are adornments and desirable 
additions to the social and intellectual life of the 
community in which they live. Miss Cora is a 
teacher of music, in which art she is proficient, 
having a wide local reputation for the beauty and 
sympathy of her piano forte performances. 



]~\ AN1EL MOLL, of Moweaqua, one of the 
}) formost stock dealers in this county, and an 
extensive land owner, is one of our substan- 
tial citizens who in the successful management of 
this business has added to the wealth of this sect- 
ion and has helped to establish its prosperity on a 
solid foundation. He was born in Bucks County 
Pa. , which was also the native County of his fath- 
er, who bore the same name as himself. His grand- 
father was likewise a Pennsylvanian by birth and 
was of German antecedents. He spent his last years 
at his occupation as a farmer in Bucks County 

'I'lic father of our subject was reared on a farm 
and always followed agricultural pursuits, spend- 
ing his entire life in the county of his nativity. lit 
married Margaret ilincs, a native of that county, 
and a life-long resident of that section of Pennsyl- 
vania. She was the mother of fifteen children 
that grew to maturity. 

Daniel Moll, of this biographical sketch, passed 
his life on his father's farm, and when he was eigh- 
teen (•ally years of age liis fatliel gave llilll his time. 
He started out even with the world, his only capital 
being a clear brain, strong muscle, a courageous 
heart . and right principles, but these were worth 
more to him than money, and by their aid he lias 
been more than ordinarily successful in acquiring 
wealth, lie made his way to Ohio after he left 



the sheltering roof of his old home, and entered 
upon his career by working upon a farm by the 
month. He was so employed in the Buckeye 
State until 1853, when, thinking that he could do 
better in this State, he came to Shelby County 
with a team, and at first farmed as a renter. As soon 
as his means would admit,, he bought forty acres 
of land in Pickaway Township, a half of which 
was under cultivation, and a log cabin adorned 
the place. Busy years followed his location there, 
but prosperity smiled upon his efforts, and he of- 
ten judiciously invested his money in land, and at 
the present time has nine hundred fifty eight acres 
of valuable real estate, divided into live finely im- 
proved farms. 

Mr. Moll continued his residence on his home- 
stead until Ma} r , 181(0, when he came to Mowea- 
qua and purchased the pleasant place where he 
now lives. He has for many years been actively 
engaged in buying and shipping live-stock, com- 
mencing in a moderate way, and gradually build- 
ing up a large business, which he still continues, 
he being one of the shippers in the county, all his 
stock going to Chicago. He is one of our solid 
business men, keen foresight and unerring judg- 
ment, united with honorable and generous dealings, 
marking all his transactions. 

He stands high in financial circles, and public- 
spirit is one of his characteristics, he being always 
willing to use his means and influence to advance 
all enterprises that will in any way benefit city or 
country. He has always given of his time to help 
in the management of civic affairs, and has done 
good service as Highway Commissioner and as a 
member of the District School Board. As to his 
politics, he is a firm and unswerving adherence to 
the Republican party. Both he and his good wife 
are people of earnest religious character and are 
faithful members of the United Brethren in Christ 
Church. 

Mr. Moll has been exceedingly happy in his do- 
mestic relations, as by his marriage in November, 
1853, with Miss Coraline Wolfe, he secured a 
wife who has ever been watchful of his interests, 
and has cheerfully co-operated with him in the 
upbuilding of their home. They have five children, 
namely: Mary E., who is the wife of Jesse O. 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGP.APHK AL RFCORD. 



691 



Weakly, of Ridge Township; John, who married 
Miss Nelly Tolly, and lives in Pickaway Town- 
ship; Clara A. , the wife of Cyrus Weakly, of Pick- 
away Township; and William Henry, who lives at 
home with his parents. 

Mrs. Moll is a native of Fairfield County, Ohio, 
and a daughter of Andrew and Susan (Stearns) 
Wolf. Her father, who is thought to have 
been a native of Pennsylvania, was a pioneer of 
Ilawkin Township. Fairfield County, where he car- 
ied on his trade as a miller, and died at a ripe age 
in 1840. His wife, who was a Pennsylvanian by 
birth, spent her last years with a daughter in Carro 
County, Ind. 



fifACOB STUMP. The most imperishable 
monuments erected to commemorate the vir- 
tues of our deceased friends are not built of 
perishable marble, but are found in the mem- 
ories and affections of friends and fellow-men. 
Our subject, Jacob Stump, who passed away from 
this life to seek the light of upper day, April 8, 
1876, was one whose monument though unpreten- 
tious, is as enduring as the memory of man, for 
his thoughts and acts and words were such as to 
make the world better and wiser and to bring hu- 
manity into nearer relation with the great Infinite. 
He was a genial, whole-souled man who was the 
confidant and friend of every person who needed 
a sympathetic ear in which to pour their joys or 
grievances. 

Our subject was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, 
October 20, 1820. He comes of Pennsylvania 
Dutch parentage, who were early settlers in Fair- 
field County, Ohio. His father and mother lived 
and died where our subject was born. The)' were 
both old people at the time of their decease, and 
had seen much experience in pioneer life. They 
were members of the German Reformed Church. 
Our subject grew to manhood and attained hi* 
majority in his native county. There he was edu- 
cated and having an aptitude for study, he began 
his career as a teacher and was thus engaged until 
he was twenty-nine years old. 

In 1849, Mr. Stump was united in marriage 



in Pickaway County, Ohio, to Mis,^ Sarah Brinker, 
a native also of that place, being there burn March 
13, 1827. She was the daughter of George and 
Mary (Shafer), natives of the State of Pennsyl- 
vania, and of Dutch ancestry with a mixture of 
Irish. After marriage in Pickaway County, George 
Brinker and wife began life as very poor people. 
They made a home far back in the depths of the 
woods of Pickaway County, (lino, where they 
began their domestic life in the most primitive 
style. They were surrounded by wild game of all 
kinds, and before their little log" cabin was built 
their cooking was done in the lea of two logs, 
which they rolled together in lieu of a fireplace. 
They were industrious and ingenious young people, 
and as their children increased and grew in stature 
and strength, they made a comfortable little home, 
where the parents lived and labored together for 
many years, surrounded by a family of children 
that were blessed with robust constitutions, and 
bright, clear, vigorous minds; and although they 
did not afford a great deal of style, they had 
plenty to live on and a comfortable abode. Here 
the parents lived until the time of their decease. 
being old people when taken away. For years 
their social life was closely connected with their 
church relations, being ardent members of the 
Methodist denomination. Mr. Blinker's home. 
humble as it was, was always large enough to en 
lertain the traveling preacher, and they did not 
regard it as anything but a privilege to transform 
their house into a temporary sanctuary. The 
thought seems titling that in the little house 
snuggled down among the great trees in God's 
own temple, that the handful of settlers should 
meet to hear the Gospel expounded. 

Mrs. Stump, the wife of our subject, was early 
acquainted with pioneer life, and was lilted to be 
the wife f a man who was determined to make a 
place for himself in the world. After the birth of 
three of their children, one of whom died, Mr. and 
Mrs. Stump set out, in 1854, for what was then 
considered the wild West. They took the over- 
land route, coming hither with teams, thus bring- 
ing their household goods and two small children. 
The journey was a difficult one. for the mother 
had a baby who was less than a year old. and who 



692 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHIC A I. RECORD. 



was taken sick on the way, compelling tliem to 
make a slop of a week. Mothers of to-day, who 
are frantic if a physician cannot respond to their 
call within ten minutes to attend upon their chil- 
dren who are slightly indisposed, can realize the 
anxiety of the mother whose situation rendered it 
so difficult to alleviate the suffering of her little 
one. After reaching this State, they settled in 
Pickaway Township, on a farm in section 19, 
which was then only slightly improved. It com- 
prised one hundred and sixty acres, and here they 
began life anew, and here they have lived and 
labored together until the father and husband was 
taken away. He lived, however, to enjoy the 
result of his early labor. 

Mrs. Stump still owns eighty acres, and here she 
makes her abiding place. It is a well improved 
farm, and does not suffer from lack of care. The 
lady has been a hard worker, and for many years 
did the work that our grandmothers discarded, 
that of spinning her own yarn and thread, and 
then weaving it into cloth and carpets. After 
living to sec her children grown up about her, and 
taking honorable positions in life, she is still hale 
and active for one of her years. One of her 
greatest pleasures and comforts has been in church 
wink, both she and her husband having been for 
many years members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Mr. Stump was a great Sunday-school 
worker. Politically, he affiliated with the Demo- 
eratic party, and occupied several local offices, 
having been Justice of the Peace for a number of 
years. 

Mrs. Stump is the mother of twelve children, 
four of whom are now deceased. Their names are 
respe lively: Mary. George, Henry, and an un- 
named infant. The living children are: Catherine, 
Salome, Wayne. Elizabeth, Charles. John, Ida B. 
and Carrie. Catherine is the wife of John Porter, 
and resides on a farm in Todd's Point Township. 
Salome is the wife of Prank Sloan, who owns a 
farm in this township. Wayne, who took to wife 
Sarah Davis, is a farmer in this township. Eliza- 
beth, who married S. 15. Cole, lives on and operates 
the home place. Charles took to wife Lucretia 
Hoy. and lives on a farm in Pickaway Township. 
John resides with his brother-in-law, John Porter, 



at this place. Ida B. is the wife of B. A. Rich- 
hart, of whom a biographical sketch may be found 
in another part of this volume. The youngest 
daughter, Carrie, is the comfort and support of 
her mother's declining years; she is a well edu- 
cated and refined woman, holding a desirable posi- 
tion in the public schools of the county. 



ON. ALFRED C. CAMPBELL, a distin 
guished veteran officer of two wars, was 
formerly one of the leading farmers of this 
county, and, as the proprietor of a large 
and finely improved farm, is still indentified with 
its agricultural affairs although practically living 
in retirement in his pleasant home at Moweaqua. 
He is a soii of one of the early pioneer families of 
Central Illinois, is noted in its history as the third 
child born of white parents in Sangamon County 
and is thought to be the oldest white man living 
who is a native of that county. 

Our subject was born July '12. 1819, and comes 
of good Revolutionary stock and Scotch ancestry. 
The first of the Campbell family to come to this 
country from his native heaths in Scotland was the 
great-grandfather of subject, who came here in 
Colonial times and settled in South Carolina. His 
son Jeremiah was the next in line. He was born 
in Scotland and emigrated to South Carolina, and 
went from there to Tennessee in the early years of 
its settlement, before it became a State and when 
the Cherokee Indians held full sway there. He 
located at Hampton, Carter County and spent the 
remainder of his life there. lie did valiant service 
in the Revolutionary War as a soldier under the 
gallant Gen. Francis Marion. His wife was a 
Miss Marr. 

The father of subject, John Campbell, was born 
Nov. ■> I. 179(1, in Carter County. Tenn. He was of 
a thoughtful and studious turn of mind, and made 
the best of his opportunities to obtain an educa- 
tion. In 1817 he came to Illinois, which was then 
a territory, and first located in Madison County. 
He was there married to Levina Parkinson, and in 
1819 be started with a team for the unsettled 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



693 



wilderness of Sangamon County. He was one 
of the first to locate there, and though the land 
was not then in market he made a claim on Lick 
Creek, and after building a log cabin for the shel- 
ter of his family, he entered actively upon pioneer 
work that lay before him.of evolving a farm from 
the wild country in which he had settled. He was 
of an energetic disposition, very capable, and by 
hard and unremitting labor acquired and improved 
a large tract of land, and became one of the most 
substantial men of his township. A man of his cal- 
ibre was naturally called to positions of trust iu the 
administration of public affairs, and among other 
offices he held that of Justice of the Peace many 
years. Possessed of considerable learning himself. 
he had a just value of a good education, and did 
all he could to advance the educational interests of 
his township by building a hewed log house on his 
own land for school purposes, the school being 
taught on the subscription plan. Politically he 
was a stanch Democrat. He died in 1874, thus 
closing a long and well-spent life, and leaving be- 
hind him the legacy of an untarnished name that 
is held in reverence by all who knew him. 

When Mr. Campbell became a pioneer of San- 
gamon County, there were but few white settlers 
in Illinois, the Indians still retaining their old 
hunting grounds to a great extent. Kaskaskia was 
the capital of the State. Springfield had not been 
founded, and St. Louis, which was but a village at 
that time was the nearest market for the settlers to 
sell their products and obtain supplies. The people 
were home-livers, having to subsist on what they 
could raise and on the game such as deer, wild 
turkeys, etc.. which were abundant. The wives and 
daughters of the pioneers hail to card, spin and 
weave the wool and tlax raised by the men, to 
make cloth for wearing material and other purposes. 
The father of subject lived to see a great change 
wrought, not only in the face of the country, but 
in the mode of living and the customs of the peo 
pie. 

The maternal grandfather of subject was Will- 
iam Parkinson a native of Tennessee. His father. 
Peter Parkinson, was born in England, came to 
America in Colonial times, and spent his last yeais 
in Carter County. Tenn. William Parkinson was 



reared in Tennessee, and came from there to this 
State in territorial days, lie was a pioneer of Mad- 
ison County, whence he went after a few years to 
Lafayette County, Wis., of which he was one of the 
first settlers, and there he died in the course of 
time. His wife was a Miss Russell. The mother 
of subject was a worthy type of the pioneer women 
of Illinois who did so much to help their fathers, 
husbands and sons in reclaiming this State from the 
wilderness. She carefully reared a family of six 
children to the habits of industry and right living, 
of whom our subject is the eldest. Tin- names of 
the others are William, Jeremiah, Joseph W.. Peter 
C, and Caroline. 

Born in the early years of the settlement of this 
State, our subject grew up amid pioneer surround- 
ings. and was educated iu the primitive schools of 
the olden times, which were taught in log houses 
that were furnished with rude slab benches, and 
greased paper pasted over the opening made by the 
removal of a log from the side of the building 
served instead of glass to light the interior. He 
was studious, and under such able masters as 
Daniel McCaskill, John Calhoun, who afterwards 
became famous in the Kansas border troubles, and 
Rowan Morris, he obtained a good practical educa- 
tion, including a good kuowledge of mathematics 
and surveying. Thus well equipped mentally, he 
utilized his education by teaching several terms 
after he attained manhood. He selected farming 
as Ins principal life-work, however, and was en- 
gaged at that in Sangamon County until he came 
to this county in 1851, when he chose a desirable 
location on section 4. township 13 (now Flat 
Branch Township), range ■>. lie developed a fine 
farm of four hundred and ten acres and also gave 
his attention to the mercantile business, opening a 
store on his homestead, which he conducted there 
until the village of Moweaqua was founded in 
1856. He then removed his business thither, and 
carried it on here until 1859. Returning then to 
his farm, he made it his place of residence the en- 
suing five years, though much of that time was 
spent in fighting for his country on Southern battle- 
fields. Since the war he has lived practically re- 
tired at Moweaqua, though superintending his 
farming interests, as he still retains four hundred 



694 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



acres of fine farm land in Moweaqua anil Flat 
Branch Townships. 

As before mentioned, Capt. Campbell has dis- 
played his loyalty to the Government and his 
patriotism by service "in two wars. After war was 
declared with Mexico he enlisted June 10, 1846, in 
Company D, Fourth Illinois Infantry, commanded 
by Col. E. D. Baker. He was elected Lieutenant of 
his regiment, and went with it from Alton to Jeffer- 
son Barracks, St. Louis, whence, after a few weeks' 
drilling in army tactics, it was dispatched to 
Mexico by way of New Orleans. Ascending the 
Rio Grande River to Camargo, from that point the 
regiment inarched back to Metamoras, and from 
there to Victoria, where ou/ subject and his com- 
mand were placed under Gen. Scott, and bore 
active part in the bombardment of Vera Cruz and 
the battle of Cerro Gordo. At Tampico, the cap- 
tain dying, our subject was left in command of the 
company, and acted in that capacity until the ex- 
piration of the term of enlistment, and returning 
then to Illinois, arrived about a year from the 
lime of leaving the State. 

Capt. Campbell's experience in the war with 
Mexico made his services valuable in the great 
Civil War that followed in the United States 
several years late]-, when he volunteered in Octo- 
ber. 1801, and went to the front as Captain of 
( ompany E, Thirty-second Illinois Infantry, com- 
manded by Col. John A. Logan. For three years 
lie was with the A liny of the Tennessee, and 
during the latter pail of the war his regiment 
was a pari of the Seventeenth corps. The 
Captain saw much hard campaigning and fight- 
ing in Missouri, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina, 
lie faced the enemy in th" battles of Ft. Donel- 
xin and Shiloh, was active in the sieges of Corinth 
and Coldwaier, and fought in the engagement 
around Vicksburg, Jackson and Kenesaw Moun 
tain, and was with Sherman on his famous "March 
from Atlanta to the Sea," taking pari, in the 
various battles and skirmishes mi the way. lie 
was mustered out of the service in February, 1865, 
a war worn veteran, whose record as a soldier whs 
bright and reflected credit on the military of his 
native state. 



Capt. Campbell cast his first Presidential vote 
for Martin Van Buren in 1840, and for more than 
half a century has beeifa Democrat of the deepest 
dye. His party honored him by electing him to 
the legislature in 1880 to represent the Thirty- 
third. Senatorial District, including the counties of 
Shelby, Effingham and Cumberland. A flattering 
majority of his fellow-citizens' votes sent him to 
the General Assembly, and he fulfilled his duties 
while there with characteristic fidelity and public 
spirit. He was at one time Justice of the Peace, 
being an incumbent of that office two terms. In 
his social relations he is connected with the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, and is now the oldest charter 
member of Moweaqua Lodge, No. 180. 

May 3, 1838. Capt, Campbell was married to 
Polly, daughter of Peyton Foster, and a native of 
Kentucky. Their happy wedded life of nearly 
twenty years' duration was brought to an end by 
the death of the faithful wife January 9, 1858. 
She was the mother of these six children: John P., 
a resident of Spokane Falls, Wash.; Elizira 
E.. wife of James W. Clark, of Moweaqua; Sarah 
C wife of Edward Segar, of Decatur; Leonard 
W., a resident of Dallas. Tex.; Alfred C, now de- 
ceased, who married and left five children; and 
George W., deceased. Our subject was again 
married June 17, 1859, to his present estimable 
wife, formerly Miss Jennie Hurt, a native of Mont- 
gomery County, Ohio, and in her he has a true 
companion and devoted helpmate. 




FY. ALBERT K. BECKETT. There is 
perhaps no more public spirited man nor 
one more wide-awake to matters of general 
v£) interest in the township of Oconee. Shelby 
County, than the gentleman whose name initiates 
this sketch, who is carrying on the work of a far- 
mer and stock-raiser, along with arduous pastoral 
labors. He was born in McMinn County. Tenn., 
October 27, 1824. His father, Josiah Beckett, 
was a Virginian, and his mother. Barbara Souders, 
a Marylander. They have three sons and six 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



695 



daughters of whom our subject is the youngest. 
They are: Annie. Thomas. Sabin.a. Elizabeth, 
Elza. Mary, Nancy, Susannah, and Albert R.. our 
subject. Only four are now living. Eliza resides 
in Clinton County. Ky., as docs also Susannah and 
Nancy in Missouri. 

The parents of our subject removed from Ten- 
nessee to Kentucky while he was still young and 
there he attended school at Danville. He studied 
law for some time but decided not to enter prac- 
tice. After eight years spent in Danville, he was 
married in Clinton County. Ky.. in 1845, to Miss 
Louisa Shelley, who was born in that State in 
1825, of Virginia parents who had removed to 
Kentucky in a very early day. 

Albert R. Beckett remained in Kentucky until 
1862 when he was obliged to flee to save his life. 
He had been robbed of everything he had by the 
so called Confederacy. He was frequently shot 
at and on one occasion he and his two sons were 
attacked while at work in the field. They heroi- 
cally defended themselves, being well armed, but 
were finally obliged to retreat, leaving every- 
thing. They gathered the little family into a 
wagon and set out with an ox-team for the North, 
lie had but seventy-live cents in money when he 
left the South. The ground traveled over by the 
party lay between the two opposing armies, hence 
no obstructions were presented to their llight. 

The family reached Charleston. Coles County, 
111., and remained there for about four years. Mr. 
Beckett bought forty acres of land which he 
finally sold and started to go to Ft. Smith. Ark., 
but while on the way he was atttacked by guer- 
rillas and wounded. He at once decided to return 
to Illinois and now made bis permanent home in 
Oconee Township, where be still resides. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Beckett were born eleven chil- 
dren nine of whom are now living: Elza who married 
Maria Titus, is a farmer and resides in Oconee Town- 
ship; Albert R. married and resides in Missouri on 
a farm; John witli his wife lives in this township; 
G. A. C. is married and lives near his parents; 
William C. lives with his wife in this township; 
Samuel is married and lives with his parents; Bar- 
bara .lane is married and lives in Oconee Town- 
ship; Eliza Ellen is unmarried and is taking care 



of ber afflicted mother. Arcadia died in child- 
hood. In addition to these children there were 
born a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, whom the 
father named Abe and Lincoln, giving the gill 
also the more feminine appelation of Clarinda. 
Abe died in infancy. His sister. Miss Clarinda 
Lincoln Beckett, married E. F. Barker, an attor- 
ney al Danville. Ind.. who is also a noted orator 
espousing the Prohibition cause. 

About thirty-three years ago Mr. Beckett ex- 
perienced religion and soon after felt it his duty 
to preach the Gospel. He studied theological 
works and finally began to pleach for the Baptist 
Church in Clinton County. Ky., and afterward in 
Coles County, 111. He subsequently became im- 
bued with the idea that our porti if punish- 

nient and tribulation was quite complete in this 
life and he espoused the belief of the Lniversalist 
and was ordained bv I he Lniversalist Convention 
of the State of Illinois sonic eleven years ago. 

Mrs. Beckett has been a helpless invalid for the 
last eleven years. She believes that it is largely 
due to the nervous shook which she experienced 
durii g her husband's hazardous experiences in the 
late war. Mr. Beckett Owns two hundred and 
forty acres of valuable land which he has in tine 
condition as he superintends ii all personally. He 
takes an interest in public affairs generally, and is 
enterprising and public spirited. He is a Prohi- 
bitionist in sentiment and espouses the cause "i 
the Laboring men of the country, demanding that 
lhc\ have representation in Congress and else- 
where. 






■IIO.MAS SINGER Ii -rem- odd that while 
our Teutonic neighbors arc generally con- 
ceded to be rather phlegmatic and slow. 
and notoriously a home-loving people, that at the 
same time they should be among the widest trav- 
eled people and have accomplished more in ad- 
vancement in the general sciences, than any other 
nationality. Our subject. Thomas Singer, who 
resides on his farm located on section <i. Tower 
Hill Township. Shelby County, is a German by 



696 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



birth and education, and Ii is life lias been one of 
varied experiences. Reared as a farmer lad in his 
own country, he had a taste for military training 
to which the lads of Germany are subjected. 

Mr. Singer was born in Bavaria, Germany, No- 
vember 8, 1831. He is a son of John and Caroline 
(Dorn) Singer, and is the only one of the family 
who have left the home nest and dared the dan- 
gers of the three thousand miles of ocean, to come 
to the United States. A half brother, John Hab- 
erleln, came with him. Our subject came hither 
in 1852 and after landing proceeded to Fairfield 
County, Ohio, where for some time he was en- 
gaged in work as a hostler. 

In 185(5. when the gold fever was at its height 
in California, the original of our sketch crossed 
the plains in order to seek his fortune in the land 
then productive of the precious metal, now yield- 
ing the richest harvest in its fruits and woods. 
lie there remained for ten years, during that time 
being engaged as a farm hand for seven years, 
after which he kept a dairy near San Jose. He 
was reasonably successful in a financial way while 
West, although he had to contend with much sick- 
ness in his family. In 1866, he returned to the 
Central States, locating in Shelby County, where 
he purchased land upon which he now resides. 
This tract was originally railroad hind and at the 
time of his location was virgin soil, its only pro- 
duct having been the wild flowers of the prairie; 
for this he paid $13 and $16 per acre. He now 
owns one hundred and thirty-one and a third acres, 
which is thoroughly improved and in a fine stale 
of cultivation, the changes having been made by 
his own efforts. 

Mr. Singer has erected a good farm residence 
upon his place. It is quite new, having been 
built in 1890. .lust before his removal lo Califor- 
nia, our subject united himself for belter Of worse 
to Catherine Leyh. She was born in Fairfield 
County, Ohio, and wis of German parentage, her 
parents being Nicholas and Elizabeth (Arnolt) 
Leyh. Several children have come Lo gladden the 
hearts and homes of their affectionate parents. 
Their names are John. George, Thoiias, August, 
Elizabeth, Henry, Ellen and Clara. Politically 
Mr. Singer favors the Democratic party, its broad 



platform more nearly approaching the idea which 
in early life he formed of the freedom of govern- 
ment in America. He, with his family, is a mem- 
ber of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. 



» JfolLLIAM J. BREHMER. The pleasant 
\ / home belonging to the intelligent young 
ym man whose name appears at the head of 
this sketch, is presided over by a lady of true cul- 
ture and refinement who makes it one of the bright 
spots in Prairie Township, Shelby County, and the 
best place on earth to her hard working husband 
and interesting children. Mr. Brehmer was born 
in Prussia, Germany, .June in. 1858, being a son 
of Charles and Caroline (Kasang) Brehmer, who 
came to America in 1861 and made Chicago their 
first stopping place. They remained in the vicinity 
of that city for about two years and then removed 
to this county, where the parents now own two 
hundred and ten acres of land, all of which they 
have changed from a raw prairie to a well cultiva- 
ted farm, and upon which they have placed excel- 
lent farm buildings. 

Our subject is the eldest of the five surviving 
children of his parents, his brothers and sisters be- 
ing Lizzie, (Mrs. Theodore Werth); Fred, Emma 
and Anna. Farm training consumed most of the 
early years of our subject and he had but a scant 
opportunity for acquiring an education, although 
he did for a short time attend the district schools 
but the family necessities often demanded his help 
upon the farm, and the father did not appreciate 
as the son does the necessities of an American citi- 
zen in this line. He resided at home until 1881, 
when he was happily joined in marriage with Ma- 
tilda, daughter of Charles and Margaret Kull, who 
was born in this county, October 9. 1861. 

The father of Mrs. Brehmer resides on section 
14. Prairie Township, to which he removed from 
Hocking County, Ohio, in 1856. He was born 
February 16, 1834. and is a son of Frederick and 
Hannah Kull of whom our reader will learn more 
in the biography of Mr. J. F. Kull upon another 
page of this book. He worked as a farm hand in 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



697 



Hocking County, and after attaining his majority 
worked for one season in Miami County, Inil., but 
returned to Ohio until 1856. when lie came to Illi- 
nois. 1 1 is marriage in December, 1857, with Mar- 
garet, daughter of Adam and Catherine Lowery 
brought him ten children, of whom Mrs. Brehmer 
is the third in order of age. For a number of 
years he rented land but now owns sixty acres 
where he resides in Prairie Township, all of which 
he has changed from virgin soil to a well cultivated 
farm, and upon which he has placed good build- 
ings. He is independent in his political ideas but 
tends to the Democratic vote rather than the Re- 
publican, and in his religious life he is in accord 
and membership with the Lutheran Church. 

Six children blessed the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
Brehmer and the following named are living: 
Clara, Amelia, Nellie and Anna. Forty acres of 
fine land and a comfortable farm residence forms 
the estate of our subject, and by his industry and 
frugality he has been able to place all of these in 
an excellent condition. His political views have 
caused him to affiliate with the Democratic party 
and his position as School Director has given him 
an opportunity to work efficiently to the end that 
his children, and the children of his neighbors may 
have the best opportunities for education. He 
earnestly believes that such a training as may 1"' 
acquired in the public schools is the best prepara- 
tion for the duties and responsibilities of mature 
years. The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the 
religious body with which he find himself in ac- 
cord and here he makes his religious home and is a 
helper in every good word andwork. 



MANUEL OMAN. The history of our 

subject is that of many farmers who have 

J struggled to make themselves and families 



a home and social position in their chosen com- 
munities, hiding the little romances or tragedies 
that come to them as to others under a serene ami 
impassive exterior. Not many of our farmers had 
the time or inclination to make verses to the field 



daisy, or the field mice, as did Burns, but there 
have been whole volumes of poetry unwritten, 
surging under the rough exterior of many a plough- 
man or many a harvester. They are songs un- 
sung. 

He of whom we write is a farmer residing on 
-ill ion 20. and also owning land in sections 22 and 
25. of Ridge Township. Shelby County. He was 
born in Pickaway County, Ohio. January 15. 1847. 
being a son of Samuel and Mary (Martin) Oman. 
The family were early settlers in the county and 
State in which our subject was born, and Samuel 
< iuNn still resides on the place where he was born 
seventy-five years ago. Mrs. Oman died when our 
subject was but seven years of age. She left to 
her bereaved husband, six children, and one child 
had been called away before its mother. The six 
living children are William, Emanuel, Catherine, 
Isabel, Adam and John. 

The father of Mr. Oman married a second time, 
hi- wile being Sarah Pontius. Three children 
were the fruit of this marriage. Their names are 
Josephus, Elizabeth and Elmer. Our subject was 
reared on the home farm and attended the country 
schools, where he learned the three R's, and such 
other branches as were considered essential at that 
time. He continued to reside in Ohio until 1869, 
when he came to Illinois, settling first in Pickaway 
Township where he purchased a farm of one hundred 
and sixty acres and on which he resided for eight 
years. He then came to Ridge Township and subse- 
quently settled whtre lie at present resides. He is 
now die owner of two hundred and forty-one acres 
of land which is well tilled and very productive. 

I'he original of our sketch has been twice mar- 
ried. His first wife was Mary A. Reed, a daughter 
of William and Martha Reed. She was born in 
Pickaway County. Ohio. January 20. 1849, and 
came to Illinois where she died, December 10. 
1869, leaving one child, whose name is William K. 
Their marriage was celebrated February 10. 1869. 

In 1*72. our subject was again married, his 
choice being Miss Viola Small, a daughter of Jacob 
Small. I'hev are the parents of four children 
whose names are: Ilarley ('., Clarence E., Cora li. 
and Luther .1.. all of whom arc bright and intelli- 
gent and active members of society. Our subject 



698 



PORTRAIT AIn'D BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lias joined the army of Prohibitionists, believing 
that the issue of prohibition is more important than 
the tariff or any consideration that other parties 
may be concerned with. He has served in the 
capacity of Constable, and has also been a School 
Trustee for some time. Roth our subject and his 
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
(lunch. They are held in the high estimation of 
their neighbors, being conscientious. Christian 
people and kindly and intelligent neighbors. 






. ^ .^. ^ ri^r^-r* 



' OHM J. FRITZ In this gentleman we are 
pleased to call to the notice of our readers, 
one of the most prominent of the German 
American citizens of Ridge Township, 
Shelby County. lie is thoroughly German in his 
sturdy industry, integrity and thritt. and Ameri- 
can in his determination to make this land of free- 
dom a happy home for himself and his postperity. 
His excellent farm bears the marks of thorough 
culture and good management, and the neatness 
and convenience of the buildings are a compliment 
to the owner which is more effective than words. 

John Jacob Fritz, Sr., the father of our subject, 
was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, and came 
to this country and died in Ridge Township. His 
wife hole Ilic maiden name of Rosanna Clay, who 
was also a native of Wurtemberg, and she also 
passed away in this township. Of their twelve 
children, our subject was the third in order of age. 
being bom in Wurtemberg, Germany, March 19, 
is;;;;, and emigrating at the ver} early age of four 
weeks to a new world. Tiny first settled iri Lan- 
caster County, Pa., and theie made their home for 
three years, after which they went, to Ohio, and 
Lived in Morgan County, until b short time before, 
their death, when they n >ved to Shelby County, 

111. 

He Of whom we write, lived :il home until he 
was eighteen years old. and then removed to Fair- 
field County. Ohio, and worked upon a farm until 
he came to Shelby County, in the fall of 1860. He 

then rented the land which he now OWUS in Ridge 

Township, and brought on li i> wife to whom he had 



been united in Fairfield County, Ohio, in February. 
1858. Her maiden name was Barbara Sander, and 
she was born in Wayne County, Ohio, in September, 
1841. After live years of renting, the young man 
purchased two hundred and twenty acres and he 
has now as fine an improved farm as is to be found 
in the township, upon which he has erected a good 
house and other excellent farm buildings. His 
farm has been increased from time to time by pur- 
chase until it now comprises six hundred and sixty 
acres. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fritz lost two sons, William and 
Simon, in infancy. Those who survive are: John 
B., who married Emma Eversole; Lizzie, the wife 
of Clinton Eversole; James; Ella, who married 
Charles Beery; Edward, Samuel, and Charles B. 
The parents are members of the Evangelical Asso- 
ciation in which Mr. Fritz has tilled the offices of 
Steward, Trustee and Class-Leader. His political 
views incline him to believe that in the principles 
of the Democratic party are to be found the best 
governmental ideas. He has officiated as Highway 
Commissioner and as School Director and in 
both capacities has served faithfully and efficiently. 









I — ! DSON B. WEAKLY. An honorable posi- 
tion among the men to whom Shelby 
County is indebted for its present high 
state of its material development is held by Mr. 
Weakly, who resides on section 3, Ridge Town- 
ship. The present condition of his farm attests to 
his ability as a financier and his judgment regard 
ing agricultural affairs. As a citizen he is worthy 
of the respect and confidence that he has inspired 
by his honorable career, Not only is he a man of 
note in his own community, but he ranks among 
the most influential residents of the county. His 
success as a farmer has been unusual ami he is also 
well know n as a business man of ability and integ- 
rity. 

Samuel Weakly, father of our subject, is well 
known among the citizens of this county, whither 
lie came in 18;>2. He was horn in Maryland. Sep. 
teuiliei 8, 1814, and removed to Ohio in 1824. 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



699 



In Fairfield County, that State, lie was married 
February 12, 1839. to Miss Maria Fetters, who was 
born in Ohio in 1820. This worthy couple so- 
journed in the Buckeye State for many years after 
their marriage, and after their removal to Illinois, 
located in Ridge Township, this county, where 
they passed the remainder of their days. The 
mother passed away January 10, 1 862. To her and 
husband ten children had been born, as follows: 
Emanuel J., Alva P., Naomi, Mary J., Eliza, An- 
nie M., Jesse ()., Edson B., Ida and Katie. 

The father contracted a second matrimonial al- 
liance, choosing as his wife Rachel A. Petty, and 
of this union one child was born, Minnie B., who 
died May 6, 1889. The widow now survives, 
making her home in Assumption. The father 
died in Ridge Township October 21. 1890. He 
had been a member of the Uuited Brethren Church 
since 1841, and was highly esteemed for his many 
excellent traits of character, ever seeking to do 
unto others as he would lie done by. "Uncle 
Sam" as he was familiarly called, experienced 
many of the hardships of pioneer life, but by dint 
of perseverance and good judgment, became well- 
to-do, and at. the time of his decease, left a good 
estate for his widow and children. 

Ridge Township, this county, was the native 
place of Edson B. Weakly, of this sketch, and 
April 25. 1857. the date of his birth. His life has 
been characterized by no unusual events, but has 
passed quietly and uneventfully. In his youth he 
received the advantages of the district school-, 
and as he is a systematic reader, keeps posted upon 
all topics of general interest. Early in life lie 
commenced to aid his father on the farm, and nat- 
urally when the time came for him to choose a 
calling, he became a farmer, and has always fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits. He now owns forty 
acres of good land, embellished with good build- 
ings and well improved. 

On March 26, 1S82, Mr. Weakly and Miss Mar- 
tlia J. Moll were united in marriage in Pickaway 
Township, this county. The bride was the daugh- 
ter of Daniel and Caroline (Wolf) Moll, who .ire 
natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio respectivley. the 
father being born January 2. 1831. and the mother 
June 12, 1829, and are now living retired in 



Moweaqua. Mr. and Mrs. Moll had a family of 
six children, viz: Lydia C, Mary 1... Martha J.. 
John W., Clara A. and William H. Mrs. Weakly 
was born in Pickaway Township, October 12, 
1859, and to her and Mr. Weakly have been born 
two children. Homer II. and Daniel R. Politi- 
cally, Mr. Weakly is a Republican, and religiously 
he and his estimable wife are members in good 
standing of the I'nited Brethren Church. 



_=] 



~S 



£+£#* 



AMUEL MILLER is an intelligent and en- 
terprising member of the farming eom- 
l 1 inunity of Moweaqua Township. He was 
born in Somerset, Perry County. Ohio. 
December 12, 1833. His father, George Miller. 
was a native of Pennsylvania. He removed to 
Ohio in pioneer times, and his last years were 
passed in Somerset, where he carried on his trade 
as a stonemason. He served with credit as a sol- 
dier during the Mexican war. He married Susan, 
daughter of Frederick Leathers, and a native of 
Fairfield County, Ohio, of which her father was an 
early pioneer. She came to Illinois in 1854, and 
her last years were passed in a home southeast of 
Shelby ville. 

When our subject was seven years old he went 
to live with Peter Kesler, a farmer of Fairfield 
County. Ohio. He remained with him two years, 
and then went to Preble County, and was with 
Reuben Pottenger two years, lie then returned 
to his old home to live with his mother, who had 
married a secoud time, becoming the wife of 
Samuel Potter, lie remained an inmate of his 
step-father's household until he was eighteen years 
old. At that age he went to Dayton, in his native 
Slate, to serve an apprenticeship of three years to 
learn the trade of a carriage smith. At the expira- 
tion of that time he did journey-work at Troy. 
Ohio, and later at Indianapolis and Lafayette. 
Ind.. at st. Louis, Mo., and at Bloomingtun, III. 
In 1859 he sifted for the Pacific coast, going by 
the way of the Isthmus, and for two months he 
worked at his trade at San Francisco. From there 
he went to Portland, ( Ire., and was employed in 



700 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the same way in that city the ensuing three 
months. We next hear of him at Cloverdale, in 
the same State, where he opened a shop and carried 
on business as a carriage manufacturer three years. 
Mis place of residence after that for some time 
was at Eugene City, where he engaged in manu- 
facturing carriages until 1864. 

In the year last mentioned Mr. Miller returned 
eastward as far as this State, and was a resident of 
Mattoon one year. He then went back to Port- 
land, resumed business as a carriage manufacturer, 
and while there took a Government contract to 
build army wagons. lie remained in that city 
until 1868, and then conducted business at his 
trade in Albany, Ore. In 1870 he left that place 
and once more came to Illinois. He bought a 
farm in Long Grove Township, this county, and 
gave his attention to agriculture. Two years later 
he rented his farm, and going back to Oregon 
bought property at Albany, and resumed the man- 
ufacture of carriages and wagons, continuing in 
that line until 1872. He then sold out his business 
and returned to his Illinois farm, which hedisposed 
of at a good price in 1881, and his next venture 
was to engage in the sale of groceries and agricul- 
tural implements at Moweaqua, carrying on a 
thriving business the following four years. He 
then sold at a good advantage, and bought the 
place where he now resides, and is devoting him- 
self assiduously to its improvement. 

Mr. Miller was married first in Cloverdale, Ore., 
in 1 864, to Miss Mary Agnes Southwell, a native 
of Morgan County, 111. Their wedded life was 
but brief, as the young wife died in 1865. The 
second marriage of our subject, which took place 
in 1867, was to Miss Mary Hand, a native of Ken- 
tucky. She died at Albany, Ore., in 1 s 7 , leaving 
three children, Agnes M„ Arabella ( wife of Everett 
Russell), and Eflje Blanche. The marriage of Mr. 
Miller to his present wife, formerly Sarah J. Def- 
enbacker, was solemnized in 1877, and has brought 
them two children, Cora Edna and Samuel. Mis. 
Miller is a native of Decatur, 111, and a daughter 
of Dr. Def en backer, who was a German by birtn, 
and was one of the pioneer physicians of Decatur. 

A certain energy and force of character, versa- 
tility and shrewd business tact have marked the 



mis of our subject ever since he began the battle 
of life ou ids own account, and have helped to 
place him among the substantial citizens of the 
county. He and his wife occupy a good position 
socially, and in them the Methodist Episcopal 
Church has two good working members. Air. 
Miller's political sentiments are expressed by the 
platform of the Republican party. 



c 



\ 




/ 



ALTER K. HOOVER, M. D. This gentle- 
man and physician, who is a resident of 

V V Lovington, Moultrie County, is the son of 
the late David Hoover, who was born in Belmont 
County, Ohio, in 1824. His mother was Sarah 
Calhoun, also a native of Belmont County 
Ohio. She was born in 1820. They first settled 
in Belmont County and afterward in Guernsey 
County and thence went to Macon County, this 
State, in 1861. He was a farmer by occupation. 
He died in Macon County. III., in .Inly. 1890, and 
his wife preceded him some years to the better 
laud. They were the parents of three children, 
two sons and one daughter, of whom our subject 
was the second child. 

Dr. Hoover was born in Guernsey County, Ohio, 
dune 2, 1855. He was only nine months old when 
his parents came to Macon County, 111., where he 
grew to manhood and where he lived until 1888. 
He received his education in the common schools 
and in the W esleyan University at Bloomington, 
111., at which time he took up the study of medi- 
cine, but on account of ill health was obliged to 
relinquish his studies for awhile, but afterwards re- 
sumed them entering Rush Medical College, Chi- 
cago, in 1880, where he graduated in 1888. Soon 
afterward he settled in Lovington, where he has 
been ever since engaged in the practice of his pro- 
fession. He enjoys an excellent practice and has 
the confidence of the community. He remained on 
the farm until he was age. then and for about 
eight years engaged in trading and studying. He 
worked his way through and is a self-reliant man. 
He was married at Maroa, 111., October 28, 1889, 



PORTRAIT AND I'.K )( ;RAPII'( Al. RECORD. 



Till 



to Miss Ellie S. Bean, who was born in Mor- 
gan County, 111.. .Inly 8, 1S65. Her father was 
.Joseph Bean, and her mother was Klien Pratt. 
The}' are residents of Macon County, III. He is a 
farmer by occupation. Dr. Hoover has buried one 
child who died in infancy. He has been an active 
member of the Methodist Church since 1873. Ib- 
is a member of the Masonic fraternitj and of the 
Knights of Pythias, of which he is a leading 
member. 



— » i- 



-^=SS 



M>-^-<m 



EFFERSON P. GRAYBILL was born in 

Fairfield County, Ohio, near Lancaster. Sep- 
tember 12, 1836. His parents were Sam- 
uel and Nancy (Pence) Graybill. Both 
were natives of Lancaster County. Pa. His father 
moved to Ohio in 1808 and was there married. 
They were of German descent. Of this family there 
were six sons and six daughters, eight of whom 
are now living. Our subject is the eldest son and 
fourth child. Of those living. Emily is the wife of 
Charles Vorvs of Lancaster, Ohio; Nancy married 
Mr. Gesell and resides at Odell, Neb.; our subject; 
George who married Mattie Carlisle and lives in 
Lancaster, Ohio; Minerva, the widow of Henry 
Mailer, who resides near Lancaster, Ohio; Mary, 
the wife of Mr. N. Middlesworth, who resides in 
Ringgold, Iowa; Samuel, resides in Morton County. 
Kan., and Lewis who is married and lives in Ohio. 
The names of the deceased are: Martha. Matilda. 
Isaac and Jacob. 

Our subject came to Illinois in 1858, locating in 
Holland Township, Shelby County. He received 
his education in the public schools and at the ( >hio 
University in Athens. He also took a course in 
Granger & Armstrong's Commercial College at Col- 
umbus. Ohio, from which he graduated in 1858. 
He commenced teaching after locating in Illinois, 
following that profession in connection with farm- 
ing, for several years. For t wenty-two years he 
has devoted his attention to farming exclusively. 
He was married June 30, 1867 to Miss Cynthia A. 
Syfert, who was born in this county, December 17, 
18411. Her parents weie George and Mary A. 



(Neivling) Syfert. They were natives of Ohio, 
where they were married. They removed from 
Ohio to Holland Township and were among its 
pioneers. Eleven children were born to them, six 
of whom are now living, Mrs. Graybill being the 
fourth in order of birth. 

Mr. Graybill has always taken an interest in po- 
litical matters and has been a life long Democrat. 
He has held many offices in his township, having 
served four years as Supervisor; he was on the 
Building Committee of the Court House, having 
served one year on this committee, after his term 
as Supervisor expired ht refusing to re-elected. He 
has been Collector of taxes, Township Clerk, As- 
sessor, and served six years in succession as High- 
way Commissioner. Mr. Graybill gives liberally 
of his means to the support of religious enterprises, 
although he is not a professor of religion. Eleven 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Graybill, 
all of whom are living. Edward Clement is the 
eldest and is attending school at Normal, III.; Sam- 
uel J. is qualified to teach but prefers farming, and 
is now engaged in that laudable avocation; Clara 
May has been teaching two years in Shelby County; 
Mara Ida, is teaching in Fayette County, 111,; 
Charles Walter, Thomas Perry, Victor Milton, 
Lewis Button, Florence Edna, Anna Pearl and Nel- 
lie Fern. These latter seven reside at home with 
their parents. 



^ 



AMES W. RHODES, a prominent farmer 
of Shelby Count}-, residing on section 9, 
Tower Hill Township, owns and operates 
one of the finest estates in the community. 
By a proper rotation of crops the land has been 
brought to a high state of cultivation, and the 
large harvests bear evidence of the thrift of the 
manager. Good buildings have been erected, the 
principal one being the residence, a commodious 
structure with an air of refinement within its walls, 
which proves the presence of a cultured lady. 

The father of our subject. Oreen Rhodes, was a 
native of Tennessee, who came at an early day to 



702 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Shelby County, III., and was here united in mar- 
riage with Margaret Wakefield, a native of this 
county. At Hist the young couple resided in the 
vicinity of Shelbyville, whence they removed to 
Tennessee, and made it their home one year. How- 
ever, they concluded that prospects in Illinois 
were more flattering- than in Tennessee, and accord- 
ingly they returned hither and settled south of 
Williamsburg, where the father closed his eyes to 
the scenes of earth. His wife died in l'ana, this 
State. 

Our subject was the only son among five chil- 
dren, and was born in Shelby County, 111., August 
21, 1 840. He passed his childhood 14)011 a farm, 
and »vhen about ten years old accompanied his 
mother to Dallas Count}', Mo., where he remained 
perhaps seven years. At the expiration of that 
time the family returned to Shelby County, where 
he has since made his home, being identified with 
the growth of the county and a witness of its de- 
velopment. His chief business in life has been 
farming, in which lie has met with more than 
ordinary success, as he possesses those qualities of 
energy and industry which are essential to any 
calling in life. 

The first wife of Mr. Rhodes was born in Shelby 
County, III., September 4, 1815, and bore the 
maiden name of Martha E. l'ugli. After their 
marriage, which was celebrated in Missouri, they 
settled on the farm where Mr. Rhodes now resides 
in Tower Hill Township. The wife and mother 
died March !>, 1885. She had become the mother 
of seven children, viz.: Merritt E., who married a 
Mi^s Wiese; Margaret, and a son. both of whom 
died in infancy; Frank \\\; Fllie L., who passed 
from earth December 30, 1889, at the age of sev- 
enteen; John J. and Ida B. Mrs. Rhodes was a 
consistent member of the Episcopal Church. 

Having considerable interest in the cause of 
education, Mr. Rhodes has served efficiently as 
School Director for several years. He has alfo 
taken an active part in political affairs and is a 
Prohibitionist. Any measure caluculated to assist 
the community linds in him a strong supporter, 
and he IS recognized as one of the pillars in the 
.Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has been 
Trustee. By careful economy and good judgment 



be has been enabled to increase his real-estate hold- 
ings until he is now owner of four hundred and 
forty-five acres of splendid land. 

On March 14, 1889, Mr. Rhodes was united in 
marriage in Shelby ville, III., with MissOllie Brown 
wlio was born in Hancock County, Ohio, August 
IS. ] SCO. Mrs. Rhodes is the daughter of Dr. 
Ahaaham and Helen (Buckingham) Brown, the 
former dying in Tower Hill Township and the lat- 
ter still surviving. Eight children came to Dr. 
and Mrs. Brown, of whom Mrs. Rhodes was next 
to the youngest. She is an estimable lady and en- 
joys the high regard of all who know her. 






GEORGE W. BARGER. A cursory glance at 
the biographical sketch of our subject will 
show that he is one who, buffeted by the 
adverse winds of circumstances and being, has over- 
come them all, guiding his life barge safely through 
the deep waves and sandy shallows, and anchoring 
it safely in a placid harbor. For what is life be- 
side this? Do not heroes of battle, of invention, 
literature, the sciences and arts, all work in order 
thai they may enjoy peacefully? So has our sub- 
ject, and though comparatively a young man he 
has already attained a position in the township in 
which he lives that promises not only security and 
conifer' for the present, but advancement for the 
future. 

lie of vhom we write is the Superintendent in 
charge of tin' Moultrie County PoorFarm.au hum- 
ble position, it is true, but one in which there are 
Opportunities for showing the natural kindness and 
tenderness and sympathy that the Master has com- 
manded in caring for liis "little ones". He is now 
serving his fourth year in this position, and has 
filled it to the entire satisfaction of the eommu- 
nity at large. The properly is located on section 4, 
of Sullivan Township, and comprises one hundred 
sixty acres 1 if land. The county also owns forty acres 
of timber land. Upon the farm is a good, two- 
sloiy, brick structure, which serves as a home for 
some twelve to twenty inmates, men, women and 
children who perhaps were born to better things; 



PORTRAIT AM) l!l( )( ; liAl'l IK A L RECORD. 



703 



who have made their fight hy which some one else 
will be benefited, and now, incapacitated for car- 
ing for themselves, the county takes care of i I s 
children, gianting them a resting place and plenty 
of substantial nourishment. 

The original of our sketch was born in Perry Coun- 
ty, December 3, 1850, and is a son of George and 
Lydia(Davison) Barger. Our subject was but a 
boy when his parents died, leaving as the issue of 
that marriage, two children, himself and Lydia M. 
now Mrs. Huff, of Evansville, Ind. Both parents 
had been previously married, the father having 
had ten children by his former marriage, and the 
mother, three children, the latter bearing the name 
of Salmon, lie of whom we write was reared in 
the family of a half brother, Charles Barger, in 
Perry County, III., and was early taught the duties 
of a farmer. 

On October 10, 1«7(>, Mr. Barger was united in 
marriage to Elizabeth J. Marshall, a daughter of 
William and Mary Marshall, who was born in Perry 
County, Ind. April 25, 1853. She was only an in- 
fant when left motherless, being the youngest of 
a family of twelve children. She lived at home 
until her marriage. 

In 1872, the original of our sketch came to this 
Slate passing one winter in Shelby County, thence 
vent to Cowley [County, Kan., where he pur- 
chased eighty acres of land near Arkansas City, 
remaining there two years, during which time he 
experienced all the hardships caused by the grass- 
hopper plague. In 1873. all the crops were des- 
troyed in the space of a few hours, by the scourge 
which Moses brought into Egypt, and which has 
found its repetition so many times in Western 
American agricultural history. Mr. Barger retur- 
ned to Shelby County in 187*4 and renting land in 
l'enn Township, for five years engaged in farming, 
l.i 1879 became to Moultrie County and has since 
resided near Sullivan. In 1887, he was appointed 
Superintendent of the Poor Farm and took possess- 
ion of the place in March, IKKK. Under his able 
management, Jthe Poor Farm is about self support- 
ing. 

Our subject and his wife are the parents of five 
children, who are Bertie, Chester K, .lames A, 
Artemas Victor and Lela. Politically he of whom 



we write is an adherent of the Republican party 
by his vote and influence doing all he can to prop- 
agate and strengthen Republican doctrines. In 
his religious predelietion he is a Baptist, while so- 
cially he belongs to the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows. He is the owner of eighty acres of 
land, located in this county. 



• <c 



HI 



ll* 5 ^* 



\KTKR D1DDEA. The gentleman whose 
name is at the head of this sketch is a 
member of the well-known firm of Mautz 
& Diddea, of Stewaidson. A biograph- 
cial sketch may be seen of the senior member of 
the firm under the name of T. P. Mautz. Mr. 
Diddea is a wide awake, progressive business man. 
His interests aie involved in several directions, in 
all of which he is successful. lie was born in 
Schuylkill County, Pa., June 1, 184!) and is a son 
of Christian and Margaret (Gumahley) Diddea, who 
were natives of Germany, and in 1847, emigrated 
to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania 
and were there married. In 1857, they came to 
Illinois and first located at Sheffield, where the fa- 
ther worked as a coal miner, that being his trade' 
while at Sheffield he held the important post of 
road boss in the mine. In 1865 the family cam 
to Shelby County and settled on a new farm in 
Prairie Township, their farm comprising eiglit\ 
acres. Here the father died in 1*71 while yet in 
middle life, being only forty-six years of age. The 
mother still survives and lives in stewaidson, hav- 
ing attained sixty-four years. 

Our subject was one of nine children, seven of 
whom lived to be grown. Their names are Pe- 
ter, Margaret, Jacob, Elizabeth, Frank, Carrie and 
Amelia. All of the children are respected mem- 
bers of society, being useful and intelligent men 
and women. The original of our sketch was a 
small boy when the family settled in Illinois. His 
Brsl schoo 1 days were passed in the public schools 
of his native plaie after which he attended the pri- 
vate schools of Sheffield, and finished at Teutopo- 
lis. Jn 1865 the family came to Shelby County, 
and he assisted in the improvement of the farm 



rut 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



on which the family settled. He resided at home 
until 1871, when he was married to Elizabeth Leff- 
ler, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine Leffler. 
She was born in Hocking County, Ohio, in 1849. 

After marriage our subject rented some land and 
followed the calling of farming until 1881 when 
he came to Stewardson, and was for a space of two 
years, partner in the implement establishment of 
G. S. Baldwin. After this time he became a mem- 
ber of the firm of York & Mautz. and later, the 
business was carried on under the firm name by 
which it is at present known. Mr. Diddea and his 
wife are the parents of six children, two of whom 
are living. They are Ida B, and Emma E. Our sub- 
ject erected the finest residence in the town of 
Stewardson in 1888. 

The original of Our sketch is a follower of the 
Democratic party, believ ; ng in the tenets of free 
trade and sovereign power. He has been awarded 
several local offices under his party, having been 
Constable from the time when he cast his first 
ballot, nine consecutive years. He also occu- 
pied the position of Township Clerk for three years 
Socially Mr. Diddea is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, also the Modern Woodmen of America, 
He has with his other business, been engaged in the 
livery business since 188G. and is now a member 
of the firm of Diddea & Turner. The firm has the 
finest livery stable in Shelby ville ; they also have 
a good barn at Stewardson. Our subject alsc owns 
ont hundred and twenty acres of land, and the 
firm of Mautz A Diddea owns land which they cul- 
tivate. 






r 



x 



WILLIAM G. COVEY, editor and proprie- 
tor of the Moultrie County News, has had 
that paper under his control sum,- Decem- 
ber 15, 1887. It is a six-column quarto and a 
spicy weekly, issued at Sullivan, 111. Mr. Covey 
succeeded .1. II. Dunscomb in the management of 
this paper, which had its origin December 10, 
L884, under the management of Messrs. Hollings- 
wortu & Green, being the successor of the Sullivan 



Journal which had a checkered experience. The 
gentlemen just named entitled their sheet the Sul- 
livan News until December 25, 188G, when it be- 
became full-fledged as the Moultrie Count)/ News, 
having in the meantime become the property of 
Mr. Dunscomb, who changed its political color 
from Independent to Republican, the position 
which if now holds. 

The News has a good circulation and a large ad- 
vertising patronage and it is having an admirable 
success under the hand of Mr. Covey, who was a 
novitiate in the newspaper business when he took 
it, in charge. He had formerly been an agricul- 
turist in Coles County for some ten years and also 
taught for about three years in the public schools 
of the county. He came to Illinois in March, 
1875, and taught for one year in Douglas County 
before settling in Coles Count}-. 

Our subject was born in Biattleboro, Yt., No- 
vember 6, 1852. His Welsh ancestors were early 
settlers in Vermont during the Colonial days and 
the family was prominently indentitied with the 
early history of that State. For generations the 
old slock was content to remain among the Green 
Mountains, but dining the present half century the 
younger members of the family became imbued 
with the Western fever and have scattered west of 
the Alleghanies. Most of the family who remained 
in Vermont are adherents of the Baptist Church. 

Clark Covey, the father of our subject, was born 
and giew to manhood in Somerset, in the Green 
Mountain State, and after reaching his majority 
was married at Biattleboro to Lestina A. Earr. a 
native of the adjoining State of New Hampshire. 
She came of an old and highly respected New 
Hampshire family who had for generations farmed 
in Chesterfield. The early wedded home of this 
couple was in Brattleboro, where Mr. Covey con- 
ducted a meal market and later farmed for a while 
before coming to Illinois, in 1855. They settled 
in Bloomington, McLean County, and during the 
winter the wife and mother was stricken with 
typhoid fever and died in the prime of life. Her 
remains were subsequently taken back to New 
Hampshire and laid in the old cemetery at Ches- 
terfield. She was a 1'ni versalist in religion. 

1 he husband and father then returned to the old 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



(05 



home in the East and some time later contracted 
a second marriage, being then united with Mrs. 
Mary .1. Cook, nee Layborn, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania who became the mother of two children. 
Cora L. and Walter E. Cora died at the age of 
three years and Walter is residing in Nebraska 
where lie teaches vocal and instrumental music. 

The mother of these children died in Vermont 
at the age of thirty-six years, leaving besides these 
just mentioned, two children by her previous mar- 
riage. At the time of her death Mr. Clark Covey 
was a soldier in the Civil War and the then acting 
Governor of Vermont, Mr. Holbrook, requested 
the Secretary of War to grant Mr. Covey a fur- 
lough that he might come home and look after the 
interests of the six little children who were left 
without anyone to care for them, and on this account 
he was also ultimately granted a discharge from ser- 
vice. While in service he had acted as cook for 
t ten. Stoughton. 

Mr. Covey was some few- years later married in 
\ ermont to Harriet A. Stowe, a native of Massa- 
chusetts, but within a year he died after a short 
sickness, succumbing to an attack of diphtheria. 
lie was a member of the Missionary Baptist 
Church and in politics allied himself with the Re- 
publican party. His youngest daughter was bom 
some five months after his death. This child 
Lillian by name, was separated from the family 
and for eighteen years her whereabouts was not. 
known, but the subject of this sketch, through in- 
formation given him by a local biographical writer 
was recently able to locate her in Massachusetts. 
She had in the meantime become the wife <>f Ed- 
ward Green, now of Leominster. Mass. 

Our subject is the first born of the two children 
granted t< > his mother, his brother Arthur, being 
foreman in a large tape factory in Worcester, 
Mass.. and having taken to wife Miss Lenora Law 
rence. William G. Covey was weli and carefully 
educated in his native State and Massachusetts, 
being granted an academic education, thus pre par 
iflg him for the profession of a teacher, which he 
followed for live years in the Last. He was mar- 
ried after coming West in Cole County, 111., to Miss 
Emma R. Martin, who was born in that countj 
August 20, 1852. She became a teacher before 



her marriage and bears a high reputation as a cul- 
tured and intelligent woman, she is the daughter 
of John and Martha (Cassadj i Martin, native- ol 
Kentucky who came to Illinois with their respec- 
tive parents when quite young and were married 
in Edgar County where they were early settlers. 
They afterward did pioneer work in Lafayette 
Township. Coles County. In that home all of 
their children were born and there the father died 
in January, 1875, having completed his threescore 
and ten years. He was a pillar in the old-school 
Baptist Church and a man who was honest from 
principle and the love of right. His widow, who 
still survives, is a member of the same church and 
resides at the old homestead in Coles County. 

Mrs. Covey, the wife of our subject, had an 
excellent training and education and was ably lil- 
ted for the responsible position of wife and mother. 
Of the six children who have crowned the union 
of this couple, two have passed to the other world 
— Lillian B. and Lettie Lee — both of whom passed 
away while young. Those who still remain under 
the parental roof are Iva S., Walter S.. Jessie B. 
and Hazel O. Mr. Covey while in Coles County 
was for some time in the office of Township Clerk. 
He is a sound Republican in politics and is a mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen of America and is 
also an ( h]t] Fellow. 



■ >- » » >'>> m 



>> i ' i ' - 



AMKS THOMAS. While it is not to be 
denied that a man is not only the architect 
of his own fortune, but also the mohler 
V_y and former of his own character, it is never- 
theless true that nationality is a mighty factor in 
the inherent traits and qualities which a man must 
cultivate or modify. The warm, impulsive races 
of the South need to tone and strengthen their 
natural traits by strong principles to which they 
should unflinchingly adhere. And while the 
nations of the North are conspicuous for the sturdy 
integrity of its peoples, their natural sobriety of 
temperament should be warmed and lighted by 
the geniality and affability borrowed from the 
Southern natures. 



706 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Our subject is decended from a nation noted for 
strength of character and intellectual depth. The 
'i homas family are of Scotch and Welsh ancestry. 
The grandfather of our subject. Joseph Thomas 
Sr.. was born in Scotland. He came to this country 
after his marriage to a lady whom it seems was of 
Welsh parentage. Their first settlement in this 
eon u try was made in the State of Kentucky and 
! here Joseph Thomas, the father of our subject, 
was born. He was about fourteen 'years of 
age when the family left Kentucky, and crossing 
the Ohio River located in Knox County, Ind., and 
here the senior Joseph Thomas and wife spent- their 
last years, being old people at the time of their 
death. It was in Knox County. Ind., that Joseph 
Thomas, Jr., grew to manhood, reaching his ma- 
jority in his adopted state. He there married his 
wife. The lady's maiden name was Mary Cham- 
bers. She also was a descendant of a Welsh family 
who, after the birth of part of their children, set- 
tled in Knox County, Jnd. After marriage Joseph 
Thomas and wife removed to Sullivan County 
when it was new and unbroken. There they pre- 
empted a tract of Government land upon which 
they lived and placed valuable improvements. 
After a number of years the wife and mother died 
having attained quite advanced years. Her death 
took place in Sullivan County. Our subject's 
father. Joseph Thomas, then came to Illinois and 
spent his last years in Shelby County. He was 
ninety years of age when his death occurred. 
Both he and his wife were attendants on the Bap- 
tist Church, of which Mrs. Thomas was a member 
for long years before her death. They were pio- 
neers well known for their kindliness and hospital- 
ity. They located in Sullivan County, Ind . in 
the wilds and were surrounded by Indians. Game 
could he gotten in abundance. 

The original of our sketch is the youngesl of 
fourteen children, there being seven sons and seven 
daughters. Two of these died while quite young. 
The Other twelve children [grew to manhood and 
womanhood, all marrying and rearing families, with 
the exception of two sisters. All of the brothers 
and sisters are now deceased excepting our subject 
and two other brothers, Calvin and Alexander. The 
former is a farmer in this township. The latter a 



farmer in Jasper County, Mo. Our subject was 
born in Sullivan County. Ind.. August 24. 1834. 
Here he became of age and later removed to this 
State and was married in Pickaway Township, this 
count}'. His wife's maiden name was Malvina 
Casey. She is a native of Pickaway Township 
where she was born August 23. 1840. She is a 
daughter of John and Nancy (Denton) Case)', 
natives of Kentucky, where Mr. Casey was born in 
1813. They were yet young when Mr. and Mrs. 
Casey came with their parents to this State settling 
Pickaway Township, Shelby County, when the 
place was new and unbroken. They purchased a 
tract of Government land and deyoted themselves 
! to improving a farm, but after some years left this 
place and went to Shelbyville. There the parents 
of Mrs. Thomas died, aged respectively seventy- 
two and sixty-eight years. Mr. Casey was a Dem- 
ocrat in politics. For one year he was a member 
of the State Legislature, sent from Shelby Connty, 
and was then elected County Judge, which place 
he filled for several years. He was also a member 
of the Board of Supervisors for several terms and 
Justice of the Peace for many years. He served 
through the Mexican War as Orderly Sergeant of 
his company, and saw some hot fire from both 
sides. He was known in the county as an active 
worker in the political cause, whether local or 
national. He had by a former marriage to the 
one we have mentioned, one child, Jemima. The 
mother was Mahala Jackson, who died at her 
child's birth. This daughter is still living. 

Mrs. Thomas is the eldest but one of a family 
of twelve children. Only four, however, are still 
living. Our subject's wife was reared to woman- 
hood in Pickaway Township, this county. She is 
an intelligent woman who has been the star of en- 
couragement to her husband in all his undertak- 
ings. She and her husband are prominent mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church, of which body Mr. 
Thomas has been a Deacon for a number of years 
past. Politically our subject is a Democrat, as was 
his father who was a soldier in the War of 1812, 
and who fought with Gen. Harrison at the Battle 
of Tippecanoe. 

He of whom we write and his amiable lady, are 
the parents of eight children, four of whom are 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



7(17 



deceased, namely, Halie, and three others who 
died in infancy. The living' children are William 
R., Mary J., Nancy J. and Clara A. William is 
his father's able assistant in running the farm and 
is a promising young man who is highly respected 
throughout the vicinity. All of the children are 
intelligent and well educated. Since marriage, 
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas have lived on their beautiful 
farm located on section 24, of Flat Branch Town- 
ship. Here he owns three hundred and twenty 
acres which is all under cultivation with the ex- 
ception of ten acres. The place boasts the finest 
improvements, and a good class of buildings, and 
the owners are proud of the fact that they have 
earned all that they possess by their own industry 
and foresight. 



^€|-=- 



,•_ 



pvOAH HOSTETLER. One of the lesidents 
7 and most prominent men of Lovington 
1 Z. who has made himself felt in the commer- 
cial life of the town is he whose name is at the 
head of this sketch. Although an American by 
birth and education, he is ot German ancestry and 
has always brought to bear in his business dealings 
the good common sense and thorough business 
principles for which that nation of people is noted. 
His father was Christian Hosteller and his mother 
Elizabeth (Hard man) Hosteller, 'lhe former was 
a victim of the cholera and died in 1831. Our 
subject's mother passed away from this world to a 
bitter land, in Orange County, Ind. 1 hey were 
the parents of four sons and live daughters and of 
these our subject was the eighth child in the order 
of birth. He was born in Orange County. Ind.. 
February 9, 1826. 

The original of our sketch grew to manhood on 
the home farm and in the latter part of 187)2 he 
came to Moultrie County and settled near the vil- 
lage of Lovington, where he purchased a farm and 
thereafter engaged in agricultural pursuits until 
about 1872 when lie removed to the village of 
Lovington, and embarked in the grain business, 
afterward adding the lumber business to his in- 
terests and later, enlarging his business so that it 



included grain, lumber and hardware, and was 
thus engaged for several years. He has not. how- 
ever, been actively engaged in business for the 
past few years, confining his attention to the care 
of his estate and a general oversight of the bank- 
ing business which is now operated by his son, 
Leonard G. Hosteller and S. P. Drake. The firm 
is run under the name of Drake. Hostetler & Son. 
They carry on a general banking business and do 
a large and flourishing business. 

Our subject was married in Orange County, 
Ind., 1849, to Miss Elizabeth Harman, who is a 
native of the same county in which she was mar- 
ried, her birth occuring May 12, 1829. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hostetler are the parents of four children. 
'lhe eldest of these is a daughter. Margaret, who 
is the wife of Samuel S. Boggs. Calvin E„ mar- 
ried Miss Ella Bowers, and has set up a home for 
himself, being engaged in farming in Moultrie 
County, this Mate. Leonard G. is engaged in the 
banking business in Lovington. The youngest son, 
William, died when about seven years of age. 
The gentleman of whom we write has filled the 
office of School Director and has been a member 
of the Village Board. In his political preference 
lie is a Republican, being one with that party in 
his opinions as regards tariff, currency and other 
planks of the party platform. Our subject and 
his estimable and amiable wife arc members of the 
Christian Church and are generous supporters and 
anient and interested workers in the upholding of 
Gospel truths. 

Mr. Hosteller is the fortunate possessorof nearly 
one thousand acres of land, most of which is 
located in Lovington Township. lie is also the 
owner of valuable property in the village of Lov- 
ington. When actively engaged in farming, he 
made a specialty of stock-raising and the founda- 
tion of his fortune was laid in this way. He. of 
whom we write, and his wife are numbered among 
the representative people of Lovington Township, 
and although financially they stand among the 
besl people in the county, money is not all in all 
to them, for they number among their friends 
more people whose intelligence and culture is pre 
eminent, than any other class. Mr. Hostetler is a 
broad minded and intelligent man to whom the 



708 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



current topics of the day, both general and local, 
flie very interesting and in which lie is always well 
posted. A good conversationalist, knowing what 
to say. and being above petty gossip, he is at the 
same time a sympathetic, attentive and interested 
listener to any one who may have something that 
is worth listening to. 



*^*^5* / 



i OHN CLARK. A well built and attractive 
house is a monument erected to the honor 
of the builder, speaking more truthfully 
than can words, of the dominant traits of 
his character. If he is thorough, it will be indi- 
cated by the firmness of foundation and the qual- 
ity of lumber that he uses. If he be of an analyz- 
ing turn of mind, it will show in the detail, and it 
he haw taste and culture, it will bespeak itself 
from the ridge pole to the cellar and from the 
front entrance to the rear. Our subject is evi- 
dently one who pleases his patrons in every detail 
in building, for he is one of the must successful 
dealois in lumber and house furnishing supplies in 
Moweaqua, having, previous to engaging 1 in this 
business, made a reputation for himself as a 
builder. 

Our subject is one of the firm of Berry ,v- Clark, 
dealers in all kinds of lumber. Mr. Clark has 
been a member of the firm since it was started. 
September, 1889. lie came to the county in 1854, 
and with his lather, settled in Flat Branch Town- 
ship. He lias since lived in this county, with the 
exception of six years, extending from 1875 to 
1881, at which time he was a resident of .Mont- 
gomery County, Kan., where he was engaged as 
a cattle dealer. 

While yet a lad. our subject learned the trade of 
carpenter which he has followed for many years. 
He has erected many of the best buildings both in 
the township and village of Moweaqua, and in Flat 
Branch Township. He has been a contractor and 
builder, and all the besl buildings m Moweaqua 



he has been more or less connected with during 
construction. 

Our subject was born in Warren County. Ohio, 
April 14, 1842. His father, was W. R. Clark, a 
native of Ohio, and his grandfather was William 
Clark, also a native of Ohio, and one of the first 
settlers on the site of what is now the city of Cin- 
cinnati, at that time nothing more than a wilder- 
ness. William Clark had married while in Ohio, 
a Miss Rachael Ross. He and his wife lived in 
Warren County at an early clay, and there died, 
an old man. He was of a Welsh family noted for 
their longevity. All his life was engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. His wife survived him and was 
a second time married, her husband being Mr. 
Decker, who left her a widow. She then came to 
Illinois, and died in Mercer County, this State, at 
the age of eighty-six years. She was of German 
ancestry. 

W. R. Clark was the only son of his parents. 
He grew up in his native county and when Cin- 
cinnati became a village of some importance, and 
a commercial center for the region about, for a 
period of eighteen years he drove a six-horse team 
oyer the new country from Lebanon, Clarksburg, 
Milford and Foster Crossing, carrying Hour, pork, 
whiskey and other freight, and bringing back sup- 
plies for the general stores in the country towns. 
In 1854, with his family he moved West, making 
the journey overland, his household goods as well 
as his family being conveyed hither 03" means of 
teams. They enjoyed camp life during this emi 
gratioii and after a long trip they settled on a 
tract of Government land in Flat Branch Town- 
ship, Shelby County, and the tract which lie at 
that time located upon was never transferred until 
his death, he having passed away from this life 011 
the farm which he bad preempted. September I!). 
1889. He was born February 14, 1802. and had 
become a we'll known man in this part of the 
country, lie was quiel and unassuming in his 
personal bearing, but had had an experience that 
few men, even at that time, had enjoyed. He 
lived in see the country change from primeval 
wilderness to One of the richest commercial and 
agricultural districts in the country. His wife 
had preceded him. having died April ',1, 1881. 



PORTRAIT AM) BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



rim 



Her birth occurred December 19, 1806, Dear Pitts- 
burg, Pa. Her maiden name was Nancy Berger. 
She and her husband enjoyed fifty-two years of 
married life. 

Our subject is the youngest but one of nine 
children, now living. Two of Ins mother's chil- 
dren had died at an early a & e. He grew up in his 
native county, enjoying the limited advantages as 
to education and social life that were to be had at 
that time. When the first three years' call was 
made for volunteers to go to the front to quell the 
rebellion, our subject responded. He enlisted 
August 14, 1861, in the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, 
Company F. The Colonel in command being C. 
R. Jennison, and F. M. Maloney serving as Cap- 
tain. The regiment in which he served was known 
as the noted Jayhawkers, and they served in the 
Sixteenth Army Corps, being engaged in Mis- 
souri, Kansas, Kentucky. Tennessee, Alabama and 
Mississippi. Our subject was a participant in the 
battles of Corinth, Iuka or Tupelo, Oxford, 
Water Valley and Coffeyville. The regiment was 
under the genera; command of Gen. Grant and 
was the first to penetrate into Oxford, Miss., being 
in the advance of the main army from Holly 
Springs to Coffeeville. 

The original of our sketch during his military 
experience, was fortunately never seriously in- 
jured, but was once knocked off his horse by a 
spent ball. He was never captured, nor spent a 
day in a hospital. During all his service he re 
ported every day for duty. He saw much bard 
fighting during the three years he spent in the 
army. He veteranized at Corinth. Miss., and be- 
came recruiting officer of the regiment. He was 
honorably discharged at St. Louis. Mo., after 
three years and seven months of service, in 1864. 
He had received the honor of being advanced to 
the position of First Lieutenant of his regiment, 
and was on special duty as Court Marshal at 
St. Louis. Mo., for some time. He was also of- 
fered the Provost Marshalship in Northern Mis- 
souri, but refused to serve. 

After our subject's discharge from military life, 
he returned to Shelby County, this State, ami took 
upon himself the obligations of married life, his 
wife having been a Miss Charlotte A. Goodwin, 



who was of English ancestry and birth, having 
come to the United States when but thirteen years 
of age. her only kinsman in this country being 

Dr. Richard Dawson (i 1 win. of St. Louis. Mrs. 

Clark died in St. Louis on May lit. 1871. she 
was in the prime of life at the time of her taking 
away. 

Mr. Clark again married, the second partner of 
his joys and sorrows being Mrs. Nancy II. Jones, 
a native of Illinois. She died one year after her 
marriage, while yet in her young womanhood. 
The little daughter that she left to be a comfort to 
her husband, followed her mother when but four 
years old. By a former marriage, Mrs. Clark was 
the mother of two children, Eliza .1. Brickey, who 
lives with her step-father, and Charles W. Brickey, 
who took to wife Stella Henry, now a resident in 
Moweaqua Township. The lady is a daughter of 
Ex-Representative Thomas Henry, of Windsor, III. 
Mr. Clark's lirst wife was a member of the Baptist 
Church. His second wife was a member of the 
Christian Church. She was the daughter of Levi 
Jones, now deceased, a prominent minister at an 
early day in Montgomery County, Kan. 

Our subject is an adherent of the Republican 
party. He is much interested in local as well as 
national affairs and has been closely identified 
with all the local offices from Supervisor down. 
He is a Past Commander of J. V. Cleming Post, 
No. 363, of the G. A. R. in Moweaqua. 



I AYLKSS A. RICHHART. The Richhart 
family have for years been prominent 
in this country. The oldest progenitor 
known to our subject was his grandfather, 
Henry Richhart, who was born and reared in Penn- 
sylvania, coming of Pennsylvania Dutch stock anil 
parentage, lie was a farmer by occupation, in 
Pennsylvania. He moved to Ohio and there died 
ai the age of sixty-eighl years. While a young 
man he married Susanna Lawyer, who was also of 
Dutch ancestry; she. like her husband, passed her 

Hie in her native State, and there passed away at 



71(1 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



the age of about forty years. The aged couple were 
sturdy, stanch, true-hearted representatives <>f the 
Quaker State. To them were born fourteen chil- 
dren, three of whom are yet living, namely: Henry, 
Mrs. Barbara Johnson and Catherine Brainer. 
Henry is :i farmer and dairyman at Nickerson, Kan. 
Mrs. Brainer is now living in Morgan County, this 
State. 

The father of our subject \\ :i> William Richhart 
and was one of the large family above mentioned, 
lie was born December 13, 1816, in Ross County, 
Ohio. There he was reared and early learned the 
science of farming. When he reached manhood he 
was married in Pickaway County, Ohio, to Miss 
Kienorc Nichols, a native of the county wherein 
her marriage was celebrated. The lady was a 
daughter of Bayless Nichols, and was born Decem- 
ber 31, 17*1. in Virginia, and died in Ohio, May 
.">. 1842. Her father was twice married, his first 
wife being Melinda Rutledge. she died leaving 
live offspring. The second wife of Bayless Nich- 
ols, was Sarah Griffith. After their marriage they 
spent the remainder of their lives in Ohio, being 
old settlers there. Their parents came respectively 
from England and Virginia, the father of Bayless 
Nichols being a native of the British Isles. He 
came to America when a young man and was early 
married to Elizabeth Glover, their nuptials being 
celebrated, strange to say, during the strife of the 
Revolution, and although the groom was not lone' 
from the mother country, he did not-demur that 
his bride's wedding outfll was home-pun and the 

work of her own hands, as on principle, she would 
not |ia\ an\ duty on foreign goods. They were 

married in Virginia, where their fifteen children 

were bom. They moved to Ohio where they spent 

the remainder of their lives. They were Methodists 

in religious belief, and Whigs in political following. 

After marriage, William Richhart, the father of 

our subject, began life with his bride in Ross County, 

Ohio, and some years after the birth of their first 

child, came to Illinois during the Itts. journey- 
ing hither with their household goods overland, by 
means of teams. They settled in a new part of 
Morgan County, near Arcadia, where they entered 
a farm which in later years was improved to a 
high degree. It was al this place thai our subjeel 



opened his eyes to the light of this mundane 
sphere, his natal day being September 21. 1850. 
He was the second child and the first horn to his 
parents in Illinois. There were five sons and four 
daughters in all. Only three of the sons are now 
living. They are our subject, John and William. 
The latter is a fanner in this county, and John is 
a fanner at Strawn. Coffey County. Kan. Both 
have fnken to themselves wives who are good and 
noble women. The father died in Morgan County 
on his farm. March IS. ls.">t;. He was a good man 
and had a large circle of friends where he lived. 
who mourned his loss. Politically In' was an old- 
line Whig, and in his religious views, a Methodist. 
He was a quiet, unpretentious man. hut genial and 
kindly in his disposition. His wife, who survived 
him. married Lewis Dean. One child was the out- 
come of this union. Mrs. Dean, who is now sixty- 
live years of age is yet active and ambitious. She 
lives in Moweaqua, and Lsan active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church of that place. 

The original of our sketch was reared to man- 
hood in Morgan County and when about twenty 
years of age moved to Logan County. III., and 
after two years spent there, he removed to Macon 
County in 1872 and six years thereafter came to 
this county. He was first married in Logan County, 
to Mis- Maggie B. Stein, who was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, and who. when very young, came with 
her parents to Illinois, settling first in Flat Branch 
Township, Shelby County, and after some years, 
the parents. Samuel and Elizabeth (Macklin) Stein, 
moved to Moweaqua and then' died at an advanced 
age. Mrs. Richhart, the wife of our subject, died 
in flat Branch Township, on the farm on which 
she was reared, October 8, 1883, being then only 

twenty-seven years of age. She was the mother 
of five children, one of whom died in infancy. 
Those living are Bertha A.. Nellie I-;.. Russell E. 
and Mabel. 

Mr. Richhart was a second time married in Pick- 
away Township, to Mi-s Ida I!. Stump. Their mar- 
riage was celebrated April 5, 1885. The lady is a 

native of Pickaway Township, where she was horn 

January 31, 1864. she was broughl up in the 
county in which she was married audi- a daughter 
of .la col i ami Sarah Stump, who are natives of Ohio, 



PORTRAIT AND blOGRAPHK \I. RECORD. 



being married in Pickaway County, < >1 1 i< >. and In- 
ter coming to Illinois, where they settled in Pick- 
away Township. There thej purchased and im- 
proved a trad of land and there Mr. Stump died 
in the spring of 1876, while yel in the prime of life. 
Mrs. Stump is yet living on the old homestead, 
having attained sixty-three years of age. She, as 
was her husband, is a very active member of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church. .Mrs. Richhart is the 
mother of two children whose names are Rollill 1'. 
and Bessie A. 

Mr. and Mis. Richharl are members of the United 
Brethern Church. The gentleman has been honored 
li\ several positions in the township gift, having 
been Road Commissioner, Supervisor and Assessor, 
besides holding minor offices, lie is a prominent 
Republican in his locality. There is a saying that 
"He who shoots at a midday sun. though he may 
not hit. shoots higher than he who aims at a bush," 
and this has ever been the mode of procedure of 
our subject, lie can truly say that he is a -ell- 
made man. ever having worked to reach the mark 
which he had set high for himself, lie hasthusfar 
overcome every difficulty thai he has encountered 
in his career ami ha- already won a Battering de- 
gree of Success. lie owns a beautiful home which 
is on three hundred and forty acres, located on 

section. I . of Flat Branch Township. Here he has 

a line residence recently limit on the site of one 
that he lost by tire. 



spsfflAMUEL I'H.KT. Among the names held 

N«^ in honor in Shelby County, that which 

introduces these paragraphs has for many 

years had a place. lie who hears it Ci ! 

hither in 1871 and has been a potent factor in the 
well-being of the eiti/.eus. bearing a worthy part 
in the battle of life as a private individual, and 
acting with ability in prominent positions to which 
he has been called. He is one of the number before 
whom discouragements flee, and who surmount ob- 
stacles that lie in their way without letting the 
world into the secret of their existence. He has 
therefore gained a competency where many would 



have failed, and has pushed to ,-i successful con- 
clusion affairs that in other hands would have re- 
sulted tar different 1 V. 

Many years ago William Fugel and Sarah Kun- 

kle were united in the holy bonds of wedlock, anil 

began their wedded life in Pennsylvania, of which 

Mate thej were lioth natives. They resided for 

many years in Cumberland County, where both 
died at a goodlj old age. Of their nine children 

the subject of this sketch was the fourth in order 

of birth, and he was born in Cumberland County, 
September 12. 1844. He passed hi- youth in the 

usual manner of farmer lads of that period, al- 
ternating attendance in the district school- with 

farm work. Until he was twenty-one years old he 
lived in the Keystone State, whence he removed in 
I860 to Pana III., and engaged in different occu- 
pations. 

In August. 1871, Mr. Fuget arrived in Shelby 
County, and locating in Tower Hill, began work- 
ing in a flour mill. For a time he rented the mill 
and afterward bought a one-third interest in it. 
This interest he sold and became the head miller 
of tin Auchoi Mills in Tower Hill, owned by John 
Runkle A- Son. Tin's responsible position Mr. 
Fuget is stiil Ailing to the satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. Hi.- pleaseant home is presided over by a 
lady of culture, with whom he was united in mar- 
riage in Pana 111., in January, 1871. she bore the 
maiden name of Mi-- Shaffer and wa- a nativeof 
Pennsylvania. Her parents, John and Christina 
( I >a vi-) Shaffer, were natives of Pennsylvania. The 
father is living with our subject andthe mother is de- 
ceased. Mr. Fuget and hi- estimable wife have a 
family of three children — Minnie M.. Lora E. and 
1 .race E. Minnie M. is the wife of M. 1 1. Fen ton, of 
Towei 1 Hill, and I.ora E. is the wife of George E. 
Allen, of Arkansas. 

Mr. Fuget has been called upon to nil various 

official positions and has honored every position 
which he has filled, by proving capable, faithful, 
and eminently trustworthy. lie i- at present serv- 

ing ns Supervisor of Tower Hill Township, has 
been Town-lnp Collector, and has held several 
school offices in the village, lb- also served as 
Presidenl of the village and Trustee for several 
terms. Politically he i- an ardent supporter of 



712 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the principles of the Democratic party, and tiakes 
a lively interest in everything that affects the pros- 
perity of tlieiit\ or county. Socially lie belongs 
to the I. O. (). F.. the K. of P.. and the Modem 
Woodmen of America. With his wife, he has won 
a secure place in the affections of his associates and 
is highly esteemed for fine social qualities and 
noble character. 



\ 



fp^A KELTON BIRJ05IT,Sr., stands among the 
^^£ influential citizens of Shelby Comity, and 



Q 

lv^-Jr to n ' in :m ^ men "' ms badomitable will, 
wide experience, unsurpassed business acu- 
men and far-reaching public spirit, it is indebted 
for its high standing among its sister counties in 
this great Commonwealth of Illinois. Our subject 
is a leading farmer and stockman of this section. 
his extensive agricultural interests centering in 
Todd's Point Township, wherehe has an attrrative 
home and eleven hundred acres of land, all lying 
in a body, in a high state of cultivation, its soil of 
marvelous fertility and its valuable and well- 
appointed improvements rendering it a model 
farm. 

Mr. Birkett was born August 13, 1820, near Kis- 
wick, Cumberland County, in The Vale of St. John's 
Parish of Crosthwait. England, on a farm which 
was also the birthplace of his grandfather, Daniel 
Birkett, who spent his entire life, as did his father 
before him, upon that estate, which hi' owned, be- 
sides owning two other farms. His son John, the 
father of our subject, also passed his whole life on 
that pleasant English farm, while his brothers, 
Clement and John, and his sister Rebecca came to 

America. The former settled in Missouri where 
he lived the remainder of his days: John was a 
farmer and died in Shelby County; Rebecca died 
in Moultrie County, this State. The father of our 
subject was a farmer ami Stock-raiser and lived to 
the good old age of seventy seven years, his death 
occurring in November, I *?:'>. Ili~ wife whose 
maiden name was Mary Skelton, died June '■'<■ 

1847, «hen she was forty-seven years of age, 



She was the mother of ten children, seven sons and 
three daughters, and five of them are yet living. 

He of whom we write was the fourth child born 
to his parents, and he passed his early days in the 
home of his birth, where he received a careful 
training in all that goes to make a good man and 
a useful citizen, lie was given the advantage of 
an education in the local schools, and when not in 
school was acquiring practical experience in agri- 
culture on his father's farm that was of use to him 
in after years in the prosecution of his chosen call- 
ing on American soil. Christmas Day. \W.K was 
a memorable day for him. as he then left behind 
him his old home with its many pleasant associa- 
tions and went out to the island of St. Croix, 
where he had two uncles. Clement and John Skel- 
ton. who owned estates there, to see what life held 
for him in the Wot Indies, and there he was en- 
gaged as a planter on a sugar plantation for eight 
years and three months. Failing health warned him 
that he must seek another climate, and he decided 
Upon the United Slates of America. lie embarked 
on a vessel bound for New York, arrived safely. 
and two weeks later boarded a steamer for Phila- 
delphia, on his way to this State. From the Quaker 
City lie went by rail to Chambersburg, and then 
by stage to Pittsburg, Pa., from there by the same 
conveyance to Massillon, Ohio, whence he went by 
canal to Cleveland, from that city by Lake Erie to 
Toledo, and thence by way of Lovington to Terre 
Haute, hid., whence hi' came to this county, travel- 
ing by canal and stage to Shelbyvillc. 

The date of the arrival of our subject in this 
county was August .SI. 1XIM. and though not one 
of its earliest settlers he may be denominated one 
of it- pioneers as hehasdoneas much as any other 
man to develop its great agricultural resources, 
and has been a potent factor in the advaneemen t 
of its interests in various directions, generously 
using a part of tin- wealth that he has acquired 
within its borders to further all worthy enterprises 
topromote its growth and benefit the public. In the 
busy years that followed his settlement here, he 

has not been I niicli occupied in attending to 

lii- private affah'S to be able to do liis duty as a 

citizen, and he has devoted some of his valuable 
time to aid in the management of civic interests, 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORL. 



713 



bringing to hi* official duties in the various respon- 
sible positions thai he has filled the same aptitude 
for business, promptness, and unerring judgment 
and untiring zeal thai have characterized him 
throughout his career. 

His personal standing is of the highest, and 
whether in public or in private life he lias always 
borne himself as an honorable, upright gentleman, 
all worthy of the implicit confidence winch his 
conduct has inspired in his fellow-cit izcus. Among 
other important offices to which they have called 
him is that of Supervisor, and he has represented 
Todd's Point Township on the County Board of 
Supervisors ten years, lie was a member of that 
honorable body when the present court house was 
in process Of erection at the county scat, and as 
one of the building committee he carefully super- 
intended every detail of work, and used his in- 
fluence to have it built in a style of architecture 
combining Strength, utility ami beauty, and at a 
reasonable cost. Politically. .Mr. Birkett has been 
identified with the three leading parties that have 
held sway since he came to this country. At first 
he advocated the old-line Whig policy and sub- 
sequently became a Republican, hut in 1876 he 
joined the Democrats, as he considered that the 
Republican party had outlived its usefulness ami 
had begun to abuse its great power, so that a 
change was necessary in the interests of a pure 
government. 

Mr. Birkett's financial standing is the result en- 
tirely of his own efforts, as he started out in the 
world empty handed, with the exception of 
£25 of English money was which given him by his 
father, and which he returned to him the follow- 
ing year, lie had a better capital, however, with 
which to build his fortunes in his tine physique, 
clear brain, and the solid traits of character that 
have made him successful in life. After his arrival 
in this county he worked on a farm in Todd's 
Point Township, and the following year entered :i 
section of land in the same township on sections 
17. 18 and 20, and in the ensuing March he entered 
upon its improvement, breaking the wild prairie 
ami fencing one hundred and sixty acres of it. 
lie began to stock is farm by the purchase of one 
hundred head of cattle and seven hundred sheep. 



and thus entered upon his prosperous career of 

Stock and sheep raising .and wool liusiness. lb- 
has made his home upon that section of land 
that he has developed from the wilderness into 
one of the Choicest farms of the county. U] 

which he has placed every needed improvement, 
including roomy barns for his stock, a commodious 
dwelling, etc. He has purchased more land since 
his firsl investment, and now has eleven hundred 

acres .-ill in one tract. lie at one time had thirty 
two hundred 'acres of land in this State and in 
Kansas, two thousand of which he gave to his 
sons. 

Mr. Birkett has been eminently happy in his 
domestic relations, and shows to the best advant- 
age in his home, not only as a husband and father. 
but in the character of the most courteous and 
genial of hosts, dispensing a generous hospitality 
to friend or stranger who may happen beneath his 
sheltering roof, cordially assisted by his estimable 
wife, who is always thoughtful and considerate for 
the comfort of all about her. Our subject was 
first married February 13, 1850, to Mis- Mary 
Bland, a native of Ohio, and a daughter of Henry 
Bland. She was a resident of this county at the 
time of her marriage, and had gathered many 
friend- about her. who were attracted by her line 
womanly character and greal worth, and at her 
death February 9, 1865, sorrowed with her family 
in their great bereavement. By that marriage 
there were seven children, of whom the following 
is recorded: Henry, a resident of Springfield, 
married Grace Adams, and they have one 
child: John, who was a resident of Kansas 
at the time of his death in hi- t \venly--econd 
year, by drowning while in bathing in the river: 
Skelton a farmer, residing in Greenwood County. 
Kan., married Grace Gleason; Harriet died at the 
age of two years: George is a farmer of Greenwood 
County. Kan. Mary married George Becker. :i 
merchant of Wichita. Kan.; Elizabeth is the wife 
of Dr. A. P. Williams, of Hot Springs. Ark. 

January 17. 1867 our subject was married to 
Bliss Elizabeth, daughter of John Lenover, an old 
resident of Shelby County, and in her he has a 
devoted wife. Two children have blessed their 
union, of whom hut one is living, Arthur. Mr. 



714 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



Birkett was reared m the t hiireh of England, and 
has remained true to the faith of his fathers. His 
wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and is identified with its every good work. 
charitable or religious. The former Mrs. Birkett 
wa> also a member of that church. 



tt my k |> | I . I ) i 



T*« 1 ' 



ON. W.G.COCHRAN, Speaker of the House 
I during the Thirty-ninth session of the 
Genera] Assembly, is well known not only 
in Sullivan lint throughout Southern Illi- 
nois as a leading attorney and an influential eiti- 
zen. He has resided in Moultrie County since lie 
was four years old, although Ids residence in Sulli- 
van permanently dates only from April L891. He 
was formerly located in Lovington and vicinity, 
where lie won laurels in liis profession and a^ a 
politician. His advent as a student of the law be- 
gan under Judge .Miner in 1*77. and May 23, 
1879 he was admitted to practice at the bar. Since 
that date he has been progressing constantly and 
is regarded as one of the stanchesl Republicans in 
the county. 

In Im.ss Mi-. Cochran was nominated by the Re- 
publican party for Representative ami was success- 
fully run on the minority ticket. After his election 
to the State Legislature he felt the embarrassment of 
being com pel led to enter the Legislative halls with- 
out knowing the state Executive or any of the 
State officers, or even a member of either branch 
of the Legislature. But he was possessed of a gen- 
ial disposition and frank, open manners which soon 
won him the confidence of all with whom he came 
in contact and the rcspsect of every member of the 
law-making body of the State. When it became 
necessary to elect a Speaker of the House an old 
soldier was looked for, and among thai class Mi-. 
Cochran was entered in the race with Judge Cooly, 
the well-known "heavy weight" (it Knox County. 

On the third ballol Mr. Cochran won the race. 
It is well known that he tilled this place of trust 
with great success and to the satisfaction of the 
members of both parties. While a Republican he 
looked closelv to the interests of his constituents 



and made many friends who rejoiced in his elec- 
tion to the Speakership. On his return home he 
was nominated by his party for Senator anil polled 
more votes than his party ticket, which is much in 
the minority. While in the Legislature he served 
as a member of the Judicial Committee and was 
Chairman of the Municipal Committee. 

Not without a struggle, however, did Mr. Coch- 
ran attain to success in this life. He was reared 
in this county, having no advantages for a school- 
ing and working on the home farm. At the age 
of seventeen the war broke out. and at this youth- 
ful age he sought an opportunity to enter in the 
defense of his country early in 1861, hut was re- 
fused admission by the Captain of the company 
where he made application. About one year later 
he .succeeded in securing a place in the ranks as a 
private of Company A, One Hundred and Twenty- 
sixth Illinois Infantry. The regiment was com- 
posed of young men who possessed the lighting 
qualities of veterans. Their presence was soon 
felt in the Smith and they did service at the siege 
of Vicksburg. The) also participated in the bat- 
tles of Clarendon. Little Rock, and went on an 
expedition to Red River to meet Gen. Banks. 
They afterward continued their march through 
Arkansas and as they went along diil good service 
in frightening the enemy out of the country and 
suppressing the sharpshooters. 

Young Cochran stood his army life nobly and 
endured many hardships, hut he was always pre- 
pared for duty and did his part without flinching. 
lie was promoted to lie Sergeant, and at the expir- 
ation of three years was mustered out at Pine 
Bluff, Ark., and honorably discharged from the 
service at Springfield, 111., in August, 1865. Al- 
though he had seen a great deal of hard lighting 
he had fortunately escaped uninjured and had 
never seen the inside of a prison or hospital. He 
had just attained to his majority before his term 
of cnli>l incut expired, and to i I hist rale the progress 
he has since made it ma\ he said that when he en- 
tered the service his enlistment papers hear only 
his mark, as he could not write at that time. 

i'or several years after the close of the war Mr. 
Cochran was engaged in farming pursuits near 
Lovinjfton, hut his heart was meanwhile with his 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL liF.C ORD. 



71.-, 



books and lie later followed his uatural bent, the 
study <>f law. lie has a brilliant, daring eloquence 
which with his sparkling wit make- him an attract- 
ive speaker. At the beginning of an address he i> 

( 1 and calm, bul gradually warms to the subject. 

In politics he is intensely Republican, bul his per- 
sonal friendships and influence extend to all parties, 
lie is a member of the Masonic order and has been 
honored with some of their highesl offices, having 
membership with Blue Lodge. No. 288, and Chap- 
ter No. 171, at Lovington. He has served several 
terms as Master and has also been chosen High 
Priest. He is a Knight Templar in the Command- 
ery at Sullivan. In church and Sunday-school he 
is an active worker, having been a faithful Chris- 
tian since the late war. His membership is in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and since 1868 he 
lias preached when called upon to do so. and has 
been heard expounding the Scriptures in almost 
every place of meeting in the county. In Loving- 
ton he was a member of the Sunday-school for 
twenty-seven years and was Superintendent for 
fifteen years of the time. ./"5 

The birth of the Hon. Mr. Cochran/occurred 
near Frankford, Ohio, the oldest town y\i the State. 
Located in Ross County, November (S) 1844. He 
came of comparatively poor but highly respectable 
parentage, his ancestors being people of steady 
habits and moral character. His father, Andrew 
( i» -In an. was a native of Pennsylvania and a -mi of 
another Andrew Cochran, horn in the same State. 
It appears that the family had lived in the Key- 
Stone State foi many years and came of a mixed 
stock, strongly adhering to'the Pennsj lvania Dutch 
ancestry. The elder Andrew Cochran grew to man- 
hood upona farm and was married to Miss Mar- 
garet Hewitt, whose love he had won by his heroism 

The Hewitt family was once trying to cross a swollen 
river and all seemed destined to he drowned in the 
rapidly (lowing stream, bul young< ochran showed 
his natural bravery and rushed to the rescue. By 
heroic effort he saved the life of two Of the daugh- 
ters, the remaining members of the family having 
already been borne down the rushing river. A 
marriage to one of the daughters soon followed 
and proved a happy union. 

The brave young Cochran ami hi- wife began 



life i i' iii this world's m is imt labored together 

for some years in their first home. Desiring to 
better their condition they resolved to go to the 
wilds of what was then the new country of Ohio. 
At an early day they settled in ROSS Countj and 
there opened up a new home in the woods where 
they died at a ripe old age. They were Christians 
and reared an honorable family. The son Andrew 
was "iil\ a small boy when his parents -tailed out 
in Uoss County and there he grew to a stalwart 
manhood, lb- married into a good family, his 
wife. Jane Foster, being one of a pair of twins. 
The other twin is now .Mrs. Isabell Gregory, and 
survives at the age of eighty five years, being 
quite active and hearty. 

After their six children had been bom to Andrew 
Cochran, Jr., and his good wife, thej decided to 
follow the example of their ancestors and locate in 
a new country. In 1849 they gathered together 
their worldly goods, and with wagons and teams 
started for Illinois, camping by the way and the 
father and sons sleeping at night under the eanopj 
of the heavens. Aftei a somewhat long and tedi- 
ous journey they landed at their destination and 
pitched their tents not far from Lovington, where 
the father secured a small farm. There the father 
and mother lived and labored until their death. 
The good wife and mother passed away in Novem- 
ber, 1881, and had reached a g I old age. having 

been born in 1806. The father who was DOIT) in 

1808 survived until January .">. 1889, and passed 
from earth on the same day that his son was to 
start for the. state capital to accept his office of 
trust as the representative of the people of Shelby 
County. He had been a life-long Democrat and 
cast hi- only Republican vote when he gave his 
suffrage to his son W. G., who had grown up a Re- 
publican in his political faith. Andrew Cochran 
was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church but in the absence of that church here, 
joined the Methodist Church. 

Of the six children our subject was next to the 

youngest. Two of the daughters are now deceased. 

The survivors are Isabell, wife of William C. fos- 
ter, of Decatur; Charles, a farmer on the old (och- 
ran homestead; Andrew \\\. a farmer in this 
county; and our subject. The wife of our subject 



716 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



bore the maiden name of Charlota Keyes and was 
born in Ohio, her parents being Virginians. The 
father, .lames Keyes, was a farmer anil died in 
Loveland, at a good old age. Mrs. Cochran was 
reared and educated principally in Sullivan County 
and has made a good wife to her worthy husband. 
to whom she lias home six children. Prudence is 
deceased. The survivors are — Oscar, a successful 
teacher in this county; Grace M.. a graduate of 
Lovington High School; Archie 1>.. Arthur G., 
and Laura ('.. all of whom are under the parental 
roof and are bright, intelligent children. 



^§>^<^ 



)«^2>110MAS BINKLEY. Amid the fertile farm 
lands of Lovington Township is a tract 
of eighty acres belonging to the gentleman 
abovenamed and devoted by him to general 
farming. It is pleasantly located on section 21. 
and is embellished with every necessary structure. 
To say thai the owner is one of the most prominent 
farmers in the community gives hut a slight idea 
of the respect he commands, for he is looked upon 
as one of the most intelligent citizens to whatever 
class they may belong. A good neighbor and a 
reliable business man. he also merits the gratitude 
of all who are pleased with the advance of civil- 
ization in this section. 

Mr.Binkley comes of substantial forefathers. His 
father. Daniel liinkley. was a native of Perry 
County, ( )hio. and was a chair maker by trade. The 
mother, whose maiden name was Catherine Zartman. 
was also a native of Perry County. The worthy 
couple passed their entire wedded life in Ohio 
w here the father died in lMIIX; five years later 
the mother came to Moultrie County, and died in 
Lovington Township in 1880. Our subject was 
the only -on in the family, and he had one sister, 
\mclia A., who became the wife ofB. M. Clark and 
died in Lovington Township in 1881. 

The birthplace of our subject is Perry County, 
Ohio, and his natal day August 25, 1838. His youth 
was pa-sed uneventfully in conning his lessons at 
i In- district school and gaining practical knowledge 
of the way to conduct a farm. He began the battle 



of life for himself at an early age and when he 
was able to establish a home of his own he was 
married in his native county. September 20, 1868, 
to Miss Matilda, daughter of John and Charlotte 
(Jonas) Fisher, natives of Perry County. Ohio. Mr. 
Fisher followed the occupation of a farmer and 
died in Perry County, where also his wife passed 
away. A large family of children had been born 
to them, ten in number, and Mrs. Binkley was the 
second in order of birth, having been horn in Perry 
County, Ohio, September 10, 1839. 

After his marriage our subject located in Perry 
County, Ohio, where he engaged in farming. They 
made their home in the Buckeye State until 1873, 
when they removed to Moultrie County. 111.; after- 
ward they removed to Piatt County, whence after 
a residence of six years, they returned to Moultrie 
County and located in Lovington Township. Fnto 
him and his estimable wife thirteen children have 
been born, ten of whom are living, as follow-: 
Amanda (.. the wife of George F. Foster; Amelia 
A., who married Charles Redman: Acta ('.. the 
the wife of Irving Houseworth; William F... Char- 
lotte. Oscar. Liberta, Daniel 1!.. Walker O. and 
Lambert. The three deceased died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. liinkley are consistent members 
of the German Reformed and Lutheran Churches 
and are active in every benevolent enterprise. 
He has served the people in several offices, among 
them that of School Director. He has always fol- 
lowed agriculture and his successful and honorable 
career is worthv of emulation. 




ILLIAM A. WEBB is the popular druggist 

at Dalton City, Moultrie County, and in 
iA/ 

" V the compounding of medicines and reme- 
dies, is considered very expert. He is a dealer in 
grain, buying from the country around, which is 
rich in its cereals, and finding a ready market with 
the large grain buyers of Chicago. Our subject has 
been engaged in business at the same stand since 
IST-'i. at which date he became associated with 

( leorge Ferro, under the firm name of Webb & Ferro, 
dealing at tirst in the general mercantile business, 



PORTRAIT AND Bit K iUAl'IIK AL RECORD. 



r 17 



and also in the grain business. He has remained 
constant to his post of business ever since, and is 
now one of the oldesl business men in the place, 
and the leading grain merchants iu the town. 

Mr. Webb is :i native of Kentucky, being born 
in Boyle County, May 27. 1841. He is :i son of 
William II. and .lane (Moore) Webb, natives of 
Virginia and Kentucky respectively, but married 
in the latter State. In 1837 they emigrated to 
Parke County, hid., and lived on a farm tor a 
short time. Thence they removed to Greencastle. 
In lS.j!l they removed to Decatur, 111., and there 
became proprietors of the Oglesby House, now 
known as the St. Nicholas. In 1862 they removed 
to Mason, having traded the hotel property for :i 
farm. Our subject's father subsequently retired 
from the active business of agricultural life, and 
made his home in the village of Mason; he there 
died in 1874. His wife had expired some years 
previous while residing in Decatur. 

Our subject is one of a family of eight children, 
all of whom lived to he grown. Byname they are 
as follows: Lucy. Margaret, Theodocia, Richard, 
.lane II.. Lewis F.. William A. and Edward S. 
Margaret married Joseph Ferguson, and is now a 
resident of Wichita. Kan.; Theodocia became the 
wife of William II. Baird, of Mason. III.: Lewis re- 
sides al Mason. The father of our subject was a 
Whig in his political preference, and during life 
was the incumbent of several local offices, lie 
served as Justice of the Peace for several years. In 
his religious preference he isa member of the Metli- 
Odisl Episcopal Church, in which he was a (lass- 
Leader, and throughout life a liberal supporter of 
the Gospel work. 

William Webb passed his early life in his father's 
hotel and on reaching his majority he entered the 
grain trade at Mason and contined to be thus em- 
ployed until he came to Dalton City, at which 
place he became one of the first merchants. lie 
sold (int his interest in the store to Mr. Ferro and 
gave his entire attention to his grain trade, lie 
was also for four years station agenl at Dalton. 
lie aiso dealt in live stock, and in 1891 established 
his drug business. 

Mr. Webb was married id 1*7 1 to Mi- Retta I'.. 
Jeffries, of Philadelphia, Pa. The lady is a daugh- 



ter of Thomas -I. Jeffries, a machinist and a manu- 
facturer of car springs in the above named city. 

Mr. and Mrs. Webb arc the parents of • child. 

Politically our subject is a Republican, having been 
brought up to that party and plat form, and having 
imbibed the theories as held b\ the Republicans by 
inheritance and youthful association as by cool 
judgment. Our subject ha- at different times held 
various local offices. Socially he is a member of 
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In the 
line of hi- business he also deals quite largely in 
agricultural implements and machinery. 



_=] 



£+£ 



1=3 



ON. FRANK SPITLER. This well-known 
T member of the legal profession has made 

his home in Sullivan, Moultrie County. 

since March 1885, and is devoting himself 
to his practice in partnership with Isaac Hudson. 
This firm, which was established in August, 1888, 
has gained prominence throughout Moultrie and 
the adjoining counties and conduct its business 
successfully. Mr. Spitler has been associated with 
other lawyers since he became a member Of the bar. 
being formerly in partnership with ex-Judge II. M. 
Miner, now in the West, and prior to that with 
A. C. Monser. now of California. 

Mr. Spitler was born in Marion ( ounty, III.. 
January 2s. 1853 ami is the son of .Indue T. A. 
and Gilly K. (Kelley) Spitler. The father was born 
in Fairfield County, Ohio, and the mother in South 
Carolina, and they both arrived in Illinois in 1840. 

The following year lhc\ were united in the holy 
bonds of wedlock, in Marion County, where they 
followed the business of farming in Alma Township. 
Then the father is yet living at the advanced age 
of seventy years; he has always been an active 
worker and is still hale and hearty for one of his 
age. He was a stanch old-line Democrat and served 
his party faithfully and well on many occasions, 
during his younger year-. For some years he was 
supervisor of the township, discharging the duties 
of the office to the satisfaction of his constituents. 

lie was also for a time Associate Judge of the 

county, and is now held in excellent repute on ac- 



«_ 



Tl.s 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



count of his fine character, general intelligence and 
useful life. He is a consistent member of the Bap- 
tisi Church, as was also his wife. 

( tn December 31, 1888, the mother of our sub- 
ject passed from the busy scene- of earth, and the 
New Year, which brought to all of earth's children 
their joys and sorrows, brought to her a realization 
of the "Great Beyond", she was nt the time of 
her demise sixty-six Vitus old and had become the 
mother of fifteen children, eightof whom survived 
her. A good woman, her life was devoted to her 
husband and children, and it was her great object 
to prepare her suns and daughters for responsible 
positions in life. Her eldest son Henry. was a sold- 
ier in the Civil War, serving as a Sergeant in the 
line Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Infantry, and 
belonging to Company K. lie died in the hospi- 
tal in Kentucky. 

Our subject grew to manhood upon his father's 
farm, engaged in various pursuits which belong to 
the life of a farmer, lie received a good common- 
school education, which he supplemented by a 
thorough course of study at a Baptist College. lie 
utilized his knowledge as a teacher, following that 
profession for several years and earning the money 

to educate himself. He taught School at lientull. 
III., for three years and wa- afterward Principal of 
the schools at Odin, 111., for two years. When he 
commenced to read law. he was a student under 
Judge Williams Of Benton, 111., and later read with 
. Indue Pollock, Of Ml. Vernon, .leffcrsiui County. 
In 1884 he was admitted In practice at the bar, 
and has since devoted his undivided attention to 

his profession. In 1888 [he was nominated by the 

1 >einocratic parly, of which he is a stanch suppoi lei", 

to the State Legislature, and represented the Thirty- 
third District in the Thirty-sixth Session. He was 
a member of various important committees, among 

them that of state Institution-, lie served his 
constituency faithfully and advanced the interests 
of his ci minum it \ tu the I ie>t of his ability. 

Mr. Spitler wa- married, March 20, 1888, in Sul- 
livan, tu Mi— Ma\ McCaig, a native of Ohio, whence 
she i upanied her parent- tu Illinois and was 

reared tu wuiuanh 1 in Sullivan. She i- a mother 

of one child. Clarke. Iii hi- religious views .Mr. 

Spitler i- a Baptist and adhere- tu every cause 



calculated to advance the interests of the city so- 
cially, morally and educationally. He gives liber- 
ally of his earnings to the church and all public- 
spirited enterprise-. When it was decided to build 
a Baptisl Church in Sullivan. Mr. Spitler came to 
the front anil was an active worker in securing 
means and helping materially the completing of 
the -tincture, which is a credit to the people and 
the city. As a lawyer, he pleads his cases with 

force and shows his ability as a student; his daily 
applications, research and practice have given him 
a wide reputation as a successful counsel and re- 
liable advocate, which with his personal qualities 
have attracted to him a large circle of friends and 
patrons. 



4«- 



«j&> 



m 



EDEDIAH II. SILVER was horn in Ilopkin- 
ton. X. II.. November 3, L823. His father. 
Jeremiah Silver, was a native of the same 
state and our subject's paternal grandsire, 
John Silver. was horn in Massachusetts and removed 
thence to New Hampshire where he engaged in 
farming and in 1837 moved to Michigan and 
settled in Cass County, becomings pioneer farmer. 
lie made his home during the latter portion of 
his life with his son-in-law . 

The father of our subject was reared and married 
in New Hampshire. He there learned the trade Of 
mason and followed it in Hopkinton until 1827. 
and then with his wife and live children and his 
father-in-law, mother-in-law and two brothers with 
their families removed to Michigan. They came 
West with teams as far as Buffalo and then putting 
all on a steamer, they went tu Toledo, Ohio, and 
there purchased a small place. They did not re- 
main at that place, liuwever. hut on the crest of 
the Westward wave of immigration went to Cass 
CoiinH Mich., which was then very sparsely set- 
tled. Indians were still frequent visitors and there 
were plenty of deer and wild t urkcys. Our subject 
bought a tract of land and devoted a ureal part of 
his time to the improvement of his farm. He re- 
sided there until after the death of his wife and 
spent hi- la-t day- with his children in Cass 
County, his decease occurring in 1876. 









IS 



* *''***■ **& 









frt 



>.■» i 



#* 
^ 



iW 



'■■ 







JfjoL&e. &- an^oj2y^J^o Ley f^ 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 721 



The maiden name of our subject's mother was before him, picturing, no1 onlj his own life inn 
Sally Hastings, she was born in llopkdbton. N. the events that are making history. Located com- 
mand died in 1849. Five of her children were fortably on liis farm on section 2<i. Pickaway 
reared to years of maturity. They are bj name, Township, Shelby County, lie is enjoying the 
May, Jedediah II.. Lydia, Margaret and John. autumn sunset of life. Universally esteemed, his 
Our subject was only four years of age when liis friends will notice with pleasure his portrait on the 
parents moved to Michigan, hence he was reared opposite page and will read with interest the fol- 
to an experience of pioneer life, tie learned the lowing paragraphs. 

trade of a mason in young manhood and followed The gentleman of whom we write belongs to a 

it in connection with farming, residing on the family whose interests are closely identified with 

home farm until 1848, and thence removed to the pioneer history of Ohio and Illinois. His 

Edwardsburg and there engaged in the practice of grandfather, Balsom Longebach, came to this coun- 

his trade until 1858, and thence removed to try in tin' early part of the present century and 

Shelbyville, where he purchased a lot and built settled in Somerset County. Pa., where lie spent 

thereon a brick house, widch was comfortable and the remainder of his life, passing away while yet 

commodious. He followed his t radc for two years in middle age. Before leaving Germany, which 

and then exchanged his city property for a farm was his native land, our subject's grandfather had 

in Ridge Township, making that his home, lie married a German lady, who died at an advanced 

managed the farm while lie followed his trade and age in Pennsylvania. Our subject's father. Jacob 

after a residence of two years there, he rented it Longenbaeh was a nat ive of Pennsylvania and was 

for four years and then purchased a home two one of a large family, lie spent his early years as 

miles north of his former farm and there resided a frontierman and was a soldier in the War Of 

until 1876, when he came to Shelbyville and 1812, serving as a scout for the Continentals, lie 

entered upon his official duties as Sheriff of the was thrown among the Indians a great deal and 

county and hen- he has since resided. learned their language and habits. While acting 

.Mi-. Silver was married in 1863 to Julia A. as a scout he had to hide in the timber and lived 

Mead, a native of Chautauqua County. N. V.. and on acorns and roots for days at a time. Later he 

the daughter of Barak and Clarissa ( Brown) Mead. became a farmer ami was united in marriage with 

Mrs. Silver died in 1876. she was the mother of Miss Eleanore Shope, a native, like himself, of Penn- 

six children — Knnna ('.. Edward A.. Barak M.. sylvania, hut of Irish parentage. 

Wilbur H., J. Judson and Hattie. He of whom After marriage Jacob Longenbaeh and his wife 

we write is a Democrat in politic-, lie served for removed to Fairfield County, Ohio, at a very early 

four terms as Township Collector and was elected day, Cutting the timber oft the land where the city 

Sheriff in 1876 and re-elected in I878,serving two of Lancaster now stands; there they lived for a 

full terms. long time in the woods and among the Indian-. 

_^ NM£_ lh finally sold his place and moved into the wilds 

of Pickaway County, Ohio, where they purchased 

and improved one hundred and sixty acres of 

SAAC LONGENBACH. It is something to wild woodland. Later the family sold this place 

climb the white summit of life where one can and purchased a second farm in the same locality. 

look over the far reaching year- that span so when 1 the father spent his last year.-, drying when 

much of — feeling shall we say: — the feeling of in- about sixty-two years of age, about 1835. His 

tense gladness or sorrow that the youth experi- wife survived him many years, passing away on 

ences, the modified pleasure or pain of middle life the old farm in Pickaway County. Ohio, after 

and the ret ro-pect i ve of old age. It seems to Mr. reaching three-score war- ami ten. She was a 

Longenbach, about whom this -ketch is written, good woman and a loving helpmate. 

that his sevent v years are a panorama spread out Our subject is the youngest of eighl children. 



722 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



six sons and two daughters, who all lived to be 
iiitii and women with families of their own. Our 
subjecl and one brother, Solomon, now a retired 
farmer in Nevada, Mo., who has reached the age 
of seventy-three years, are the veterans of the fam- 
ily, although other members of the family have 
lived to :i good old age. Mr. Longenbach, the 
subject of this notice, was born in Pickaway 
County, Ohio, December 17. 1821, and was reared 
to manhood in bis native place, when' be cele- 
brated his majority. 

Isaac Longenbach set up a home for himself in 
1 852, making mistress of it Elizabeth Cole. The 
lady, like her husband, is a native of Pickawaj 
Comity. Ohio, being there born in 1835. She is a 
daughter of Richard and Hannah (Burwell) Cole, 
natives of Pickaway County. Ohio, but come, it is 
thought, of Scotch ancestry. When quite advanced 
iii years Airs. Longenbach's parent- came to Shelby 
County, and here Mrs. Cole died at the age of 
seven! \ years. Later Mr. Cole died while making 
his home with his daughter in South Dakota, al 
seventy-six years of age. Both were members of 
the Methodist Church. 

After marriage Mr. and Mrs. Longenbach made 
their home for a few years in Pickaway County. 
Ohio, whence, in L 85 6, they removed to Illinois. 

coming hither by team- and camping out on the 
way. They located in Pickawaj Township, where 

Mr. Longenbach pre-empted a tract of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land on section 20. The 
land was entirely unbroken, and here our subject 
and his wife began their pioneer experience, and 
here Have ever since made their home. Mr. Longen- 
bach has since added to his purchase and has 

erected good buildings upon his land. He has 
made a comfortable fortune by hard work and 
wise investments. 

Mrs. Longenbach died at their home February 
27. 1873, being then in the prime of life, she was 
a member of the German Reformed Church, a true 
wife and a kind neighbor. She was the mother of 
ten children, of whom the following are vet liv- 
ing: Jacob, Mary E., Kli/.a A.. Sarah .1.. Agnes A.. 
A. Lincoln. Isaac W. and Emma II. Jacob look lo 
wife Nancy Schwartz; they own ami resid< on a 
farm of one hundred and -i\l\ acres in this town- 



ship. Man is the wife of John Pinkston, a farmer 
and landowner in this township. Eliza married 
Edward Mathias and they live on and own a farm 
here. Sarah i- the wife of Franklin Shride; they 
arc farmers lure also. Agnes is the wife of Mali- 
son Stivison; they own one hundred acres of land 
in Todd's Point Town-hip. A. Lincoln took to 
wife Ellen Neal and is a farmer in this township. 
Isaac, whose wife was llaltie I'.rinke. is also a 
farmer in this town-hip. Emma II. is the wife of 
Andrew Fletcher Shride; thej make their home on 
Air. Longenbach's farm. 

Our subject is a Republican in his political pref- 
erence, having been an adherent of that party 
since Lincoln'- time, and having supported the 
(iiioii in its hour- of adversity by influencce and 

means. lie ha- filled al 4 all the local offices in 

the gift of the town-hip. and is honored by all who 
know him. 



LAN II) G. SANNER. V. S., prominent and 
jji well-known as a wealthy farmer and stock- 
raiser, residing in Penn Township. Shelby 
County, has large landed interests in this. 
Macon and Moultrie Counties, and ha- contributed 
extensively to the development of the greal agri- 
cultural resources of this section of his native 
State, as one of the most enlightened and advanced 
men of his class within its borders. He is much 
interested in raising line road hor-cs. the Ilamble- 
tonian strain being his favorite, ami he also bears 
a high reputation a- one of the most intelli- 
genl and skillful veterinary surgeons in Shelby 
County. 

May Hi. 1842, is the date of the birth of our 
subject in one of the pioneer homes of Madison 

County, of which his father, Samuel Sanner, was 

an early settler. The latter was a native of North- 
umberland County, Fa., and in early manhood he 
married Barbara Paul, a native of Preston County, 

W. \ a. In |S:'..'S he came to Illinois with his fam- 
ily, and located in the wilds of Madison County, 
nine mile- north of Kduanl-villc During tin- 
many years that he lived^there he applied himself 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHN Al. RECORD. 



23 



busily to his pioneer work, and in due time was 
well rewarded by becoming the possessor of a 
goodly amount of property. In 1886 he took up 
his abode in Penn Township,and there his remain- 
ing days were passed in tranquility and comfort 
until he closed his eyes in the dreamless sleep of 
death. lie left behind him m good life-record and 
m memory thai is cherished with reverence in the 
hearts of those who knew him. 

Our subjecl was the eighth child in a large 
family of children, twelve in number, and in liis 
childhood he had ample opportunity to acquire 
habits lit' industry and steady application tint have 
been of us« to him in liis after life, as his father 
wisely determined that liis boys should be able to 
do all kinds of work on the farm, while at the 
same lime he desired that they should have an ed- 
ucation. Our subject was well equipped in thai 

respect, as in his yOUtll excellent schools had already 

Keen established in Madison County, and he at- 
tended them whenever opportunity offered, and 
gained a sound knowledge <>f mathematics, and 
other common branches. When the war broke out 
he was scarcely more than a boy, bul he was eaget 

tn fight in defense of the old Bag. Owing tu cir- 
cumstance.- over which he had no control, however, 
he was obliged to abandon the thought of enlist- 
ing until the fall of 1864, when he left the par- 
ental home, September :'>. to enroll his name as a 
member of Company A. One Hundred and Forty- 
fourth Illinois Infantry, under command of (apt. 
George W. Carr, the regiment being mustered in 
at Alton, lie was disappointed thai his regiment 

was detained al Alton to do garrison duty instead 
of being sent to the front, some of the men being 
sent to Missouri, so that he saw no active service 
in the field. lie was SOOn detailed for service in 
the regiment band, and remained al Alton during 
the winter of 1864—65. The war closed the follow- 
ing spring, and he was honorably discharged July 
It, 1865, and mustered out at Springfield. 

Returning to his father's faim after hi- exper- 
ience of life as a soldier. Mr. Naiincr came with the 
family from his native county to this county in 
the spring of 1866. lie continue 1 to he an inmate 
of the parental household mi section "_'l. Penn 
Township, until he established a home of his own. 



Securing a- an efficienl helpmate lo preside over it. 

Miss Mary E. Freeland, then a resident of Milan 

Town-hip. .Macon ( utility, to whom he was wed- 
ded in April. 1870. Her father, David J. Freeland, 
was a native of North Carolina, whence he came 

to .Moultrie County, this Mate, when lie was a lioy 
of fifteen year-. lie wa- engaged in farm work in 
that ami Coles County some years, and then took 

up his residence in Milan Township, of which he i- 
nOW one of the mOSl extensive landholder-. lie 
married for his second wife Martha Sawyer, a nat- 
ive of ( ole- County, and Mr-. Sanncr is their eld- 
est child. 

When he married Mr. Sanner commenced his 
independent career a- a farmer on a half section 
of land in Milan Township, and resided on that 
place lor -ix year-. At the expiration of that time 
he came hack to Penn Township to take charge of 
In- lather's farm on section 21. In 1*77 he took 
possession of his present homestead, a beautiful 
farm of three hundred and twenty acre-, finely 
located on section 2;!. Penn Town-hip. He stil- 
retains his Macon County farm of half a Section' 
renting that and a part of his farm in Penn Town- 
ship, and he has a thousand acre- of land in all, 
including fifteen acres of timber in Moultrie 
County and town properly in Bethany, lie is 
extensively engaged in general farming, having 
his farm well stocked, and he pay- particular atten- 
tion to breeding fine roadsters of Hambletonian 
blood. He has a thorough knowledge of the horse, 
having made a careful study of the animal for 
vear-. and is an acknowledged authority on all 
questions pertaining to it. a- but few men observe 

the good point- of a horse quicker, or delect it- 
weak parts sooner than he. lie is also a successful 
veterinary surgeon of twenty-live years standing. 
A man of an active temperament, an indomitable 
will and a large nature, our subject ha- won his 
wav toa high place among our mosi valued and 
useful citizens. Hi- has been a im-v life, but not 
by the force of sheer hard work has he acquired 
his property, his labors having been directed bj a 
clear, well-balanced intellect, by practical business 
met hod-, and by excellent powersof discrimination 
and judgment. In all his dealings he has borne 
himself with unswerving adherence to the princi- 



r-24 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



pies of truth and probity, and his reputation is 
unblemished. The Sanner family is noted fo. their 
devotion to the Republican parly and our subjed 
i> nu exception, he being one of the strongest ad- 
vocates of the Republican policy in this part of the 
State, and has been since in early manhood he east 
his lirst Presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln in 
1864. Socially he is identified with William l'enn 
tamp. M. VV. A., and he is also a member of Prairie 
Lodged K. of II. lie is a stockholder in the Prairie 
Home Building and Loan Association, and all en- 
terprises t<> promote the growth of the county find 
in him cordial support. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Sanner have been truly Inppj in 
their married life and their home has been glad- 
dened by the birth of children, of whom they had 
ten. namely: Charles Wesley, Carrie Belle, Frank- 
lin Ellis ("ho died in infancy), Samuel Walter, 
Cyrus David, Orville Arthur. Lawrence Lester, 
Robert Lincoln. Etta May and .Martha Barbara. 



^•j-j.*'^ 



ETEU s. BOGUS, M. I). Belonging to a 



family that i- noted for the patriarchal years 
to winch its members attain, our subjed has 

proved to he no exception to the rule, for 

lie lias already passed the mile-post of fourscore 

year-. and is vet hale and vigorous. His life, which 

ha- been equally divided between attention to his 
profession, which was thai of dentistry. and during 
hi- later years, to farming, has always been so bal- 
anced as in leave a development and maturity of 
mind and l >< >< 1 \ unimpeded or unobstructed by 
ulterior considerations. He is now a residenl of a 
good farm located on section 25, in Lovington 
Township, Moultrie County, and so genial and 
kindly disposed i- lie toward all human beings, as 

In have gained the love as well a- respect of those 
with whom he ha- dealings, and lhc\ hope for him 
many year- still of health and happiness. 

Peter Boggs' father was Alexander BoggS, who 

died a victim of the cholera in Germantown, Ind. 
Hi- mother was Magdelaine Schaffer, who died in 
Milton, Ind., at the age of one hundred and six 
years, lacking a few days. The father was of Eng- 



lish descent, and the mother of German ancestry. 

After setting up housekeeping, they were the cen- 
ter of quite a brood of children. Nine little ones 
grew up under their kind and protecting care, and 
of these the Doctor was one of the oldest members. 
lie was horn in Lancaster County, Pa,, October 2, 
1809, and he spent the early part of his life in 
Mi. ploy, being engaged in the acquisition of 
knowledge and the fitting of himself for collegiate 
woi'k. When about sixteen years of age be went 
to Philadelphia for the purpose of studying den- 
tistry, lie wa- -o fortunate as to lie able to gain 
Hi. Samuel s. Fitch as a preceptor, and of him he 

learned the profession to which we should all he 50 

grateful for relieving us of pain, but one which is 
regarded with fear and trembling by the majority 
of people. On finishing his course of dental stud\ 
under Dr. Fitch, who pronounced him competent 
and an expert practitioner he returned to hi.- na- 
tive State where he lived until 1833 and then re- 
moved I" Ohio, where he practiced dentistry in all 
of the larger towns of the State. Thence he went 

to Indiana, in the winter of 1842—43, and was 
there also an itinerant practitioner of dentistry, 
pursuing his calling in all the large towns in the 

Stale. 

In 1855 Dr. Boggs came to Illinois and settled 
on section 25, of Lovington Township, lie con- 
tinued the practice of hi- profession for several 
years and indeed has always been ready and willing 
to alleviate a pain by the use of his forceps. He 
LS the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of 
land in lliis place, which he has cultivated up to 
1891, when he gave over the active proprietorship 
of hi- farm to a tenant, and i- now determined 
thai the remainder of his lite -hall he devoted to 
the less arduous work of watching the way- and 
mean- of others as they conduct the necessary 
work of tin' farm. 

Our subjed was first married in Baltimore to a 
lad\ whose maiden name was Alice II. Pennell. a 
beautiful woman who enriched and sweetened his 
domestic life, and who offered an encouraging word 
for every discouragement he met in business trans- 
actions. Her ancestors came to this country with 
William l'enn. She hore him three children whose 
names arc respectively Mary A.. Joseph 1'.. ami 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



72.") 



Lizzie S. Mary :ui<l Lizzie are 1 •< >t 1 1 deceased. 
Mrs. Boggs died in Lovington Township in the 
summer of 1858, and three years after Mr. Boggs 
was again married in Decatur, 111., in August 1861, 
to Miss Louisa Gehret, who was born in (enter 
County, Pa., Augusl 20, 1832. By her he became 
the father of three children, whose names are Wal- 
ter I... Carrie F., and Edith A. 

In his political preferences our subject is and 
always has been a Democrat, feeling thai the prin- 
ciples of the old party which were framed ami 
formed by some of the best and wisest men that 
the nation has ever produced, cannot have so 
greatly changed as to have degenerated to any 
great degree. Dr. Boggs i^ a strictly temperate 
man ami has never smoked or used tobacco in any 
form. 



^IMM! 




IQ^- 



\ AVID C. ( HAM'.. Age tails upon some 
men like a gracious benediction at the 
end of the lesson of life. Willi whitened 
hair and measured tread, the venerable 
aspect of age is an open book in which even the 
youngest and most thoughtless can read the story 
of life, whether the experience has been one of ad- 
venture, and colored and broidered o'er with 
romance and tragedy, or whether adopting a fixed 
principle as a guiding star, the aged man has ever 
steered his course by its guidance. Our subjecl 
has just passed his three-score years and ten. ami 
any one who looks upon his rugged hut serene 
face can see therein that his has been an experience 
guided by the principles of rectitude and honor; 
that no matter how frail the superstructure may 
now he. that the base and foundation is of 
adamantine firmness; for character never grows 

old. 

David ('. Chase is a native of Indiana. His 
parents, however, both came from the Empire 
State. His father was William .1. Chase, and his 
mother Eunice (Chamberlain.) Chase. They mar- 
ried in Indiana, and settled immediately after 
their union in Washington County, where they 
lived and made the journey of life together until 



death claimed them for its own. Our subject's 
father was a shoemaker by trade, although he was 
engaged to some extent in farininu. but his prefer- 
ence was for the exercise of the trade that he had 
learned in youth. Both parents were victims of 
the cholera, and both passed away in the month of 
August, lM.'!:i. They had six children and of these 
our Subject was the eldest. 

The original of our sketch was born in Wash- 
ington County. Ind.. May 25, 1821. Left an 
orphan at the age of twelve, he was Obliged to 
Struggle as best he could for a maintenance. He 
went to Lawrence County. Ind.. and there grew to 
manhood, learning in the menu time the black- 
smiths' trade, which he followed until l.s.">2. and 
the imagination pictures the smithy at the meet- 
ing of the roads, where farmers brought their 
horses, and over the injured tiro of an ancient 
vehicle, discussed crops and politics and every 
subject within the ken of the rural mind, "from 
Homer down to Thackeray, and Swedenborg on 
hell." The fact remains, however, stripped of 
fancy, that our subject succeeded in his work, re- 
ceiving such returns for his labor as to justify 
him in taking unto himself a companion and wife, 
which he did June 2(i. 1845, in Orange County. 
Ind. IIi> bride was Miss Hannah Hostetler. a 
daughter of Christian and Elizabeth (Hardman) 
Hostetler. They had nine children. Mrs. Chase was 
the seventh in order of birth; she was born in Or- 
ange County, Ind., December 1,1823. In 1852 Mr. 
Chase anil his wife came to Illinois, and settled in 
Colo County, there living until January. 1853, 
when they came to Lovington Township, this 
country, since which time he has here been a resi- 
dent. He lived on his farm which he had pur- 
chased upon first coming here, until the fall of 
1S8/). when with his family he removed to the 
village of Lovington. He now rents his farm, 
which comprises one hundred acres of good land, 
and it brings him in a very good income. Three 
children have grown up about our subject and his 
wife. Elizabeth E. is the wife of Thomas Spilker; 
Francis M. married Miss Margaret Morthhvnd; 
and David C. took to wife Mis> Mary Haley. 
Three children died in infancy. 

since coming to this state. Mr. Chase has fob 



726 



PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 



lowed agricultural pursuits, and has been reason- 
ably successful iu liis chosen calling. In politics 
he has ever taken an active interest, and is an ar- 
dent adherent of the Democratic party, having 
very positive views in regard to the efficiency of 
the governmental principles and rule of that 
power. Mrs. Chase, who is a kindly and intelli- 
gent old lady, has been a member of the Christian 
Church since girlhood. Her husband is a Dniver- 
salist in his belief. Mrs. Chase is a sister of Noah 
Hostetier, of Lovington, Of whom a more ex- 
tended history can he found in another part of 
this volume. 



4«- 




OLLAND S. GRIFFITH. The owner of a 
fine farm in Todd's Point Township. Shelby 
County, 111. The gentleman whose name 
is at the head of this sketch was horn in 
DeWitt County, this State, January :i. 1867. He 
is a son of Baard Griffith, one of the noble pio- 
neers of the State, of whose lalior and struggles 

with early difficulties the present generation is in 
the enjoyment of the advantages that are the nat- 
ural resull thereof. 

Our subject's father was a native of Pickaway 
( ounty, Ohio, and was there reared and educated; 
there also lie met and married his wife and soon 
afterward removed to Illinois. Theirfirst home in 
this State was in .Macon County and thence they 
moved to DeWitt County and located a tract of 
Government land residing upon it for two years. 
It was advantageously located being only eight 



miles northeast of Clinton; here our subject was 
horn. Mr. Griffith Sr. was a very enterprising 
man and possessed of excellent judgment, and en- 
tirely suited to cope successfully with the difficul- 
ties of pioneer life. He entered and purchased 
other land iu the county and became quite exten- 
sively interested in real estate in Kansas, where he 
became the owner of one hundred acres in Chase 
Count} and also became interested in the stuck 
business there. 

In 1880 our subject's father accompanied by his 
family, started overland for Kansas and in that 
manner traveled quite extensively through that 
State making a residence of one year upon his 
land there. In 18K2 the family returned to their 
home in DeWitt County and there remained until 
the death of the father, his decease occurring No- 
vember 16, 1890. The widow and the mother of 
our subject was. before her marriage, a Miss Sarah 
Reed; she was a native of Ohio and still makes her 
home in DeWitt (ounty. She is the mother of 
five children who are still living. They are Pyard. 
Dell. Holland, our subject, Nellie and Melvin. 

Holiand Griffith was reared on the home farm 
and early learned the duties incident to farm life. 
He attended school in the neighboring district and 
assisted with the farm lalior in the intervals, lie 
made hi- home with his parents until twenty-three 
years of age and then settled on the farm where 
he now resides. It is a beautiful tract on section 
HI. Todd's Point Township, and comprises one 
hundred and sixty-four acres of good and arable 
land. Here he devotes himself to general agricul- 
ture and his efforts thus far have been crowned 
with a pleasing degree of success. 







&&&4S!M&-e= 



Adams, John 23 

Adams, John Q 39 

Adams, s. M 431 

Adamson, E .414 

Adkins. Rodnej 292 

Akins, William 11 596 

All. -ii, A F 239 

Allen, Edgar 597 

Altag.C. 11 S72 

Ames, Truman E .11" 

All' I * ■ I ^ ■ in, S:i iiin.-l 556 

Anderson, S. S 382 < 

Armstrong, W. F 187 

Arthur, (.'hosier A 99 

lughinbaugh, W. H 288 



B 



Bail, E. T 233 

Baker, George 50(i 

Baker, Hon. Joseph .... 

Bales Joseph M :.":i 

Ballard. George NV 615 

Banks, Thomas 627 

i: .ii . er, ii. w 702 

Hanoi i, James 232 

Bates, William A 687 

Bauer, J- F 588 

Baumgarten, Lewis 278 

Bean, J. K :ms 

Beckett, K.-v. A. H 694 

Beckett, William 684 

Beery, John W 288 

Bernhard, H 507 

Berry, Josiali 402 

Berry, Marion 442 

Beveridge, John L 171 

Binkley, Thomas 7U; 

Birkett, S., Sr 712 

Bissell, William H 151 

Bivins, W. K B19 

Bland. Eugene "05 

Boggs, P. S„ M. D 724 

Bond, Sbadrach Ill 



Bowman, A. H i.;i 

Bowman, J. A 501 

Bowman, Samuel 4 hi 

Boys.G. W 689 

Boj s, ■!■■ s 645 

Brabham, John P 257 

Bradley, J. E 511 

Brehmer, W. J . .t;:n: 

Bridgman, Henry 440 

Brown. I .'. W :(41 

Brown. John (' ;,-_".i 

Brown, J. w W 576 

Brownback, s. H 642 

Bruce, J. D 196 

Briinmier. Jacob 154 

Buchanan, James 57 

Busharl . John :r,i 



c 



' ampbell, Hon. A. C 692 

( 'annon, K. E 121 

Carry, James W 631 

Carlin, Thomas 135 

Carnes, William 544 

Carpenter, H. c 171 

I arr.C II , M. D 397 

Carr, J. w 

Carr, W. V 32:) 

Chase, Dai idC 725 

Cheever, Byron 387 

Chesshire, Joseph 387 

Chipps, Abia 20" 

Clark. John 708 

Clark. W. J 196 

I 'levoland. s. Grover 103 

Clore, Allen if,- 

I 'orliran. Hon. W, G 711 

Colt s, Edward 115 

Collins. A. 1\.,M. Ii :.71 

Cook.E. H 218 

1 lorlej , Rev. X 663 

Covey, w. r; 704 

1 'o\\ I.-, < lharlea 578 

Cowle, John W 568 

Creech, A. S . . ."21 

Craig.A. L .".in 



Craig, John 1: 155 

Croudson, c. W 317 

1 Irowder, n M 100 

Crow del', John A .681 

Crowder, Rev. J: s II ...:',7s 

1 Irowder, M. M 1113 

Crowder, Thomas H 157 

Crawl, Henry 238 

Cllllom, Shelle, M 17.-> 

Curtis, Miron .177 

Cusaac, J. M 291 

Cutler, ('apt. E. B 530 



D 



Daugherty, John I) 594 

I 'a\ is, George S 517 

Da\ is. II. A 122 

Daj . II. F 195 

Des Larzes, E. F "in 

Dick, Charles W 351 

Diddea, Peter 711:1 

Diepholz. Henry :::;n 

Dixon, John, Sr G85 

Doehring, F 

Honias, A 537 

Donnel, William I. ;:is 

ll van. J. Ii.. M. II "2" 

Douthit Re\ . J. I.. 182 

Dove, T. 1' 1:17 

Downs, James 11 421 

Drake, David lit 

Dumond, Jacob II 359 

I In 1 lean. .lames A 535 

Duncan, Joseph 131 

Duncan, S 

Durkee, G. A 658 



Eberhardt, Mrs. c nil 

Eby, J. E 634 

Eddy, W.J :;li 

Eden, J. E 244) 



Eden. Hon. .I,,!,,, R ,,,] 

Edwards, N'inian 119 

Elder, William 3 . ;s 

Kllars, James ggg 

Elliott, II. H |g g 

Erhardt, Mi 1,11.1 .„• ( 

Evans, L. D •.>:);; 

Evey, J.S ,_>7u 

Ewing, William L.D 127 



William H 177 

Falk.J. W 41,1 

Faneher, William "75 

Fearman, John A 446 

leri.- Q 'ge 686 

Fifer, Joseph w is.: 

Fillmore, Millard 1,7 

I ishl 1 . II. C ;.;i 

Fleming, L. C ... . .297 

Fleming, Thomas ,",17 

Fluckey, George w ;,is 

Foltz, A. J |66 

Ford , Thomas 129 

Foster, A 503 

1 'oster, J.- s ,..,; 

1 oster, Ellsworth 201 

Frantz. "Calvin 505 

I re. land. J. A :72 

Freeland, Capt. John a 360 

Freeland.T. .1 372 

Freeman, John 638 

French, Augustus C ..113 

Fritz. John .1 698 

Fry. J. S ,-,sii 

Fugel . Samuel 711 

Fulton. A. H 593 

Fulton. B. W ....311 



Gallagher, A 473 

Gallagher, 11. c 409 

Gallagher, N. .1 (93 



INDEX. 



Galster, Jacob 2 19 

Gammill, S. F :U3 

Garfield, James A 95 

Garman, John K "'7!' 

Garrett. W. H. 641 

Gavin, James 341 

Gillespie, Anthony 221 

Glasscock, J. P 208 

(ioetz, John 392 

Gollogher. Rev. E 210 

i. lwin,Mrs.M.A 235 

Gould, F. D 281 

Gould, L. A 222 

Graham. Thomas H . . .210 

Grant, Ulysses s 87 

Graybill.J. P 701 

Green, Herman til 2 

Gregory, J. L 600 

Qress, F.X Still 

Griffith, H.S 72(1 

Grisso.G. W 253 



H 



Hamilton, John M 1711 

Hamm, Martin . .425 

Harbaugh, F. M 620 

Hardy, William 552 

Harper, Samuel 559 

Harrison, Benjamin 107 

Harrison, William Henry — 51 

Hart, Capt. Henry L ... 261 

Hart man, F 631 

Harw I, I). X 433 

Hayes, Rutherford B 91 

Heinz, J. r 429 

Hendricks, Alon/o 254 

Hendricks, John 248 

Hendricks, J, R 530 

Henrj , W . .1 424 

Hill. William 423 

Ilinterly, J 318 

111 nl' hi, John 524 

llo-al I Q, James 590 

Holderman, J. (i :ttj4 

Hoi w. C ...391 

Homrighous, E 5u:i 

Homrighous, J. W 604 

Hoover, W. K.. M. l> Tckj 

Horn, Isaac 208 

Hosteller, Noah 707 

llonsh, .1. M 660 

Hudson, Isaae 65] 

Hull, W.J.. M. It Ho 

Hughes, John I! 402 

Hunter, A .462 

Hunter, Preston 520 



Jackson, Andrew 4:1 

Jackson, W. H 441 

Jamison, A 4 III 

James, W. W 639 

Jefferson-, Thomas 27 

Jenkins, J. L 307 

Jennings, John E 145 

Johnson. Andrew 83 

Jones, Jacob 379 

Jones, James H oil", 

Jones, J. X 655 



K 



Kaniiz. William :m 

Kellar, A. L., M.B 053 

Kendall, O. L ikji 

Kern, J. A mo 

Kesler, Daniel 202 

Ktllatn, John T 000 

Killam, W. E 625 

Kircher, Jacob [9] 

Kircher. L. J >;<■! 

Kuhn.C 535 

Hull, J. F 277 

Knli, Mrs. R 872 



Laudgrebe, Martin 352 

Lane, CM . ...3111 

Lane, M. D 237 

I , LrthurG 272 

Leggitt, Th as 1 212 

Lehn, Joseph ....512 

Lenox, John N 263 

Lewis, A.J 298 

Lilly. S. P .-,(1 

Lincoln, Abraham 79 

Linvill, J. A 001 

Linville, John F 551 

Logan, W. F 181 

Longeiibaeh, Isaae 721 

Longenbaugh, G. W 192 

Loving, I'. M 290 

L01 ing, J.T 388 

Low, David 185 

Lowary, H 551 

Lowe, M.L 203 

I. idlers, John 231 

Luttrell, Lot 075 



Illicit John B |s| 



M 



Madison, James :;l 

Marl in, Horace 1 079 



Martin, I. J 460 

Martin, John F 426 

Mar J R 177 

Mart/., Henry 415 

Matteson. Joel A 147 

Mattox.J. M 513 

Mautz, Daviil 512 

Ma lit/.. John F. . .623 

Matttz, Philip A 656 

Slant/., T. P 583 

Mayes, T.E 303 

McClung, Robert 368 

Met 'hire, .1. R 200 

McCluer, X. B 269 

McCormick, w. E 283 

McCoy.C.H 251 

McGuire, J. H 677 

Meiiuire, W. P 310 

MeKittrick, William 234 

McMennamy.B. F.,M. D ...318 

McPheeters, A. W 648 

McPheeters, Capt. I; P ill 

McTaggart , A. H 570 

Meeker, Hon. J 332 

Metsker, W. M 2117 

Michael. J. H 543 

M 11 Idles worth. A 553 

Middlesworth, John W 201 

Miller, J. H.. M.D 584 

Miller. M. H 515 

Miller, Samuel 699 

Miller, W, C 270 

Moll, Daniel 000 

Moll, John 258 

M >>■. G. W 523 

Mom , James 35 

Moithland.K. W 288 

Mullen, V. I> 377 



.\ 1, J. C 589 

Xotl.ronk, William 443 



o 



1 Iglesby, Richard J 163 

1 11. Emanuel oi'7 

1 Isborn, A. I in 

Otta, A 371 



Palmer, John M . 107 

Parker, Lemuel 635 

Parkinson, L 129 

Pal iii son. \ 273 

Patterson, 0. 11 676 

Palleis,,i,. Ii. H 229 



Patterson, Jonathan 259 

Patterson, William 220 

Patton, R. A oi7 

Pauchert, F. A 636 

Peadro, R. M 522 

Peters, S. S ms 

Pfeiffer, Jacob F 501 

Pierce, Franklin 7: 

Pierce, M. V 41111 

Bleak, M. F 599 

Pogue, John 120 

Polk, James K ;,n 

Porter, 1 . N 180 

Porter, Thomas 211 

Potter, William 5211 

Pratt, H. A 542 

Pugh, John ..630 

Pugh, W.J ,;|| 

Pyatt, K. A.. M. I) 215 



R 



Ragan, William H 281 

Rawlings, C. J 000 

Rawlings, H. 51 >i 

Rawlings, John 010 

Keber, Joint 1111 

Reed, Alfred 

Reighley. James t t l 432 

Reighley. William 463 

Keiiner. Samuel I;;c. 

Reynolds, John 12:; 

Rhoads, s. M 594 

Rhodes, Emerson 3111 

Rhodes,.!. W Tin 

Richards, William M 390 

Richardson, (1. W pi;, 

Rieliey, A. J 618 

Rtchey, Isaae :\\ I 

Riehhart.B. A 709 

Rich 1 nan. Henry 228 

Rincker, C. F Me 

Risser. F. W.. M. 11 337 

Roane, Hon. Charles I. 327 

Roberts, ('. B 212 

Roberts, J. S .id 

Robison. Thomas X 53s 

Etoessler, Hon. Edward 20.". 

Roessler, Philip 654 

Rogers, tl. F 492 

Roller, Joseph 399 

Hull, George 633 

KntTner, Francisco 271 



Sanders. James W., M. 1). . .068 
Sands, Aaron 032 

Banner, D.G 722 

Banner, E. B 217 

Sanner.S. 11 156 

Satterthwaite, T. J 572 

Scarborough, Col. 11.51 112 

Sel I. John BIT 



INDIA'. 



Schinzler, George 644 

Schneider, Michael 227 

Schoch, George 052 

Schuetz, F 339 

Sconce, Mrs. P. H Ii74 

Scott, A. R 373 

Scott, A. W 390 

Scott, J. W (51 

Seass, Levi <I50 

Sentel, Andrew 317 

Sharrock, John t»4s 

Shelton, John II.. M. D H7i 

Shelton.J. R 358 

Shepard, Henry C 380 

Shepherd, E. I t»u 

Shepherd, M.T 683 

Shirey, Geoi ge V\ :;7I 

Shirey.W.S 321 

Shride, G. \v 411 

Shuman, Charles t«7 

Silver, G. F 36H 

Silyer.J.H 718 

Simmons, Capt. J. J 367 

Sims, John 322 

Singer, Thomas 695 

Slater, James 188 

Sloan.D.J 139 

Smith, Daniel 291 

Smith, George A., M. D. 284 

Smith, H.G 628 

Smith, Thomas 518 

Smith, William A...M. I> -2117 

Smock, Rev. B 55 ( 

Smock,. 1. J 589 

Snell.F.l' 5M 

Snell, W. H 300 

Snyder.M.E 309 

Snyder, M., Jr 17s 

Snyder, '.v. J 5*; 

Sparling, William H..M. D..450 
Spears, Henry . . 616 



Spitler, Hon. Frank.. 717 

Spitler, L. 51 5G2 

Springer,'!'. T .. 678 

Stedman, W. E., M. D. 609 

Steidley.A. .1 471 

Steidley, W. A 621 

Steward, J. N 596 

Stewardson, H \ 200 

Stowardson, i; N 534 

Stewardson, Thomas 2*7 

Stewardson, William Sr 532 

SI, -wart,.!. \ I "I 

Stewart, J. G 549 

Stilhvell. F.J 621 

St . inn. John N .262 

Storm, L. A 199 

Stump, Jacob 691 

Swallow, D. P 516 

Swart/, John 573 

Sweet . I Irson 351 

Swengel, John 608 

Syfert.Noah 264 



TacJ ''it. J. A (94 

Tackett, William J 153 

Taylor, Nimrod 321 

Taylor, w. H 353 

Taylor, Zacharj 63 

Terry, Reuben 656 

Thornton, Hon. Antihony. '-'I" 

Thomas, .lames 7iO 

Thunemann, William 565 

Titus.J. B 313 

Townley.T.T "62 

Trainer. Frank 399 



Travis,.!, S IG1 

Till 1, William F 557 

Turner, J. L. IS 629 

Turner, James T 547 

Turner, L. H 192 

Tyler, John 55 



Vuihikin, J.H..M. It 181 

Van Buren. Martin IT 

Vaugban , G . W 585 

Vermillion, J. W , i25 

Vogel, William . 320 

Voiles.J. H 193 

\ mi is. Hon. < 'harles 323 

Voris, George w 567 



w 



Waggoner H 302 

Walden, H. X 271 

Walker, Joel T 331 

Walker, Joseph 327 

Walker, William 607 

Ward, Alexander 349 

Warren. John K I'M 

Warren. L 204 

Warren. M. 11 ..370 

Washington, George 19 

Weakly, Cyrus,.., 176 

Weakly, K. B 



Weakly, Rev. Henry 561 

Weakly, William 333 

Webb, B.T I i9 

Webb, Vt,A 716 

Weeks, John 

Weidner, Daniel " 

Welch, James s., M. 1* 230 

West, 8. 1) 

Wnitaker, John 610 

White, J. II 157 

u hitfleld, Z.B 56(1 

Whitworth, William (64 

w ilklnson, Bros 162 

Winner, T. M 299 

Wilson, Samuel.... 313 

Winn.G. W 671 

Wirey, William 47a 

W I.ll.c ;-i 

Wi lod, John 155 

« I. J. A 2S9 

Wood, J. w 338 

Wood, Thomas 194 

W , W. X 273 

u Tiff, Squire 319 

Woodward, C.E 473 

Wright, Capt Q 'ge 501 

Wright, Hon. s. \v.. Jr 252 

\\ > man, Albert 558 



Y.uii is, Daniel 3(7 

Yantis, George W 59-7 

\ a iii is. Samuel '.' I 

Yant is. Solomon 616 

Yates, Richard 159 

1msi.1i. M 521 




Bowman, Samuel 417 

Brown, John C 275 

I 'rondson, U. W SIS 

Crowder, Thomas H 355 

Falk. J. W 417 



Fleming, I.. C 295 Kull, J. F.. 

Fulton. A. II 591 Lewis, A.J 

Fulton, B. W 315 Mayes, T. K. 

Green, Mrs. a. M MS Otta, A 

Hogarth, James 59] Reber John 



275 

295 

61 ; 

,.375 

117 



RufTner.F 27". 

Sanner, E. B 37."> 

Sentel, Andrew 315 

Sweet. 1 ii'smii 

Warren, I. 295 



IXDKX. 




Ol 5 



MMTTB 




— 5~h!«^3»£HH~J- 



Adams, John 22 

' Adams, John Q :18 

; Arthur, Chester A 98 

Beveridge, John L 1 70 

Bissell, William H ISO 

' Bland, Eugene (103 

" Bland, Mrs. E 002 

Bond, Shadrach 110 

Brabham, J. P 256 

Bradley, J. E 310 

Buchanan, James 74 

Carlin, Thomas 134 

I ( 'arpenter, H . C 170 

' Carpenter, Airs. II. C 470 

I'arr, Dr. C. H 396 

( Ihesshire, Joseph :t80 

Cleveland, S. G rover 102 

Coles, Edward Ill 

Cullom, Shelby M 174 



Duncan, Joseph 130 

Eden, Hon. John K 100 

Edwards, Ninian . . 118 

Ewing, William D. L 126 

Fleming, Thomas MO 

Fifer, Joseph W 182 

Fillmore, Millard CO 

Ford, Thomas .138 

French, Augustus C 142 

Gallagher, H. C 40fi 

. Gallagher, Mrs. H. C 107 

Garfield, J. A 94 

Grant, U. S 80 

Hamilton, John M 178 

Harrison, Benjamin 100 

Harrison, \V. H 50 

Hayes, R. B no 

Jackson, Andrew 42 

Jamison, Alfred 448 



Jefferson , Thomas ... 20 

• Jenkins, J. L 300 

i Johnson, Andrew 82 

' Kircher, J 190 

' Lincoln, Abraham 78 

1 Logan, W. F 480 

Longeubach, Isaac 720 

Madison, James 30 

Matteson, Joel A 110 

' Mautz, T. P 582 

' Monroe, James 34 

Oglesby, Richard J 102 

• Palmer, John M, 166 

Parkinson, L 428 

Pierce, Franklin 7o 

Polk. J. K 58 

Pyatt, Dr. E. A 211 

: Reynolds, John 122 

Risser, Dr. F, W 330 



Roessler, Hon. Edward 204 

Sanner, E. B 244 

' Sanner, Mrs. E. B 24.", 

Schneider, Michael 225 

Schneider, Mrs. M 224 

"Simmons, Capt. John J 300 

^Sloan, I). J 138 

' Smith, Dr. William A 266 

' Stewardson, Thomas 286 

Taylor, Zachary 62 

Thunemann, William 504 

1 Tyler, John 54 

■ Van Buren, Martin 40 

"Walker, Joseph 320 

' Washington, George 18 

1 Webb, B. T 4;>s 

Wood , John 151 

' "l aid is, Daniel 310 

1 Yates, Richard 158 




** 



&o. 






% 



3? 
















j5> 






0' 
























<* 















% \l|l° /^ 






vv 



<^ 



% 





















•1 

°^ * » « ° A? 






3>* 



4 0, ,0 -7-, 






• I 1 * 



***** 



■cv 






s.* .<4!v ** r°' 






°^ *x° 












iO-7-, ,,-iq. 




'of 






*** 







-.,,• <f O »„„„ ' "V 

V c^ .0* 

5^ t " "o, A * ... 












> 






cv 






o. 






' 






«0 -/■ 



•. « -.V 












^>- 



























A* ^ 






'. 


















4- *</*•**'.* <*.' S-> & 



***** 

/ 



^ 









■y °<u * • • 



is " +, ■ 
■o 






'^0 






' 






V V V* 












<S> 



•» o 













































<- 



- 
> 



























-* 


















uSSSSSh. 






JSTINE 

CI & 



%F»- 



;20B4 CV 



















































^ ■ 









- 






